2,331 Replies to “Velominati Super Prestige”

1. @RobSandy

   Add to that – how much did the reduced teams impact strategy?  It could be said that it did result in the main contenders getting isolated more often and so produce more mano-a-mano racing.  Have Sky set the policy for a new overall strategy with reduced teams of following early and then picking a stage to go all in?

2. @Teocalli

   @RobSandy

   Add to that – how much did the reduced teams impact strategy? It could be said that it did result in the main contenders getting isolated more often and so produce more mano-a-mano racing. Have Sky set the policy for a new overall strategy with reduced teams of following early and then picking a stage to go all in?

   0

   Also of note- sunweb did not have a strong team. Dumoulin was often isolated.

   Of interest, when Dumoulin realised he could not break Froome yesterday, he got on the front of that group and rode hard to put his teammate into the Top Ten. I think he deserves massive kudos for that.

3. that was an helluva Giro d’Italia.  all this says to me is that, drugs or no drugs, Froome’s capacity to utterly gut himself is above any of the other GC elite on the Pro Tour.  80km?!  on the Finestre?  what?!

4. @KogaLover

   @RobSandy

   Re: Merckx and Hinault comparison: now would be the time. And I will be watching your six at the Tour!

   0

   The comparison maybe holds if you’re just looking at GTs. Froome has to win a lot of classics to truly be in their league and that is not going to happen.

5. @wiscot

   @KogaLover

   @RobSandy

   Re: Merckx and Hinault comparison: now would be the time. And I will be watching your six at the Tour!

   0

   The comparison maybe holds if you’re just looking at GTs. Froome has to win a lot of classics to truly be in their league and that is not going to happen.

   0

   I think you are right in that he can’t be compared to Merckx or Hinault in terms of complete dominance. He’s never going to drop the pack on the cobbles or Paris Roubaix or on the Paterberg.

   But whilst everyone agrees that it’s unlikely that a rider of the modern era will match Merckx or Hinault, it seems to me that holding a full house of Grand Tours and to be lining up for an attempt at a fifth TdF is possibly less likely now than it would have been in the past.

   Or you might say that the competition is pretty weak at the moment, who will present a greater challenge than his own challenge of trying to win straight after the Giro?

   My view is that with a nickname like FroomeDog, he can’t possibly be compared with The Cannibal or Le Blaireau.

6. @chris

   @wiscot

   @KogaLover

   @RobSandy

   Re: Merckx and Hinault comparison: now would be the time. And I will be watching your six at the Tour!

   0

   The comparison maybe holds if you’re just looking at GTs. Froome has to win a lot of classics to truly be in their league and that is not going to happen.

   0

   I think you are right in that he can’t be compared to Merckx or Hinault in terms of complete dominance. He’s never going to drop the pack on the cobbles or Paris Roubaix or on the Paterberg.

   But whilst everyone agrees that it’s unlikely that a rider of the modern era will match Merckx or Hinault, it seems to me that holding a full house of Grand Tours and to be lining up for an attempt at a fifth TdF is possibly less likely now than it would have been in the past.

   Or you might say that the competition is pretty weak at the moment, who will present a greater challenge than his own challenge of trying to win straight after the Giro?

   My view is that with a nickname like FroomeDog, he can’t possibly be compared with The Cannibal or Le Blaireau.

   0

   I know I may be in the minority here, but … Nibs gets the nod from me as being the most “complete” modern rider. He’s won all three Grand Tours (not as many as Froome) and has won three Monuments.

   BTW, as most of you know, I’m not the biggest fan of Froome or Sky, but chapeau on his winning the Giro. I just hope it holds up as legit. I have to admit that there is reasonable suspicion surrounding his bouncing back/recovering and following up with dominating rides in both last year’s Vuelta and this year’s Giro. And as much suspicion as may be cast on Froome, I think the larger question is how is it that Sky always manages to have one or more riders capable of riding full gas for so long on climbs when all the other teams don’t? It is very reminiscent of the blue Postal train.

7. In my opinion, it is unfair to Froome to say he will never compare to Merckx, Hinault, et al because he hasn’t won one day classics. Cycling has changed since the days of the Cannibal, and the Badger. Grand Tour GC contenders are too valuable to risk on the cobbles of Paris Roubaix these days.

