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: |  |
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| Milano Sanremo: |  |
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| VVomen’s Ronde van Vlaanderen: |  |
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| Men’s Ronde van Vlaanderen: |  |
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| Paris-Roubaix: |  |
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| Leige-Bastogne-Liege: |  |
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| Giro d’Italia Leader: |  |
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| Giro Rosa Leader: |  |
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| Tour de France Leader: |  |
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| Vuelta a Espana Leader: |  |
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| Giro di Lombardia: |  |
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| 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.
@wiscot
Holy smokes, this Urs Freuler dude has a bike shop along one of my regular rides and I never stepped into his shop; too busy to crush the gundecks. Should stop some time and check his ‘tash.
Did not see the footage yet, but read that Dylan Groenewegen, Gaviria and Greipel abandoned the TdF today. Chazbot.
@KogaLover
Damn! Get in there. Last pix I saw he still has the crumb catcher. I/we expect a full report on the shop and the goodies contained therein.
Ok. It’s time for Geraint Thomas to grow a pair. He’s obviously in killer form and says “I’m still riding for Froomey.” So what, is he going to have a “bad day” and let Froome shiggle his way up the road?
He needs to ask himself “what would Hinault do?” And we all know the answer – if Froome wants #5 he’s going have to shaft/help (take your pick) his teammate.
Gutted for Nibali. Mind you, Bardet and Tommy D look like they’re not going to let Sky walk away with this.
@wiscot
He is saying what he has to say. He is a rider who is looking for a contract and he has to play the loyal lieutenant. Another team is less likely to take on a rider who has a history of riding for himself and not the team. My impression is that he is saying all the right things but he does not believe any of it himself. I certainly don’t believe him for a second!
Bit of a worry for Nibali suspected cracked vertebrae. Hope it turns out to be precautionary. Sounds like some iffy barrier setting if the motor had nowhere to go at the pinch point.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/vincenzo-nibali-transported-to-hospital-after-crash-on-alpe-dhuez/
I wonder what Dumoulin’s weight is compared to last year. I presume he must have shed a bunch to be going so well in the mountains.
@Rick
Agreed. I hope he is just toeing the party line. I’m just hoping that Froome isn’t on top form and letting the loyal GT a couple of stage wins as consolation for his (Froome’s) eventual win.
As for contracts, That’s totally what I read into GvA’s ride on Tuesday. Everyone expected him to lose the jersey but he thought “f*ck it, I’ll have one more day and get myself on TV a bit more. Can’t hurt the contract talks.”
I hope Nibali is ok. I said this years ago that some spectator dickwad was going to cause a crash that would affect the GC. I’m hoping against hope that is not the case here.
@wiscot
Apparently Nibali got caught between a police moto that had to slow and a spectator.
I was also right earlier, some twat tried to push Froome off. Fortunately he only made a glancing contact. Given the size of said twat I’d hesitate to call him a cycling fan.
Nibali out.
To many motos, idiotic fans. Ruining what was a brilliant stage.
i was very surprised to read that Gaviria didn’t make the cut. after last year’s Giro, i had him pegged for a real challenger for the green jersey.
@Cary
I thought he could climb ok.
So Colbrelli, Kristoff and Degenkolb are still in? Just wondering who is likely to challenge Sagan today.
Sags must be thinking he could win a hatful of stages from this point.
@Cary
He pulled out fairly early in the stage.
@wiscot
@Rick
To be fair, GT has ridden for the team more than himself for the last 8 years.
At the TdF today: this cannot be unseen. And it’s not that the chain is not in the big ring…
@Rhodri
I agree 100%. I did not mean to be negative toward him at all. I simply think he is riding for himself in order to get a new contract either with Sky or elsewhere. He is saying all the right things even though I don’t think he believes them himself. Can anyone blame him for wanting to win Le Tour? Anyone who has ever seriously ridden a road bike has dreamed of topping the podium in Paris.
No one can question his efforts to date nor his statements to the press. If push comes to shove, I believe Sky would rather Froome win this Tour but I don’t think they would complain if Thomas rode to Paris in Yellow.
The one statement that I thought was telling was not scripted and made in the afterglow of victory on L’ Alpe: “Can we just go to Paris now?” That was the one statement that I believe was honest and not scripted by the Sky PR machine. Remember last year when Sky went out of their way to post pics of Landa and the Director making nice while Landa was in full on mutiny?
