Tour de France 2008: The Lowlights

There was much positive that occured during the 2008 Tour de France. Andy Schleck confirmed that he is indeed a grand tour threat of the future, Carlos Sastre finally broke through and Cadel Evans battled once again with dignity and class. But there were several high profile dissapointments as well. Below are the notable negatives regarding select riders in this year's Tour.

1. The entire Saunier Duvall debacle. Riccardo Ricco could have went down as the Tour's revelation, instead he goes down in history as the 2008 version of Floyd Landis. One of the biggest shames of 2008.

2. Robbie McEwen gets shut out at the 2008 Tour. The "pocket rocket" is looking a bit worse for the wear these days, and his best days may behind him. He was outgunned in the sprints and even his own team wasn't willing to send anyone to the Tour to support him.

3. Stijn Devolder gets shelled in the high mountains of the Tour, and takes a DNF after abandoning after stage 15. Devolder looked lost in the steep mountains, and will have to rethink his approach to the grand tours. Originally thought of as a classics and grand tour threat, he may instead want to stick to classics riding only.

4. Denis Menchov. Tactically, he was by far the worst of the GC hopefuls. He forfeited time foolishly throughout the Tour, and his errors cost him and Rabobank a spot on the final podium. If he had managed to ride smarter, he would have been in with a chance to take the overall title. He may never get another chance, as his teammate Robert Gesink will be on the scene next year at the Tour.

5. Yaroslav Popovych. The Ukranian was supposed to be on hand to help Cadel on the toughest climbs. Instead, he was off the back often and was very little help to the Australian in his bid to take top honors. I wonder if Silence-Lotto regrets letting Chris Horner go?

6. Rémy Di Grégorio of the Francaise des Jeux squad was supposed to be the next great French hope. He was touted as a mountains specialist and was considered to be a dark horse candidate for the young rider jersey. So much for that. He looked like a typical Frenchie at the Tour, as he desperately tried to get into breakaways and then came in well after the leaders in the climbing stages. He finished 9th in the young rider competition, over an hour and a half behind Andy Schleck. Ouch!

7. Damiano Cunego. "The Little Prince" battled throughout the Tour to do his best and should be commended for his effort, but is there any remaining doubt as to his hopes (or lack thereof) of ever winning another grand tour? Cunego was outgunned and overpowered on the steep climbs, and was equally unimpressive in the time trials. He is an excellent one day style rider, in the mold of Bettini. He would be wise to take grand tour overall victories off of his to do list for the future.