   A fair measure in comparing athletes in any sport across generations is how they fared against their competition in their day. The measure should be standard deviations above the competition for all athletes and generations. I know enough about statistics to be dangerous but I am willing to bet the straight flush of Grand Tours and four TdF wins would place Froome three or more standard deviations above the competition.

   We can discuss, argue, and debate the all time greats in cycling but whether one includes him in the list or not Froome is definitely part of the conversation.

   I have been as hard on Froome as anyone after his salbutamol incident but I have to say: Chapeau Mr. Froome. 

8. With a nick name like il Squalo di Messina he’s more likely to be considered a complete rider but he hasn’t got any track palmares.

   It’s got to be Stannard or Thomas.

9. @chuckp

   @chris

   @wiscot

   @KogaLover

   @RobSandy

   Re: Merckx and Hinault comparison: now would be the time. And I will be watching your six at the Tour!

   0

   The comparison maybe holds if you’re just looking at GTs. Froome has to win a lot of classics to truly be in their league and that is not going to happen.

   0

   I think you are right in that he can’t be compared to Merckx or Hinault in terms of complete dominance. He’s never going to drop the pack on the cobbles or Paris Roubaix or on the Paterberg.

   But whilst everyone agrees that it’s unlikely that a rider of the modern era will match Merckx or Hinault, it seems to me that holding a full house of Grand Tours and to be lining up for an attempt at a fifth TdF is possibly less likely now than it would have been in the past.

   Or you might say that the competition is pretty weak at the moment, who will present a greater challenge than his own challenge of trying to win straight after the Giro?

   My view is that with a nickname like FroomeDog, he can’t possibly be compared with The Cannibal or Le Blaireau.

   0

   I know I may be in the minority here, but … Nibs gets the nod from me as being the most “complete” modern rider. He’s won all three Grand Tours (not as many as Froome) and has won three Monuments.

   BTW, as most of you know, I’m not the biggest fan of Froome or Sky, but chapeau on his winning the Giro. I just hope it holds up as legit. I have to admit that there is reasonable suspicion surrounding his bouncing back/recovering and following up with dominating rides in both last year’s Vuelta and this year’s Giro. And as much suspicion as may be cast on Froome, I think the larger question is how is it that Sky always manages to have one or more riders capable of riding full gas for so long on climbs when all the other teams don’t? It is very reminiscent of the blue Postal train.

   0

   Suggesting Nibali is the most “complete” rider is very fair given his results (lack of track palmares aside). That, however, is a different discussion than best or greatest. Froome can provisionally be listed among the greats I am not sure Nibali has reached that plateau.

10. Onwards to the Criterium Dauphine starts this Sunday 3rd June – ready for picks……

11. Not sure I’ll stick with this and my heart is creeping in vs my brain.  Not that I do any better when I put my brain first……..

    Thomas
    Nibali
    Bardet
    Soler
    Zakarin

12. @Teocalli

    Onwards to the Criterium Dauphine starts this Sunday 3rd June – ready for picks……

    0

    1. Bernal

    2. Bardet

    3. Nibali

    4. Geraint

    5. Alaphilippe

    GT and Alaphilippe as wildcard picks because I like them.

13. @RobSandy

    Also of note- sunweb did not have a strong team. Dumoulin was often isolated.Of interest, when Dumoulin realised he could not break Froome yesterday, he got on the front of that group and rode hard to put his teammate into the Top Ten. I think he deserves massive kudos for that.

     And Sam Oomen is only 22 years old and already in the Giro’s topten. But indeed, when Tom knew that his first goal did not work, he moved to Plan B, successfully.

     

14. I’m back on the grid after being away for almost a week.  Good Giro to watch but bad VSP results for me, especially after I realized I didn’t pick Dumoulin for 2nd like I thought I had.

