Velominati Super Prestige
The Velominati Super Prestige is a season-long competition wherein readers will be submitting their predictions for the top five finishers of each qualifying race. In order to qualify, your picks via the VSP Picks form above the posts section of the VSP Event article pertaining to the race in question by the time the countdown clock goes to zero at midnight on the day of the race start. These articles are clearly marked and are generally posted at least 72 hours in advance of each event. The current leader of the competition has the honor of posting on the site bearing the VSP Leader’s badge; winners of select races (the monuments and Grand Tours) similarly gain the honor of posting with a dedicated badge for the remainder of the year. Prizes may be given for key events; these prizes will be announced on the associated VSP Event. Points will be tallied as the season progresses and the winner will be announced after Paris-Tours. Prizes to be determined.
Scoring (One-Day Races)
Readers who wish to enter shall enter their predictions for the top five placings of each race by the time the countdown clock goes to zero at midnight PDT on the day of the race. Regular Points Points will be scored in reverse order of finishing order: 7 points for first place, 5 points for second, 4 for third, 3 for fourth, and 2 for fifth. Readers will also earn 1 bonus point for every other rider named in the top five, regardless of the rider’s placing, but riders are not scored twice. Tie Breaking In the event of a tie, the first reader to submit their predictions will be named the winner.
Scoring (Grand Tours)
Readers who wish to enter shall enter their predictions for the top five placings on General Classification of each Grand Tour by the time the countdown clock goes to zero at midnight PDT on the day of the first stage or prologue. Points Points will be scored as follows based on the final G.C of the race: 20 points for first place, 15 for second, 10 for third, 7 for fourth, and 5 for fifth; plus 3 points per rider in the top five regardless of the rider’s placing, but riders are not scored twice. Changing of the Picks* Contestants are allowed to make line up changes on one of the rest days of the Grand Tours but not both. These changes will come with a point penalty. You will be allotted one (1) rest day to make swaps in grand tours; you may pick either the first or second rest day. The penalties for swapping will be lower for the first rest day than the second. This will allow you to swap out a rider(s) who gets caught in some first week nervousness with a 5 point penalty for each swap. Or make some go for broke/doomed to fail break-away swap on the second rest day for a 10 point penalty for each swap. That’s it. You make one swap or five on either rest day for the corresponding 5 or 10 point penalty per swap. Additionally, if one of your riders crashes out, DNF’s, or DNS’s, you may swap them out on a rest day with corresponding penalties if you haven’t already used up your one rest day swap. Tie Breaking In the event of a tie, the first reader to submit their predictions will be named the winner. Minor Stages We will be posting VSP’s for minor stages as well. Scoring is similar to one-day racing, except no bonus points are in play for getting the rider in the wrong placing.
Scoring (Minor Stage Races)
Readers who wish to enter shall enter their predictions for the top five placings on General Classification of each Minor Stage Race (less than three weeks) by the time the countdown clock goes to zero at midnight PDT on the day of the first stage or prologue. Regular Points Points will be scored in reverse order of finishing order: 10 points for first place, 8 for second, 7 for third, 5 for fourth, and 3 for fifth; plus two bonus points per rider in the top five regardless of the rider’s placing, but riders are not scored twice. Tie Breaking In the event of a tie, the first reader to submit their predictions will be named the winner.
