It's time once again for Mongo to pick two teams to throw my "Juice" behind for the upcoming Pro Tour season. For those who have been reading for a while, you know that I truly have a gift, and that the results over the years have spoken for themselves. For those who are new to my Kreskin/Madame Cleo/Dalai Lama/Hunter Thompson skills...stay tuned!
As a proud American who is as patriotic as a pickled pigs foot floating in a jar of many pigs feet on the counter of a local General Store in a small town as idyllic as a Norman Rockwell painting, the first team I'm going with is... Katusha! Just kidding.
It will come as no surprise to anyone that for the fourth year in a row Mongo is a picking Team Garmin-Cervelo. In my opinion, this team will end 2011 as the number one ranked team in the world. They are stacked from top to bottom with the addition of all the key players from last year's Cervelo Test Team. The only thing holding them back is the lack of a "realistic" Grand Tour winner. Don't get me wrong, I still loves me some VDV and Tom Danielson, and Ryder Hejsedal is a solid rider, but top tens on GC are the only realistic goals for the Giro, Tour, and Vuelta.
It's the Classics, Stage win, and Sprint lineup that's going to carry Garmin-Cervelo this year. Heinrich Haussler and Thor Hushovd will add potential winners for every Classic, and it the Sprints, Hushovd also adds a second option to Farrar, especially on the tough, uphill finishes.
Mongo would also like to add that since the team's inception and vocal support of cleaning up the sport, there hasn't been a hint of scandal or impropriety surrounding them. They need to be held up as an example of the right way a Professional cycling team goes about their business.
For my second pick, Mongo usually goes with a traditional European team. I like to stay close to the "smarm" of the sport. This year, the one team that is as shady as Johan Bruyneel's porn collection is...Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team. Ricco, Mosquera, Devolder...need I say more? I was thinking about going with them as a lark, but Mongo is trying to do his part this year to "classy up" the sport.
Of the eighteen teams with a Pro Tour license in 2011, four of them are American and thirteen are from the country of Europe. (I know it's a continent, I just wanted to see if you noticed or were geographically retarded) The good ole USA represents over twenty percent of the field. That's why this year the choice for my second team was so hard. Do I go with another American team not named RadioShack, or do I stick with traditional guidelines and choose a European team?
Mongo is a sucker for an underdog. Any time the little guy can stick it to the "man"...I'm in! Therefore, Mongo is proud to announce that the second recipient of my "Juice" for the 2011 Pro Tour season is...BMC Racing Team!... USA! USA! USA!
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