Racing

Velominati Super Prestige: Le Tour de France Stage 19

Photo: John Pierce/Photosport International

After such an epic and, frankly, shocking (as in stunning, stupendifying and surprising) stage to the Galibier last night, it’s going to take more than a few hours to recover and get back on track for tonight’s VSP stage to the mythical L’Alpe d’Huez.

I think the semantics of Stage 18 have been covered brilliantly by the Community here, and there’s nothing left for me to say about it except, wow.

So without further ado, and with the maximum time for you to get your tips in, we present the VSP for Stage 19, the Queen of the climbs, L’Alpe d’Huez. Sit back and enjoy the spectacle, because if you though that was good, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!

You know the drill. Good luck!

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262 Replies to “Velominati Super Prestige: Le Tour de France Stage 19”

  1. I really hate that I have to go into work an hour early. this sucker is what 100 km?

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Frank
    2. Basso
    3. Cunego
    4. Contador
    5. Andy

  3. Today setup Papa Schleck perfectly for tomorrow. All he had to do was sit on a wheel and then questionably jump Cuddles at the finish line. Contador will spring back, just like in Paris-Nice 2009. Cuddles and Bass Ho are going steady. Little Schleck is missing a bit from the gas tank. Sadly, Tommy V exorcised the demons living in his legs today, and thus has no more black magic for tomorrow. Sorry Tommy, I’ll be sad to see you go.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Papa Schleck
    2. Contador
    3. Cuddles
    4. Bass Ho
    5. Little Schleck

  4. After today anyone can win.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Matt Damon
    2. Alec Baldwin
    3. Cavendish
    4. Farrar
    5. Hinault

  5. VSP PICKS:

    1. frank schleck
    2. andy schleck
    3. evans
    4. contador
    5. basso

  7. Can’t believe they have to go over the Galibier again!!!

    Fränk will go with a brutal kick but the Count will pace Cuddles up l’Alpe so that he can make sure one of them can do it for Sassi.

    Tommy V will finally crack so his faithful lieutenant will be allowed to give it a belt to try & steal the white jersey, while Andy will still have enough in his legs to get up there near the leaders

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Nearly Namesake Fränk
    2. Count Basso
    3. Cuddles
    4. Rollin Dirty
    5. Schlecklette

  9. VSP PICKS:

    1. Frère grimpeur ainé
    2. Good cuddles
    3. Count Von Basso
    4. Frère grimpeur cadet
    5. Le petit prince italien

  10. Au contraire to the popular theory that today was Andy’s and tomorrow will be Frank’s, I like to think the brothers will try to get Andy as far out in front as possible going into the ITT. I think Voeckler can beat Andy in the ITT. I really hope he stays as close as possible to Andy tomorrow so he has a fighting chance to take the Maillot Jaune all the way to Paris.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Evans
    2. Andy
    3. Frank
    4. Contador
    5. Basso

  12. Man… another VSP. Are we doing one for Saturday too???? :) The main guys let a break take the glory, but only one man escapes from the break, Hoogerland making his last stab for glory in the tour this year. :) The rest of the action is behind him.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Hoogerland
    2. Grimpelder
    3. Grimplette
    4. Cuddles
    5. Basso

  13. No idea after last night’s bombshell. All I’m hoping is that Voeckler has nothing left in his handbag of courage – I’m sick of seeing those Europcar wheelsuckers shirk the workload when the road tilts up.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Frank
    2. Cunego
    3. Sanchez
    4. Basso
    5. Cuddles

  17. Read ’em and weep. No explanation, other than TV explodes, PR is released, and I have no idea what I am talking about.

    Also, France needs a win!

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Pierre motherfuckin’ Rolland
    2. Taaramae
    3. Slammin’ Sammy Sanchez
    4. Franky Schleck
    5. Cadel

  18. VSP PICKS:

    1. F Schleck
    2. Contador
    3. Evans
    4. Sanchez
    5. A Schleck

  19. (I know he didn’t swivel last night but its such a good one)

    Andy will ride like a lion again tonight and then crack like a Luxemburg Turd in the TT. Cadel will stick to him like shit to a blanket. Sanchez will come good after mainlining the meatworks. Basso will realise he’s wasted his whole season. Big Swivel will get his come uppance for jumping Cadel on the line last night.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Little Swivel
    2. Bum Chin
    3. Dirty Sanchez
    4. Count Basso
    5. Big Swivel

  20. As Rod Stewart sang “tonight’s the night” and I suspect Frandy may be humming right this minute to themselves!

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Frau Schleck
    2. Turn up the Bass…o
    3. Trojan Cadelephant
    4. Asleck
    5. T Wheel Sucker V

  21. @Velo Kitty, “angry stomach”! I love that. Someone compared Andy’s baring of teeth yesterday to ‘kitten fangs”. I guess he showed the lion fangs today!

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Frank
    2. Andy
    3. Cadel
    4. Tommy Danielson
    5. Christian VanDeVelde

  22. @harminator
    “Basso will realise he’s wasted his whole season”

    So true!