Posting Badges
The following badges will be worn by current leaders of the competition and sub-competitions:
| Overall Super Prestige Leader: |  |
|
| Milano Sanremo: |  |
|
| VVomen’s Ronde van Vlaanderen: |  |
|
| Men’s Ronde van Vlaanderen: |  |
|
| Paris-Roubaix: |  |
|
| Leige-Bastogne-Liege: |  |
|
| Giro d’Italia Leader: |  |
|
| Giro Rosa Leader: |  |
|
| Tour de France Leader: |  |
|
| Vuelta a Espana Leader: |  |
|
| Giro di Lombardia: |  |
|
| Overal Super Prestige Lanterne Rouge: |  |
2016 Velominati Super Prestige Schedule
Les Hommes
Start |
End |
Event |
Race Website |
| 18.03.2017 | 18.03.2017 | Milano-Sanremo | www.milanosanremo.it |
| 26.03.2017 | 26.03.2017 | Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields | www.gent-wevelgem.be |
| 02.04.2017 | 02.04.2017 | Ronde van Vlaanderen – Tour des Flandres | www.flandersclassics.be |
| 09.04.2017 | 09.04.2017 | Paris-Roubaix | www.letour.fr |
| 16.04.2017 | 16.04.2017 | Amstel Gold Race | www.amstelgoldrace.nl |
| 19.04.2017 | 19.04.2017 | La Flèche Wallonne | www.letour.fr |
| 23.04.2017 | 23.04.2017 | Liège-Bastogne-Liège | www.letour.fr |
| 05.05.2017 | 28.05.2017 | Giro d’Italia | www.giroditalia.it |
| 04.06.2017 | 11.06.2017 | Critérium du Dauphiné | www.letour.fr |
| 10.06.2017 | 18.06.2017 | Tour de Suisse | www.tds.ch |
| 01.07.2017 | 23.07.2017 | Tour de France | www.letour.fr |
| 29.07.2017 | 29.07.2017 | Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian | www.klasikoa.net |
| 19.08.2017 | 10.09.2017 | La Vuelta ciclista a España | lavuelta.com |
| 08.09.2017 | 08.09.2017 | Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec | www.gpcqm.ca |
| 10.09.2017 | 10.09.2017 | Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal | www.gpcqm.ca |
| 20.09.2017 | 20.09.2017 | Mens World Championship Time Trial | |
| 24.09.2017 | 24.09.2017 | Mens World Championship Road Race | |
| 07.10.2017 | 07.10.2017 | Il Lombardia | www.illombardia.it |
La Femmes
Start |
End |
Event |
Race Website |
| 26.03.2017 | 26.03.2017 | Gent-Wevelgem In Flanders Fields | www.gent-wevelgem.be |
| 02.04.2017 | 02.04.2017 | Ronde van Vlaanderen / Tour des Flandres | www.flandersclassics.be |
| 16.04.2017 | 16.04.2017 | Amstel Gold Race | info@amstelgoldrace.nl |
| 19.04.2017 | 19.04.2017 | La Flèche Wallonne Féminine | www.letour.fr |
| 23.04.2017 | 23.04.2017 | Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes | www.letour.fr et www.pesantliege.be |
| 30.06.2017 | 09.07.2017 | Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile | |
| 20.07.2017 | 20.07.2017 | La Course by Le Tour de France | www.letour.fr |
| 29.07.2017 | 29.07.2017 | Prudential RideLondon Classique | www.ridelondon.co.uk/events/classique |
| 17.08.2017 | 20.08.2017 | Ladies Tour of Norway | www.ladiestour.no |
| 26.08.2017 | 26.08.2017 | GP de Plouay – Lorient Agglomération | www.grandprix-plouay.com |
| 29.08.2017 | 03.09.2017 | Boels Rental Ladies Tour | www.hollandladiestour.nl |
| 10.09.2017 | 10.09.2017 | Madrid Challenge by la Vuelta | lavuelta.com/Madridchallenge |
| 19.09.2017 | 19.09.2017 | Womens World Championship Time Trial | |
| 23.09.2017 | 23.09.2017 | Womens World Championship Road Race |
Standings
[vsp_gc year=”2017″/]
Past Results
[vsp_gc year=”2016″/]
[vsp_gc year=”2015″/]
[vsp_gc year=”2014″/]
[vsp_gc year=”2013″/]
[vsp_gc year=”2012″/]
[vsp_gc year=”2011″/]
2010 VSP G.C.
*The Changing of the Picks rules are designed to promote fair play and keep the competition fun and open throughout the three-week race. Abuse of these rules will be managed through the “Piti Principle”: if we we feel you are attempting to exploit loopholes or otherwise take advantage of the Changing of the Picks rules, we will penalize you by deducting points from your total score. Much like the UCI doping suspensions, the amount of points deducted will be based on how egregious the abuse was.
@chris
TdF Picks….
@Teocalli
Thanks, and thanks again for all of your hard work on the VSP!
@Teocalli
Thanks. Not that it helps. I think I’ve really fucked this one up. Not that I’ll be too upset if Thomas wins it.
@Rick
Yeah I saw that. Looked unnecessary for AG to use his head as the road was wide and there was lots of room. Gaviria just wanted to go through a non-existent gap.
Happy for Degenkolb. We have on of his Trek bikes on view at my work. Hopefully the monkey’s off his back now.
@wiscot
It looked to me as if Greipel was simply protecting his position. I don’t think he even hit the other rider with his head. That was essentially a make up call for correctly relegating Gaviria.
