Belgian Affirmations

Velominati Super Prestige: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2013

Photo via Slipstream Sports
Photo via Slipstream Sports

Outside my window, its pouring rain. My bike is leaning agains the wall in my office, covered in grim and grit from the ride in, which was characterized by equal parts cold, wind, and rain. The spot in the locker room where I changed before my shower was marked by sand and mud, and when I walked to the shower, I left a trail of dirty footprints.

It doesn’t bother me one bit, however. My mind is already cast ahead to Vlaanderen and the Cobbled Classics which kick off this weekend with Omloop Het Neiuwsblad. I still want to call it Omloop Het Volk, and people more brazen than me would call it Gent-Gent and people even more stubborn than that would call it “Feburacing”. (I made that last part up.)

Most importantly, this is when we kick off the third installment of the Velominati Super Prestige. We Keepers are all about the Spring Classics in general and the Cobbled Classics in particular – going so far as to host the second annual Keepers Tour: Cobbled Classics in April. (Sign up now, by the way, as we are looking at other projects for Keepers Tour next year and there is no guarantee we’ll hold it on the cobblestones again in 2014.)

With that, we kick off the season-long 2013 Velominati Super Prestige with the first major race on the berggen and Kasseien of VVest Vlaanderen. Name your picks in the boxes below; 7 points for naming the winner correctly, 5 for second place, 4 for third, 3 for fourth, and 2 for fifth. One point for naming a rider to the top five, but getting the place wrong. Points will be amassed over the course of the season, and the winner will win a personalized Velominati Shop Apron. Full Rules and Scoring Guidelines on the VSP Main Page. Starting roster is over on CyclingNews.com. The ladies event will go up later today or first thing tomorrow.

Good luck, and Merckxspeed.

[vsp_results id=”22169″/]

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227 Replies to “Velominati Super Prestige: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2013”

  1. Blanco, BMC and OPQS are all sending super-strong teams. But I’m picking Vanmarcke for a repeat win because Blanco are on a roll in early 2013, as they try to impress potential new sponsors.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Vanmarcke
    2. Hushovd
    3. Terpstra
    4. Pozzato
    5. Roelandts

  2. VSP PICKS:

    1. Jürgen Roelandts
    2. Edvald Boasson Hagen
    3. Greg Van Avermaet
    4. Sep Vanmarcke
    5. Thor Hushovd

  4. VSP PICKS:

    1. Niki Terpstra
    2. Juan Antonio Flecha
    3. Tom Boonen
    4. Geraint Thomas
    5. Thor Hushovd

  5. VSP PICKS:

    1. Vanmarcke
    2. Boasson Hagen
    3. Roelandts
    4. Terpstra
    5. Phinney

  6. And it begins anew. Will I regret betting against Boonen and his flesh eating elbow virus. Probably.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Heinrich Haussler
    2. Thor Hushovd
    3. Juan Antonio Flecha
    4. Zdenek Stybar
    5. Tom Boonen

  7. Yay!  Bike racing!

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Sylvain Chavanel
    2. Juan Antonio Flecha
    3. Jurgen Roelandts
    4. Tommeke Boonen
    5. Sep VanMarcke

  8. VSP PICKS:

    1. Tom Boonen
    2. Filippo Pozzato
    3. Lars Boom
    4. Edvald Boasson Hagen
    5. David Millar

  9. Ahhhhh, and so it begins!!!

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Van Avermaet
    2. Roelandts Zee Hay
    3. Boonen Nose-Blowin
    4. Flecha “Who me dope?”
    5. Boassan Hagen Daez

  10. I think a couple of the pro teams are really going for the classics this year but I am not sure Geraint Thomas will make it and although I would love to put Flecha in there, workhorse that he is, I am not convinced going up and down mountains in the sun will have prepared them properly for the freezing NE wind…OFQS are look V strong and Avermaet is my lone wolf to sneak a place in there.  In truth you could throw them all in the air to rearrange the placings but that is the joy of the cobbles!

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Terpstra
    2. Van Marcke
    3. Chavanel
    4. Boom
    5. Avermaet

  11. @GiantBars

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Pozzato
    2. Flecha
    3. Van Avermaet
    4. Terpstra
    5. Vanmarcke

    GiantBars…I’d say giant balls! Pippo! Maybe this is the year of the Pippo after all. I was hoping it was the year of Thor or Faboo but maybe time for Pozzato to bring it again.

    Frank, killer photo. The Hurt is being laid down.

  13. Is there anywhere this is going to be televised in the US? I’d like to see how the pros do it.

  15. VSP PICKS:

    1. Thor Hushovd
    2. Geraint Thomas
    3. Terpstra
    4. Johan Vansummeren
    5. Sep Vanmarcke

  16. VSP PICKS:

    1. Terpstra
    2. Hushovd
    3. Pozzato
    4. Van Avermaet
    5. Chavanal

  18. Ah, I missed this.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Van Avermaet
    2. Boom
    3. Terpstra
    4. Boasson Hagen
    5. Roelandts

  20. VSP PICKS:

    1. Peter Sagan
    2. Fabian Canceralla
    3. Nick Nyuens
    4. Tom Boonen
    5. Bernie Eisel

  21. I definitely screwed up my first picks. I thought this was a worldtour event and all the teams would be there.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Eisel
    2. Nuyens
    3. Hushovd
    4. Vansummern
    5. Terpstra

  22. @Matt

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Peter Sagan
    2. Fabian Canceralla
    3. Nick Nyuens
    4. Tom Boonen
    5. Bernie Eisel

    While I totally think that SaGUN is going to rule the Spring Classics, I do not think that even he can win without starting!    Love the enthusiasm, though!

