The preview for the Point d’Appui in the 2012 Tour de France is not good, not bad, somewhere in between. The defending Point d’Appui, Markel Irizar, was left home by Radio Shack, perhaps because of his wonderful break on the first stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné. Irizar got in the break with five other riders at about the 4 kilometer mark. The peloton gave them almost too much room, but the escapees let the mob back in by fighting among themselves. Irizar, though, got a jump on the break group and stayed away until 5 kilometer mark.

Likewise, Fabio Sabatini, who won the fulcrum at the Giro d’Italia, is not at the Tour de France.

Other contenders include:

• George Hincapie of BMC may have the best shot. He is clearly looking to ride in support of the BMC team leader, Cadel Evans, or whomever pedals forward if Evans isn’t back to his 2012 form. Hincapie finished on the cusp of both the Tour of Flanders and the Paris-Roubaix. This is his last chance to be the camel’s back.
• Marco Marzano, riding for Lampre-ISD, is another possibility. Marzano finished in the Point d’Appui at the Dauphiné, riding with perfectly fine form.
• Vasil Kiryienka of Movistar Team took home the Point d’Appui in the Tour de Romandie and is another possibility.
• Robert Gesink of Rabobank is probably a long-shot, having won the Point d’Appui at Liége-Bastogne-Liége, and long-shots rarely fall to the middle, although several stages this year favor him.