Sinners!
“Like one who after a night of drunken revelry (and VSP picking) hies to his bed, still reeling, but with conscience yet pricking him (Voeckler, really, fourth place?), as the plungings of the Roman race-horse but so much the more strike his steel tags into him; (huh?) as one who in that miserable plight still turns and turns in giddy anguish, praying God for annihilation until the fit be passed; and at last amid the whirl of woe he feels, a deep stupor steals over him, as over the man who bleeds to death, for conscience is the wound, and there’s naught to staunch it; so, after sore wrestling in his berth (Voeckler has worn the yellow jersey repeatedly. Yes? He could be in there), Jonah’s prodigy of ponderous misery drags him drowning down to sleep.”
-Pastor Mapple’s Sermon, from Moby Dick
Oh right, Thomas Voeckler rides at the very back of the peloton, making sure he misses every split thus bringing his GC threat factor down to 0.001. A few years back he actually rode with GC ambitions but now he has a better chance of making it into the break when he is two hours down in the overall. Hell, it did get him in the maillot jaune all those years ago.
Of course it was a terrible pick. A choice of passion, maybe fueled by some vin rouge. It was your choice and you need to own it. You need to auger into the ground with it. You need to ride that pick down like Major Kong in Doctor Strangelove.
School children will point and snicker from the school yard, he picked Tommy Voeclker. Yes I did you little brats. I was high. I’m a dreamer. Fuck you.
But to strike that choice and put in Tee Jay on a rest day swap, shameful. More shameful than cursing at school children. Second chances, do-overs, that doesn’t fly when on the bike, I don’t know why we tolerate these mid-course corrections for the VSP.
Why do I care? Was it too much tubular tire gluings down here in the bunker? It is more likely the damaged DNA of my dick-ish puritanical New Bedford whaling church going ancestors. Make a choice and ride it all the way, like Major Kong.
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I let Cannondale Garmin lull in into a stupor with fine Canadian beer and talk of a clean future. Damn you, Hesjedal!!! Swaps are just too too costly. I think. I'm debating. Still. I have a few hours left.
Gianni - Kudos on getting the rider of the bomb correct. My brain bubbles everytime Peter Sellers is referred to as the rider!
Oh wait, apparently I don't. Swaps is closed. So, I'm in for the long haul. May Froome have a terrible day in the sadde while Quintana rides away from everyone.
Does this mean I Delgado'd the swaps. Or does it mean my soul knew that I wouldn't swap?
@Erik
Funny, the timer had us (correctly) at 12 hours out just a bit ago...no idea what devlish bug is causing this now.
But fuck it. It was open for ages, other's procrastination does not make my emergency. That's a much easier pill for me to swallow than to spend the next 6 hours trying to debug this fucker, anyway, so that's what I'm going with.
Also, at least we amped up the penalties to the point where RDSs are basically a cyanide tablet.
Velominati and Dr. Strangelove. Gianni, I love you.
"Second chances, do-overs, that doesn’t fly when on the bike"
GT's are all about second chances, there's always another stage, another parcour, redemption comes at dawn, a failed attack, a crash, a mechanical, all these come with a second chance- for three weeks at least.
Hell you can dope yourself to the gills and be back in the peloton after 2 years of hard training...
@frank
Velominati and Moby Fucking Dick and Dr. Strangelove.
WOAH!!! I like that exclamatory sentence that is so strong it can do with just a period. Strong work for a man dizzy with tubular glue. I commend thee.
@piwakawaka
Fair enough. One might get another chance another day in a stage race but no one resets your overall time. Unless you are talking the 2 year interval. Then it's all fine. Though Basso is now a gregario instead of a GT winner. Hmmmm. Cunego too but he never got busted.
I had Petulant Pino for third, oh the embarrassment when I watched him on the pavé stage, WTF, he all but stamped his feet. I would have swapped that girl right out but hey, everything for a reason.
@gilly fixed your post
I had Petulant Pino for third, oh the embarrassment when I watched him on the pavé stage, WTF, he all but stamped his feet. I would have swapped that baby right out but hey, everything for a reason.