    Moving on to Dauphine…

    1.  Bardet

    2. Nibali

    3. Bernal

    4. Thomas

    5. Aliphilippe

15. My Dauphine picks …

    1 – Bardet

    2 – Nibali

    3 – Alaphilippe

    4 – Zakarin

    5 – Soler

16. 1. Nibali

    2. Bardet

    3. Martin

    4. Zakarin

    5. Thomas

     

17. 1. The Nibs

    2. Bardet

    3. Zakarin

    4. Allez Philippe

    5. G Thomas

18. Dauphine Picks

    Thomas

    Bardet

    A Yates

    D Martin

    Caruso

19. @Teocalli

    Onwards to the Criterium Dauphine starts this Sunday 3rd June – ready for picks……

    0

    1. Bernal

    2. Bardet

    3. Nibali

    4. Geraint

    5. Alaphilippe

    GT and Alaphilippe as wildcard picks because I like them.

    0

    Crap, Bernal isn’t even riding.

    1. Bardet

    2. GT

    3. Nibali

    4. A Yates

    5. Alaphilippe

20. @RobSandy

    @Teocalli

    Onwards to the Criterium Dauphine starts this Sunday 3rd June – ready for picks……

    0

    1. Bernal

    2. Bardet

    3. Nibali

    4. Geraint

    5. Alaphilippe

    GT and Alaphilippe as wildcard picks because I like them.

    0

    Crap, Bernal isn’t even riding.

    1. Bardet

    2. GT

    3. Nibali

    4. A Yates

    5. Alaphilippe

    0

    @MangoDave note re Bernal above…….

21. @Teocalli

    @RobSandy

    @Teocalli

    Onwards to the Criterium Dauphine starts this Sunday 3rd June – ready for picks……

    0

    1. Bernal

    2. Bardet

    3. Nibali

    4. Geraint

    5. Alaphilippe

    GT and Alaphilippe as wildcard picks because I like them.

    0

    Crap, Bernal isn’t even riding.

    1. Bardet

    2. GT

    3. Nibali

    4. A Yates

    5. Alaphilippe

    0

    @MangoDave note re Bernal above…….

    0

    Thanks.  He was on the start list, I didn’t see that he’s not riding now.

     

    Replacing Bernal with Zakarin in #3 pick

22. 1)  Bardet

    2)  Nibali

    3)  G Thomas

    4)  Alaphilippe

    5)  D Martin

23. A few still sitting on their turbo trainers warming up till the last minute……..

    

24. Dauphine picks:

    Geraint Thomas
    Dan Martin
    Julian Alaphilippe
    Romain Bardet
    Pierre Rolland

    Thanks.

25. Thomas

    Bardet

    Yates (hopefully longer lasting than the other one)

    His nibs

    Rolland

26. Bollocks, pretty sure this is gonna be a Delgado, but in the hopes that @Teocalli is lenient, picks for the Dauphiné:

    1. Nibali
    2. Alaphillippe
    3. Bardet
    4. Thomas
    5. Bob Jungels

    Sorry I’ve been somewhat in absentia, chaps. I promise I’m reading everything, just not interjecting as much as I probably should!

27. I’ve spoken to The Committee and based on previous good behaviour you get in.

28. I’ve spoken to The Committee and they have let you in based on good previous behaviour.  The entries are…..

    

29. Well if hitting the deck on Day 1 is any omen GT is going well.  He was flying into that bend.  Great effort to get back up and finish in that time.

30. Was that a good omen? A race against the clock on day one and a favourite crashing, are we going to see more unbelievable performances in the mountains?

31. @Teocalli

    We must have hit post at about the same time.

32. @Teocalli

    Huzzah! Let’s call it a late filing of a TUE. Because there’s gotta be some controversy!

33. Crap…Del-friggin-gato

34. @mulebeatsdrums

    @Teocalli

    Huzzah! Let’s call it a late filing of a TUE. Because there’s gotta be some controversy!

    Outrageous! How can you turn up halfway through the first stage and expect to be allowed to compete! It’s this sort of slap dash application of the rules that has the general public thinking that cycling is a hotbed of cheating and drugs. This will only stoke the hatred that’s being shown by drivers to cyclists around the world. Think of the children – Morally Outraged of Doha

    PS. Having turned down a similar kind offer from @Teocalli, I like to think that moral outrage is, in fact, qualified, reasoned and with the best interests of the community and the sport foremost in mind. It should not just be considered as the base rantings of a competitor who has, for the first time in his VSP career, a reasonably good position to protect!