Hard not to be happy for Degenkolb after all he has been through. Chapeau!
@chris
I dunno – a whole bunch of us had Porte second, so you have not lost so much there.
good to see Degenkolb take the W today.
@Teocalli
True but I’ve also got Uran and haven’t got Thomas.
Porte out, starboard home
@KogaLover
Which of course is where Posh came from.
@Teocalli
Indeed! Do you know what tip stands for?
@KogaLover
Tip as in “to give”?
@Teocalli
Sadly untrue. Seems like it’s a backronym.
A popular folk etymology holds that the term is an acronym for “port out, starboard home”, describing the cooler, north-facing cabins taken by the most aristocratic or rich passengers travelling from Britain to India and back. However, there is no evidence for this claim. [citation]
On the subject of Porte crashing out, did anyone hear the Cycling Podcast interview(s) with Matt White of Mitchelton Scott? I’ve often liked his interviews in the past, but yikes was he being a right whiny sourpuss about the cobbles! “Cobbles belong in April” etc. etc.
My main issue is that he maintained this bullshit after the stage as well, as if all the GC contenders had crashed out and the entire race to come was just a farse. This despite Yates being absolutely fine. He seemed to miss the part where the only GC rider who quit was Porte (on asphalt, not pavé), and the only GC rider who came to any grief on the pavé was Froome, who got straight up again (Uran and Landa both crashed on asphalt AFAIK). Bardet had his punctures, obviously, but if he hadn’t, he could’ve gained time he was riding so well.
The way I interpret the concept of “General Classification” is that it is awarded to the strongest all-round rider. Moaning that the more climby riders will struggle on pavé is IMO equivalent to complaining that TT riders will struggle on mountain stages. It’s like, “yes… that’s why there’s a mountains classification.”
Anyway, it just really annoyed me. /rant
@mulebeatsdrums
A popular folk etymology holds that …….
Is good enough for me!
@mulebeatsdrums
They’ll be wanting to ban the TTT and ITT next.
@mulebeatsdrums
The “climbiest” rider of all the GC contenders seemed to do just fine on the pave, thank you very much.
@Rick
Dan Martin said he loved it!
@mulebeatsdrums
Anyone else see the rumour that some well placed and time motorbike assistance helped AG2R get Bardet back up to the GC group after his 4th puncture? It seems to me like he made up a LOT of time and there is absolutely no footage of the chase at all, which seems strange for the French favourite…
@RobSandy
Moscon was saying that he could not understand how some of the gaps were closed when Sky had split the peloton. Having said that one split I saw closed up did not have any cars in between and was closed on a road section. If I remember correctly that was by Movistar driving the group back from a fairly significant split.
Interesting ….. https://www.velonews.com/2018/07/tour-de-france/analysis-mathew-haymans-massive-watts-on-stage-9-cobbles_472415
Well, La Course is starting in literally minutes, so I’m guessing the VSP has Delgadoed. Getting my picks in under the wire, just in case:
@RobSandy
I did hear that, specifically from Matt White again, saying that “you can’t have the TV pictures taking priority over the bike race” (I don’t want to tell him that sport is in the entertainment industry, so you kinda do need the TV pictures…). But if it was the TV motos, then it seems odd that we didn’t see any footage. Je ne sais pas.
@Teocalli
I know Movistar did a strong pull to get Landa back on – and I think Bardet got onto that group, but there was still a decent (1:30 ish) gap which came down to 7 seconds within 20 kms or something.
Maybe they just worked hard but it seems a bit fishy.
@mulebeatsdrums
Ah balls. Sorry folks we’ll have to scratch this one.
@Teocalli
No worries mate. The “Official” VSP missed races in the past as well.
It’s a pity, because the way it’s looking at the moment, I think my top picks would’ve been rather good XD
@RobSandy
Toms Skujins isn’t happy with Landa and Bardet’s motorpacing antics
@chris
How strange the French tv cameras didn’t film that bit.
@RobSandy
You mean the French TV crews on motos piloted Frenchmen? Strikes me as somewhat incompetent, non?
@chris
Yeah, I think the Cycling Podcast said something about the “barraging” not happening properly. I think there was a conflict where the motos couldn’t move further up because there were team cars in the way, and removing the team cars would have impeded the riders, and if there had been a mechanical in the front group, the cars would be held up and the same GC riders complaining about Landa and Bardet drafting would complain about delays. I think that’s what was being said, anyway.
