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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@Jeff in PetroMetro
Yes, Rudy Projects. I still have a pair somewhere that I bought, and raced with, in 1989. I was SOOOO proud of those sunglasses!
I'd like Fabooo to win but I think he is off his feed this year. I've bet against Gilbert all year, saying he couldn't keep going this well and I want to say it now but no. I will nay say it. Sagan could well win this whole thing, or a lone Moroccan soloing to victory. Or not.
Or it all comes down to a classic field sprint and Cav crushes all.
VSP PICKS:
1. Gilbert
2. Boss Hog
3. Sagan
4. Cancellara
5. Visconti, why not?
Dutch boss isnt there so switched him for Blitzkrieg Jr aka marcel kittel.Blitzkrieg sr being Monkey Greipel. Le jeune étalon is Tony Gallopin, he always seems to hang out in the top 5-10 in bunch sprint even with the top of the cream. Slovakian karate kid is the damm annoying 21 year old Peter Sagan ( annoying cause i am 20 year old and had the dream of being a world champion at 12 but a little anemia made me steer from that dream and just started back being on a road bike this year).
VSP PICKS:
1. L'ours des ardennes
2. Boss Hogg
3. Slovakian karate kid
4. Blitzkrieg jr
5. Le jeune étalon
VSP PICKS:
1. Cav
2. Gil
3. Far
4. Hog
5. GoT
@Jeff in PetroMetro
Word. And the Schlecks. And my lingering hope that any of the three are clean. I'm suddenly finding myself hopeful that Voigt retires.
@Ron
Raddest Rudy Proj's ever. Not Oakley, as has been stated before, and definitely an evolution of the Factory Pilot revolution. I don't believe they were plays on the Blades, as they came out at the same time or even before the blades, but they were the shit either way. Chuck Flop made them his bisznitch.
Here he's rockin 'em along with Luis Herrera in '87, I believe. I don't *think* blades came out until '88. I'm pretty sure Razor Blades were introduced in '89, though, so they had to be released in '87 or '88.
@frank OH CRAP! Can I get in on the kitte order?!?!
Hahaha....just kidding. No change.
So, I have a few issues. I don't want to see Cav in the bands. He's taken a huge step this year in humility and becoming a dude I can like, but I think he needs another season to develop the right bouquet, you don't want to bottle him in the rainbow jersey too early, it'll spoil him for sure.
I'm not a vinter, so I may have gotten that wrong, but you get my drift. Also, I can't stand the idea of a guy like Freire Jaques riding another season in that fucking thing. The fact that he's had as many rainbow bands as he has is a testament to why the race should be held in August and not during fucking Oktoberfest. If for no other reason than that all the Germans are hammered.
I say it's time to give the bands to an underdog, to a guy whose career it will transform for the better. A guy like Matty Goss, who's knocked on the door with some killer wins but doesn't have the confidence to swing it around the way he should, or a guy like Sagan who you know is going to beat it all down eventually. Or test positive. Or both.
I don't know if it'll finish in a bunch sprint, but I'm guessing that the week of racing has shown the teams one thing: if you don't make the race hard enough, it will end in a bunch gallop. And if it ends in one of those with Cav in the bunch, we all know who will win. I also don't think Gilbert will want to chance a sprint, so he's going early, and likely to take a group with 'im. He's also peaked for about 6 months which is aobut 22 months longer than is customary, so I'm figuring he's going to have to miss one sooner or later.
This week, especially the women's race, has shown that every team but Great Britain should be trying to make this race as hard as they can, whether they've got sprinters or not, because almost every sprinter is a better climber than Cav and a worse sprinter than he is.
I'm going with the following fucking hail Merckx. And I love it. Fuck the favorites. Vive le Surprises!!
VSP PICKS:
1. Goss
2. Haussler
3. Sagan
4. Faboo
5. Gibert
VSP PICKS:
1. Peter Sagan
2. Philippe Gilbert
3. Thor Hushovd
4. Marcel Kittel
5. Thomas Voeckler
VSP PICKS:
1. Cavendish
2. Thor
3. EBH
4. Gilbert
5. Wiggins