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Pierre motherfuckin' Rolland
    2. Taaramae
    3. Slammin' Sammy Sanchez
    4. Franky Schleck
    5. Cadel

  23. This is a soooper short stage, so those roleurs that are left will be banging the pace to place their wispy climbers in the best spot heading into the uphills. Bottom line: if Andy decides to go again, I just can’t see anyone else hanging with him. He put 4 minutes into the peloton in the space of a few miles today, albeit on the penultimate climb, and if not for Cadel’s hardman grinta, it would’ve probably stayed that way. But Basso got to sit in nice and comfy today too… I’m predicting an Iberian-free top 5, but who the hell knows what Samberto has up their sleeves…

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Grimplette
    2. Basso
    3. Grimpelder
    4. Cadel
    5. Danielson

  25. Frank takes the stage, Cuddles hangs tough, Basso, Cunego and Tommy D sit in.

    Andy loses time but takes yellow by less than a minute, and Cadel TT’s his way to the top step on Saturday.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Frank
    2. Cadel
    3. Basso
    4. Cunego
    5. Tommy D

  26. WTF do I know? I’m just making this shit up…
    Cuddles rolls the school yard bully who kicked him in the nuts after carrying his lunch money up the hill.
    Smyd will pace the Count up, then promptly blow 5k from the summit.
    Cunego will turn himself inside out and Angry Stomach is a bit fatigued.
    Rollin will bring Voeckler to the threshold of greatness, but he will ultimately blow the same time as Smyd.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Cuddles
    2. F Schleck
    3. Basso
    4. Cunego
    5. A Schleck

  29. Who is ditching work tomorrow? Just finished watching today’s racing. Fucking awesome. It was agonizing seeing Andy & Cadel grind out those last K’s, after having followed the ticker live. I knew what happened, but it went so slowly, due to that damn gradient.

    Is Der Kaiser riding the original logo tape? Now Fizik and Ritchey have similar stuff, eh?

    I can’t decide if I want to ski or cycle at some of these places.

    As for tomorrow…woah boy.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. F. Schleck

  30. Dang ‘enter’ key! Pardon my thrice-postings.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. F. Schleck
    2. C. Evans
    3. A. Schleck
    4. P. Rolland
    5. A. Contador

  31. Gesink finally makes good and breaks free with ten Dam and they take the mountain back for the Dutch. Hoogerland makes it a perfect three on Dutch Mountain before the big guns roll in. The GC neutralizes itself and Evans leads the boys home. Voekler finally cracks and the Grimplette takes Yellow.

    BOOM SHAKA LAKA.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Badass ten Damn!
    2. Gesink
    3. Hoogerland
    4. Evans
    5. Schleck

  35. I’m still backing Cadelephant all the way. I don’t think there will be major gaps up this climb. Voeckler may well hold on to yellow for the time trial.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Cadelephant
    2. Grimpeur the elder
    3. Basso
    4. Grimplette
    5. Voeckler

  39. TV is beginning to believe. Good Cuddles lays it on the line. And the others are: Just. Bad. Asses.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. GoodCuddles
    2. TommyV
    3. Ten Dam
    4. Hoogerland
    5. Roy

  40. (Un)educated guesses… still catching up from being out of town last week!

    VSP PICKS:

    1. F. Schleck
    2. A. Shcleck
    3. Cadel
    4. Hoogerland
    5. Basso

  43. Evans is the strongest rider in the race. The short stage turns Alpe d’Huez into his favorite type of climb. He takes back a little time tonight then kills them in the TT.

    Last night Voeckler did worse than Stand on Molly (Cadel’s dog). Cadel now angry and will cut Tommy’s head off.

    Australia rejoices. The rest of you go fornicate yourselves.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. cuddles
    2. f schleck
    3. a schleck
    4. basso
    5. contador

  44. Who the hell knows, hard race and chase yesterday. Maybe a grimpeur will push on as leaders go back to looking over their shoulders again

    VSP PICKS:

    1. van de fart
    2. ten dam you
    3. frank senior
    4. cuddles
    5. count basso

  45. BigSwiv is gonna torment BumChin on Alpe d’Huez in the hope that his team mate can fly free to a stage win and Tour win. But I don’t think history will repeat. WeeSwiv left too much of himself lying on Galibier (and Izoard). All three of them will come in together behind Basso Profundo, who will finally stick his nose into the front long enough to shell Prolland in the final kilometre. And Bumchin will go on to smoke the TT and win the YJ. Bertie and Sammy are cooked like well done steaks, and TV has ridden so far out of his skin already he’s gonna have to slow down to stop himself disappearing completely. Though, frankly, this Tour is so absorbing I don’t really care if none of this happens.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Basso Profundo
    2. Prolland
    3. Big Swivel
    4. Bumchin
    5. L’il Swivel

  46. What a beautiful race yesterday, hope today will be the same!

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Evans
    2. A. Schleck
    3. F. Schleck
    4. Basso
    5. Cunego

  47. Well, after my failed prediction that Andy wasn’t going to do anything but look backwards yesterday, I’m faced with a dilemma. Pick him and curse him, or not pick him and see him ride away to take another minute out of everyone else?

    I don’t buy the idea that Cuddles is somehow fresher. He was doing all the work up the Galibier, and I wonder whether he left it on the road.

    Tommy Voeckler’s cooked though, alas. Chapeau that man!

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Schleck le Vieux
    2. Andy
    3. Cuddles
    4. Basso
    5. Contador

  48. VSP PICKS:

    1. Frank Schleck
    2. Johnny Hoogerland
    3. Andy Schleck
    4. Cadel Evans
    5. Thomas Voeckler

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