  23. VSP PICKS:

    1. Terpstra
    2. Roelandts
    3. Phinney
    4. Van Avermaet
    5. Van Marcke

  24. I wish I felt better about this.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Boonen
    2. Hushovd
    3. Pozzato
    4. Phinney
    5. Haussler

  26. The recent settlement of the case that has sucked up 60 hours of every week since November suddenly leaves me with vast amounts of unallocated cranial capacity.

    Thank fuckin’ Merckx it was just in time for the VSP.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Boss Hog
    2. Van Avermaet
    3. Boonen
    4. Faboo
    5. Boom Boom Mancini

  27. With 54 Belgian past winners I should just pick 5 Belgians, but I am going with the flow instead.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Terpstra
    2. Van Avermaet
    3. Hushovd
    4. Van Marcke
    5. Boonen

  28. …and so the fun begins again. I’m a much happier man now that the racing has begun again, both for these guys and me. It means that the weather is going to improve, the sun will be higher in the sky and all will be right with the world. My first proper off season of training as given me a tiny insight into what these guys go through, so it’ll be interesting to see who’s been putting in the hard miles – my money is on Thor to make amends for a very forgettable 2012; just pipping Boonen and his gammy arm.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Hushovd
    2. Boonen
    3. Vanmarcke
    4. Phinney
    5. Stybar

  29. I mean really – what do I know?

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Norman Stanley Flecha
    2. Sebastian Langeveld
    3. Heinrich Haussler
    4. Greg Van Avermaet
    5. Mathieu Ladagnous

  30. Let the racing begin!

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Edvald Boasson Hagen
    2. Lars Boom
    3. Sep Vanmarcke
    4. Heinrich Haussler
    5. Nick Nuyens

  32. VSP PICKS:

    1. Hushovd
    2. Bernie Eisel
    3. Terpstra
    4. Boonen
    5. Edvald Boasson Hagen

  34. VSP PICKS:

    1. Degenkolb
    2. Nuyens
    3. Flecha
    4. Boasson Hagen
    5. Roelandts

  35. VSP PICKS:

    1. Edvald Boasson Hagen
    2. Greg Van Avermaet
    3. Niki Terpstra
    4. Sep Vanmarcke
    5. Geraint Thomas

  37. Sorry, can’t concentrate, Victoria Pendleton is on the tele

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Potato
    2. Thomato
    3. Potato
    4. Thomato
    5. Let’scallthewholethingoff

  38. @Lordmoos3

    Is there anywhere this is going to be televised in the US? I’d like to see how the pros do it.

    If not, you can watch online either at sporza.be or een.be.  I would die without Sporza!

  39. Pins into the start list for me to be honest.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Terpstra
    2. Hushovd
    3. Van Avermaet
    4. Thomas
    5. Boom

  40. VSP PICKS:

    1. boom
    2. roelandts
    3. greg van avermaet
    4. terpstra
    5. flecha

  41. Gawd. I have no idea what I’m doing. And it just so happens that I picked ’em in alphaVetical order. Arguably.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Boom
    2. Boonen
    3. Flecha
    4. Pozzato
    5. Vansummeren

  42. VSP PICKS:

    1. Boasson Hagen
    2. Degenkolb
    3. Kristoff
    4. Graziato
    5. Paolini

  43. Throw a blanket over the lot, first one to crawl out wins, ala snail racing or scorpion fighting – NOTE – Ive thrown Avery in the mix as a roughy purely because I ride a Fuji, thats how scientific it is

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Vanmarcke
    2. Boonen
    3. Roelandts
    4. Boassan Hagen
    5. Avery

  44. VSP PICKS:

    1. Tom Boonen
    2. Geraint Thomas
    3. Jürgen Roelandts
    4. Edvald Boasson Hagen
    5. Lars Boom

  45. VSP PICKS:

    1. Thor Hushovd
    2. Degengolb
    3. Haussler
    4. Sep Vanmarcke
    5. Van Summeren

  46. VSP PICKS:

    1. Greg Van Avermaet
    2. Niki Terpstra
    3. Lars Boom
    4. Jurgen Roelandts
    5. Koen Barbe

  48. VSP PICKS:

    1. Greg Van Avermaet
    2. Sep Vanmarcke
    3. Heinrich Haussler
    4. Sylvain Chavanel
    5. Bling Matthews

  49. Here’s hoping this might distract everyone from talking about bloody doping for half a second…

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Greg Van Avermaet
    2. Sep Vanmarcke
    3. Heinrich Haussler
    4. Sylvain Chavanel
    5. Bling Matthews

  50. VSP PICKS:

    1. Thor Hushovd
    2. Sep Vanmarcke
    3. Sylvain Chavanel
    4. Niki Terpstra
    5. Tom Boonen

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