@Rick
I’m thinking the same thing. He’s in a commanding position and has looked the strongest in the race. He’s not going to just sit up and let Froome overtake him.
They may be assuming he’ll have a bad day or have a similar ride to Yates in the Giro and fall to pieces at some point.
But what if he doesn’t? What if he can hold this form to Paris? None of the rival’s teams look strong enough to put Sky under real pressure. When will Froome take that time back from him?
It’s absolutely fascinating and I can’t wait to see how it pans out.
@RobSandy
As I look at the remaining stages, I find it difficult to see how Froome takes back 1:40 unless Thomas completely blows in the Pyrenees. Froome may take a bit of time in the final ITT but Thomas has become a very good TT rider himself.
We have been blessed so far with some great performances in nice kit.
@RobSandy
I’ve heard an interview on Slovak yesterday, they asked who is his main opponent now. Sagan said without hesitation: “Limits on mountain stages.”
Tightly packed bunch on the second rest day with @mulebeatsdrums trying to break away……
@Teocalli
If I could keep or extend that gap over Rick, that’d be nice…
@RobSandy
I have given you every chance to do so considering my picks! I should have known that Porte would crash out but Nibali’s withdrawal has really hurt me.
I’m not one for conspiracy theories, but if Sky want to improve their public image (if that’s possible), I’d suggest they give GT free rein in the last week. I know Froome is close to joining the Famous 5 club, but if GT is seen to defer to Froome when he is obviously going very well, will not look good. Either way, Sky stand a good chance of winning. GT has been a loyal soldier and would be (at this point at least) a deserving winner.
And who’s to say if Dumoulin and Bardet don’t have something left. It’s a real shame that Nibali is out as the last week is often his strongest. The problem is for the non-Sky riders is that GT and Froome can take turns attacking and that puts the rest in an awkward spot.
Should be an interesting last week!
The Times reported it was a spectators camera strap that caught Nibali’s bike.
Words fail me.
@Teocalli
Seeing as Nibali, Porte, and Uran were three of my picks, I’ll be happy if I can keep my current standing.
If Sky has to win this TdF, I want it to be G. He deserves to win (at least they way he’s riding right now) and I’ve always liked him. Yeah, would’ve been nice to see Nibs (my pick to win) in the mix during the last week of racing to see if he could shake things up. But you can only race against who’s in the race (as when Nibs won in 2014 and both Bertie and Froomie crashed out).
Well, well, well, seems like Moscon is a bit of a ned: http://www.steephill.tv/players/720/twitter/?title=Gianni+Moscon+expelled+after+modest+Stage+15+incident&dashboard=tour-de-france&id=toutlesport/status/1021097869292470272&yr=2018
Good riddance!
This seems as good a place as any for you to appreciate my Johnny Hoogerland homage.
Club run on Saturday, going down a short sharp hill I’ve done a hundred times. There’s often gravel at the bottom on a corner and the it’s a narrow lane so I’m always looking out for it. I cleared the gravel and kept decent speed for the other side…
What I hadn’t seen because of the summer hedgerows was the van coming down and taking up the whole lane. I tried to make it between the van and the side but on the curve there was no chance of holding the line and it was a choice between hitting the van at 60km/h or going off into the barbed wire.
I even took out a fence post on the way through – hit it with my shoulder.
Incredibly not only was the bike OK but I didn’t rip my club kit and the only limb which escaped unscathed was the one with my big tattoo.
I did get a bit worried when I’d sat up and did a quick check to see if I was alive and one of the guys I was with started saying No No Don’t Move, Don’t Move. I started thinking “Can he see something horrible sticking out (or through) that I can’t feel?”
Anyway, lots of blood, a bit of stinging in the shower but otherwise OK. Lucky I had my cycling cap on !
@ChrisO
Cripes. Isn’t that 2 of those on 2 years? Good to see you are OK. (Was the previous one the same hill?).
@ChrisO
Whoa! Glad you’re ok. That’ll leave some scarring. Glad the kit is ok too!
@ChrisO
I wouldn’t like to think about what might have happened if you hadn’t!
@ChrisO
Holy shit, Batman! Glad you are OK.
@chuckp
I’m in the same situation, I just have Roglic and Bardet remaining.
@freddy Nice pics. The smoke bombs need to stop, though. No place in the race for them, it makes me want to punch the fans that do that.
@ChrisO That looks like a mess, glad you’re mostly ok. Recover swiftly.
