A clatter of the metal grate rolling up signals another opening of the Velominati Bookmaker’s Office. The gaggle of skinny (and not so skinny, you know who you are) jabbering cycling addicts rush the door, each with their dream of a bumper sticker dancing in their heads. Before the office opened the bookies have consulted the oracle; a garbled audio of Sean Kelly’s predictions where he maybe tipped the little known Gullaume Van Keirsbulck, or did he say Phillip Gilbert. Bettini likes Cavendish’s chances while Cavendish likes Thor’s chances and Thor likes Keirsbulck’s chances or did he say Roelandts?
Since Geelong everyone has been saying this was a sprinters course, so a sprinter won’t win. It is only 266km with no serious grades and a total of 1785m of climbing. I could finish this course, if I could ride 266km and there was no time cut. For the professional road championship it does not sound long or grueling enough but the weather could be cold, windy and wet, if so the Spanish will suffer and the Italians will have to race with neck gaiters.
Looking back this year Cancellara should have won the 2010 world title so his less-than-spectacular season could be blamed on the curse of the rainbow jersey. Gilbert cannot have another season as good as this one so he better not win on Sunday or the jersey will be blamed in 2012. I started to feel bad for Thor when the yellow jersey came off his back and went to Voeckler during the Tour de France until I remembered he had the rainbow jersey underneath it! Who needs that trashy yellow one when you are already have the rainbow? I stopped feeling bad for Thor.
It’s late in the season, many have packed it in for the year, others have ridden the Vuelta to gain form. Are they good or cooked? Will the British team work together to bring Cav to the line or go down in flames like the Italians used to? The thought of Cavendish wearing the rainbow hoops for the next year has caused some anxiety in the office. His propensity for white tube socks with black shoes would diminish the aura the rainbow jersey brings to any worthy rider. The Aussi team looks unbeatable and yet…The bottom line on bookmaking is this will be another impossible race to pick the winner, unless you choose Gilbert.
Here is a link to the start list. As always, if you are inclined to enter, simply post your predictions for the top five placings in the form below. Make your picks by 5am Pacific Sunday morning, regular VSP Rules apply.
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Anyone notice no radios? Millar acted like a true Captain of the Route all day. Just like the good old days, a tactical masterclass from the riders and their Captain.
Legend
Chaps from the Land of Oz - you take sour grapes to a whole new level.....
I'll happily admit to being more British than Irish (born in Kent and British Passport), but not English - I was jumping off my seat watching some guys who live near my house, wearing green shirts, steamrolling the Aussies of the pitch last weekend - I felt so proud of them
Millar never rode for Hong Kong, Wiggo never rode for Belgium - you are a National of wherever you declare your allegiance (unlike so many footballers) - GBR is England, Wales, Scotland, Northen Ireland and the Isles of Man and Wight
That said, the joy of sport is watching people perform out of their skin, making us tingle with appreciation of something we can barely believe is possible - the gymnasts, the pole vaulters, the downhill skiers, the swimmers, Dan Carter's flip pass, whoever - surely as cyclists you will have felt something special happened in Denmark yesterday, and yes, your guys didn't win, but is it not best to keep those thoughts under wraps, and be gracious in defeat
I think we all very a rush of excitement as Gossy won the MSR - no GBR folk dissing that one
But why was Renshaw not there? - best leadout man in the World (Rabobank vs Green Edge hissy fit?) - then we might have had Gossy in the bands next year.....
I sailed with Nathan Outteridge in Melbourne and Torbay this year - there is a guy you Aussies should be proud of - humble, polite, pragmatic and loves anyone doing well at any sport - and a lethal finisher - but we all rave about him over here too, even though he beats the British teams at every event - that said, most of the other Aussies I met were pretty full of disdain for other non-Aussie sportsman
Anyway, yesterday was a masterpiece of team planning, and Cav paid credit to them all - this was 4 years in planning, ever since the parcours was announced and GB thought they had a chance (think of the pressure on Cavendish to nail that one!) - afterwards he talked little about himself, but mostly of the rest of the team (as few others do) - of the GB guys winning as many points as possible to maximise team strength, to Stannard and G for helping create a space for him - but Wiggins performance aside, this was a masterful piece of individual brilliance - he was rarely out of the front 20 for 266km, and was badly boxed in with 100m to go, yet still pounced - I really thought he had blown it - again, I was jumping up and down like an idiot on my sofa - anyone who does that to me gets my support!
Hear hear Oli... I've never understood the disrespect that people have for Cavendish.