@chris
This made me laugh SO much.
@Teocalli
My “quote” button isn’t working, but regarding the Giro Rosa scoring, several of our competitors didn’t spell “Guarnier” correctly. I double checked all the scores and come up with the same results as your last update.
@MangoDave
Yeah I spotted everyone’s typos (I think) and then made a new one of my own on @Rick! Thanks for keeping a check.
Second ride with my son today. Too early for #33 but he remembered #37 and i helped him to understand #41. Progress!!!
@KogaLover
Well done! Regarding Rule #41, I know a lady who was riding in a pace line behind someone who was not Rule #41 compliant. She overlapped his rear wheel and the misplaced skewer lever sheered her spokes from her front wheel. She hit the deck very hard and wound up in traction. The heeling process was long and arduous as it involved pins to reset her shattered elbow.
These rules are not just for show, they are often safety issues. One of my pet peeves is the glasses inside the helmet straps crowd who laugh at those of us who insist on being Rule #37 compliant. Should I do a face-plant onto the tarmac, I want my glasses as far away from my eyes as possible. I wouldn’t want them held in place by my helmet straps.
@Rick
Our local group ride is pretty strict on Rule #41 compliance, particularly with rear QRs pointing backwards that could be opened up if someone rides into the back.
@chris
I always keep seeing this garbage bag stuck to Froome’s rear QR on the last day of the Tour on the Champs d’Elysees in 2015. http://www.velominati.com/2015/07/on-rule-41-garbage-collectors/
Balanced reporting from CN at last, they’re having a go at a a rider who isn’t part of Team Sky…
It should be interesting around the Sky dinner table tonight:
Chris Froome spoke briefly post stage. He confirmed that Thomas’ attack was not part of the pre-race plan.
“It’s an amazing position for us, I don’t think we quite expected that going into today’s stage. I think initially everybody thought Alpe d’Huez would be the more decisive and it very well still could be. It puts us in a fantastic position going into tomorrow’s stage,” Froome told Eurosport.
“I think it was a spur of the moment thing but it made sense, it was perfect. We didn’t even have to talk, it was the right thing for G to do and push on there. I let the wheel go because I knew it would put the onus on the rest of the guys to chase.”
Source: Cycling News
@Rick
Very true. Will Froome attack a teammate? Will GT have a “bad” day? Froome wants to join the “Famous 5” club but may have to shaft a teammate to get there. GT looked pretty aggressive with his victory salute today.
Tommy D looks like he’s here on business and I’d say Nibbles is looking very dangerous. He’s right up there and looks like he’s biding his time. Bardet has to go for it soon or he’ll be too far behind. Sad/bad day for Cav. Just didn’t have it this year. Merckx’s record is same for a long time to come I think.
They say bad things come in threes. Here’s three from the Tour: Degenkolb’s ‘tash, Alaphillipe’s ‘tash, and Thomas’s ‘tash. I say ‘tash because I don’t think they can truly be called mustaches because they are rather . . . weak.
For a true mustache-sporting stud, I’ll leave this here:
http://www.velominati.com/2013/02/guest-article-urs-freuler-the-ultimate-cyclo-tash/
If only they made Jawbreakers in yellow…
Uran pulls out.
@Teocalli
Looks like a few have picked him.
Before the Tour started I very nearly took Tom D out and put Yates in. Goes to show I occasionally make good decisions.
I’m liking Dumoulin more and more. He’s a hell of a gutsy racer. Chapeau to him for not letting Sky dictate his race and I’m glad he got something from his attack.
Kruijswijk / LottoNL Jumbo taking a leaf out of the Froome / Sky Giro book today? This could liven things up!
Sprinters getting thin on the ground with Gaviria, Groenewegen and Griepel out.
Massacre of sprinters, Sagan could win in Paris after all & some more stages too.
Bernal edging the GC group back on Kruijswijk. As usual Valverde makes little sense, goes with the breakaway and then can’t help Landa/Quintana when the GC leaders catch him. At some point the GC group are going to have to for it.\
Dan Martin being dropped.
Landa stepping up to be Movistar leader as Quintana gets dropped?
Did that chap take a swing at Froome’s head? Looked a bit odd but might just have been camera angle and foreshortening.
Pretty much down to GC mano a mano as Bernal peals off…….can Kruijswijk hang on……..Froome attacks and do we have a moto incident taking out Nibili…….
Dumoulin………?!
G!!! Some ride from Dumoulin.