@MangoDave
I’m hoping this Tour spectator madness is a passing fad. Paris-Roubaix a few years ago looked like it was getting out of hand with spectators being a menace to the very event they had turned out to see. Hopefully the morons with the flares will soon move on to something else. I’m also hoping the real fans will take it upon themselves to police errant behavior; the gendarmes can’t be everywhere.
Frankly, I’m tired of Didi the German devil and his antics. It’s passe now and all his does is encourage other twats to dress up in silly costumes to get their millisecond of fame on TV.
Sounds like Greipel and Lotto haven’t/won’t part on good terms given their rather terse PR yesterday. Bummer. I’ve always liked the rider and the team.
So Froome says he’s happy as long as a Sky rider wins. Is this a subtle hint that the team will help GT, or just words to mask his true intention which is “so long as it’s me”?
@RobSandy saw the piece on GT from Maindy Stadium on the news – perchance that was not you in the background in Ajax kit was it?
@RobSandy
I was thinking about this on the way home last night – I accidentally left my helmet in the office and only noticed when I’d locked up and set the alarm, and was down with my bike. So I rode home without one for the first time in years and years.
It was lovely!
@Teocalli
I didn’t see that! Was there a race on in the background? If not it wouldn’t have been me.
@RobSandy
No they had a bunch of the Maindy Flyer kids rolling round while they interviewed the lady who was running the club when GT started. There was a chap in what appeared to be Ajax kit doing circuits in the background too.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/intrigue-aplenty-as-tour-de-france-reaches-final-act-in-the-pyrenees-preview/
Innuendo, innuendo, innuendo…
I keep reading CN just to see how much innuendo and Sky-hate they can fit into each article on the Tour (Spoiler alert – a lot!) but what I’ve been finding interesting is the comments section on each article where most posters are pointing out the anti-Sky bias and skewed reporting.
Who are CN writing for if it isn’t their readership?
@Teocalli
Debbie Wharton? I think that’s her.
Some of the Ajaxers help out with the coaching at Flyers. Wasn’t me!
French Farmers now! Shades of Sunday in Hell with the printers. All stopped and riders washing out eyes as it seems the Gendarmes used pepper spray! Utter stupidity.
@Teocalli
Putting G in my top 5 was a stroke of genius, eh? It definitely wasn’t a vote from my heart that I’ve made at least 5 times previously…
I would sacrifice all my VSP points for G to win this thing; he has been my favourite rider since I first came to the sport in the 2013 Tour and he broke his hip on stage 1. He also appeared on a yoghurt pot around the same time, which was endlessly entertaining to my VMH and me.
@Teocalli
To my eyes, it seems the gendarmerie have caused both major non-racing incidents so far: Nibs’ crash was caused by his being pushed to the side by a police moto and his bars getting caught on a camera strap – perhaps a little negligent on the part of the photographer (press or spectator), but why the fuck was the police rider pushing Nibs off the racing line‽ When they said they were putting more police on the stage, I assumed they’d be on foot, not on motos, especially after the spate of rider-on-moto crashes in the last few years.
If memory serves, there have always been protests at the Tour (and other French races); why have they now decided to take it upon themselves to pepper-spray protestors‽ Ludicrous.
Not excusing the pricks with flares, obviously, they’re fucking idiotic.
In lighter commentary, my VMH last night had her hand on my leg and said, “you’re gonna have to do something about that!” I looked at her quizzically. She continues, “you can’t go out on your bike with all that fuzz on your legs!”
Fucking love that woman.
@mulebeatsdrums
Oh, she’s a keeper that one! But here’s the question: could you do the same to her and say “Oh, you can’t wear a skirt tomorrow with all that fuzz on your legs.” A smart man would take the compliment then keep quiet!
Holy smokes! That was one crazy stage today! I hope Gilbert is ok and I feel sorry for Yates. As for the farmers, I can’t imagine Hinault’s reaction to getting pepper spray in his eyes!
@wiscot
and tomorrow looks like it will be mental. Le Crunch du Tour.
I hope those farmers are not on the London Paris route that I’ll be on Thurs/Fri/Sat. Should be in Paris for the finish on Sunday.
@wiscot
….and tomorrow should be mental. Le Crunch du Tour.
Hope those farmers are not on the London Paris route I’ll be riding Thurs/Fri/Sat. Should be in Paris for the finish on Sunday.
@wiscot
Seems Gilbert has a fractured kneecap, despite finishing the stage. Can start to understand how he could ride on with that.