The guy is already an all-time great - he's got more Tour stages than any sprinter in the last 50 years. Maertens, Zabel, Cipo, McEwen, Petacchi, Freire, Boonen, Hushovd are not even close.
He shoots his mouth off - hardly an abnormality for sprinters and not something that seems to be held against others. At least Cavendish backs it up, unlike Greipel, Feilleu and other moaning also-rans.
And yesterday the team rode a brilliant race to keep him in it, something Cavendish never fails to acknowledge whether it's with HTC or GB.
I was out riding on Friday and somebody asked who I would be supporting - GB or Australia. I always support the Aussies when they are head-to-head but I said I wouldn't be unhappy if Cavendish won because he's a great rider, same if Gilbert or Hushovd won. (And maybe Goss would have won if they'd bloody well picked Renshaw).
None of that may convince people to like him but the implication that he's not a worthy or suitable world champion is just, well, a bit mean.
@Dr C
@ChrisO
Well said both of you. Whoever won, I'd have been happy as it was a great race, plenty of V being laid down. When Tommy V went for it I texted my riding partner that'd I'd settle for him winning. When Hoogerland went for it, I thought it couldn't get any better. When Cav looked like he was boxed in and Geraint was looking round for him I thought it was all over, but Cav doesn't just have the power, he knew where to get himself, he knew when to take his chance and he made it by less than a wheel.
It may be true that the course suited him better than previous years and possible he'll never have the chance to win the rainbow jersey again, so I say well done to him for taking his chance.
Also, I do agree that sometimes he seems like a douchenozle, but sometimes he seems like a thoroughly nice chap.
Who cares if he sometimes comes off like a douchenozzle? What has that got to do with how he races a bike?
All we know of the riders is what we're fed, it's not like we actually know any of them. I've read many equally bad comments attributed to different riders at all levels of the sport at various times, but I respect speaking honestly even if sometimes it is poorly judged. Better that than the sort of sanitised cliché that would be the alternative.
If you like bike racing, then it's the racing that riders should be judged by, not the claptrap soap opera cult of personality bullshit that surrounds it.
Sorry for ranting, but this is a build up of frustration at reading way too much ignorant bias masquerading as insightful analysis...
@Oli
Yep it's the bike riding that counts.
I did say "seems" and on the BBC website David Millar said he's a great guy, not only that, many riders as they passed him at the end looked genuinely happy for his victory. Mostly when he has seemed a bit off, he's just finished a long day with maximum effort at the end - in that situation - most people don't have full control of their tongue!
Gah, better go and get some work done.
@Oli
@Zoncolan
@Dr C
@ChrisO
@snoov
@Gentlemen all
I seem to have stepped in something here...
Permit me to explain. I admit that I felt a bit disappointed that Cav won last night, and also admit that it's not fair and reasonable.
Great Britain rode an exemplary race. To put that sort of effort in over that distance to keep the speed up so high that NO ONE was able to make anything stick was nothing short of extraordinary.
The fact that Cav was able to hang in that long and finish it off in the way that he did, in spite of being boxed in was also extraordinary. There is no doubt that he is the fastest man, and a desrving champion on that parcours.
And that, for me, is the rub.
I understand that road cycling requires an extremely varied skill set. DIt also requires tactical nous.
@Marcus
Being a Manxman I have some insight here. The Isle of Man is not part of the United Kingdom as you rightly say. However, it is part of Great Britain and it was the Great Britain cycling team. If Wonkipedia says otherwise, it's wrong, like it is with so many other things.
... and how do you produce bold lettering in a post? I feel like shouting too sometimes.
@mouse
Good man, and well said!
Can I just add one more thing here - if somehow Goss had won, would he have been a worthy world champion. Or anyone in that Aussie team (apart from O'Grady, and that wasn't going to happen was it).
Nice guy and not a bad rider, but world champion... come on. Another Alessandro Ballan. Heinrich Haussler, Simon Gerrans, Baden Cooke - uh, no.
There was a handful of people who deserved to win that race this year (taking into account the course, which means excluding Evans, Schlecks, Contador, Nibali etc).
Cavendish, Hushovd, Gilbert and Voeckler and maybe you wouldn't begrudge it to Sagan or Cancellara. Pretty sure that's it.
Yes, Goss, van Summeren, EBH, Froome and a few others have had some good moments and lit up some races. I take nothing away from them as bike riders. But if they or Greipel or Farrar or Rojas had managed to snatch a fluky sprint or breakaway, would that have been an adornment or a travesty ?
I'm just pleased one of the right people won.