35. @chris

    @mulebeatsdrums

    @Teocalli

    Huzzah! Let’s call it a late filing of a TUE. Because there’s gotta be some controversy!

    Outrageous! How can you turn up halfway through the first stage and expect to be allowed to compete! It’s this sort of slap dash application of the rules that has the general public thinking that cycling is a hotbed of cheating and drugs. This will only stoke the hatred that’s being shown by drivers to cyclists around the world. Think of the children – Morally Outraged of Doha

    PS. Having turned down a similar kind offer from @Teocalli, I like to think that moral outrage is, in fact, qualified, reasoned and with the best interests of the community and the sport foremost in mind. It should not just be considered as the base rantings of a competitor who has, for the first time in his VSP career, a reasonably good position to protect!

    0

    To be fair it was in before the first rider rolled out and as it was there when I logged in The Committee (following the best historical examples of (in)consistency set by Henri Desgrange) ruled in his favour.

36. @chris

    I’d vote that you could put in an entry now, just to stop your moaning.

37. @RobSandy

    @chris

    I’d vote that you could put in an entry now, just to stop your moaning.

    That would work for me as the race I declined the late entry to was pre-Giro. The only tricky thing about getting it right would be searching back through several pages of VSP picks and ramblings.

38. @chris

    @RobSandy

    @chris

    I’d vote that you could put in an entry now, just to stop your moaning.

    That would work for me as the race I declined the late entry to was pre-Giro. The only tricky thing about getting it right would be searching back through several pages of VSP picks and ramblings.

    0

    Even Henri Desgrange would struggle to permit that one.  It would be a bit like winning by catching a train…….

39. @chris

    Was that a good omen? A race against the clock on day one and a favourite crashing, are we going to see more unbelievable performances in the mountains?

    0

    @Teocalli

    Also of note, Julien Alaphillippe quietly putting in a very good TT. Very interested to see how he goes.

40. Doumoulin seemingly set to ride the TdF.

41. Don’t know where to post this, but the BBC sport website has a fascinating article on the GIro stage 19, how Sky planned it all. A great read.

     

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/44372328

     

42. This round of the VSP looks like it will be low scoring unless something dramatic happens.

    1 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky 9:28:21

    2 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Sky 0:00:03

    3 Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa) Team Sky 0:00:09

    4 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:21

    It won’t help to dispel the Skybot myth and won’t silence the doubter or conspiracy theorist.

43. @chris

    This round of the VSP looks like it will be low scoring unless something dramatic happens.

    1 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky 9:28:21

    2 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Sky 0:00:03

    3 Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa) Team Sky 0:00:09

    4 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:21

    It won’t help to dispel the Skybot myth and won’t silence the doubter or conspiracy theorist.

    0

    Pah, Sky just have a strong squad for this race, particularly contra la montre.

    Does raise the question whether a ITT or TTT of that sort of length should be included in a short Tour like the Dauphine, as it’s kind of killed the race.

    Also, how do Sky play this now?

44. @RobSandy

    Also, how do Sky play this now?

    Race for the clean sweep. What else?

45. @chris

    @RobSandy

    Also, how do Sky play this now?

    Race for the clean sweep. What else?

    0

    

46. @chris

    This round of the VSP looks like it will be low scoring unless something dramatic happens.

    1 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky 9:28:21

    2 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Sky 0:00:03

    3 Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa) Team Sky 0:00:09

    4 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:21

    It won’t help to dispel the Skybot myth and won’t silence the doubter or conspiracy theorist.

    0

    The next few stages will drop out the speedsters.  Could be looking to be set up nicely for GT as he has a gap on the other mountain goats.

47. To save me trawling back to when the VSP Nuovo was announced, is the stupidly-named OVO Energy Women’s Tour on the calendar?

48. @mulebeatsdrums

    Yup – here you go….

    

49. @Teocalli

    @mulebeatsdrums

    Yup – here you go….

    

    0

    So the Tour De Suisse starts tomorrow…?

50. @Teocalli

    @mulebeatsdrums

    Yup – here you go….

    

    0

    Ace. Saved to my Downloads. I hadn’t clocked that the Giro Rosa is only a month away as well. And as @RobSandy pointed out, do you want Tour de Suisse picks soon?

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