Velominati Super Prestige

Velominati Super Prestige: Amstel Gold Race

The iconic windmills of the Netherlands

Holland. Not known as a hilly country, this. I have relatives who live “at elevation” near the Kinderdijk, where I took this photo. They live at 3m above sea level. Right. Known more for wind than we are for hills, then. In fact, one of the many (many) interesting things about the Netherlands is that while most countries use windmills to grind grain, the Dutch use theirs to pump sea water out of what we call polders.

It’s a good thing I wasn’t involved in the planning of the dijk system back in the 11th Century when it was originally designed, because I would have completely overlooked the fact that once you build the dikes and pump the seawater out, it seeps right back in, the little bugger. It turns out that you need a mechanism to keep pumping the water out and back into the sea.  Not so easy when you’re pumping the water from several meters below sea level, so the Dutch designed an ingenious system of tiered channels wherein the windmills power a water wheel that scoops water from a lower channel into a channel approximately 1 meter higher. Add more channels until you’re high enough to get it back out into the ocean. Then you sit back, pour yourself a luke-warm Pils, and let the ferocious wind do something more practical than turning cyclist into wind veins.

A fact often overlooked when painting the Netherlands with the “flat as a pancake” brush is our little provence of Limburg.  The monkey’s tail of the country, it dips down into the south towards Belgium and into the fabled cycling hills of the Ardennes. The Ardenne are fascinating from a geological standpoint, of which I know almost nothing. When you stand at the top of these hills, the landscape looks almost like you’re standing on a plain. But between you and your neighbor a kilometer away lies a deep valley with short, brutally steep slopes. It seems as though these hills were originally a flat plain until heaps of water washed away all the softer bits and left the Ardennes behind. Between you, me, and the seatpost, this is about the best cycling country you can find in the world. But maybe someone else is onto this secret already. In fact, maybe that’s why they have so many great bike races here.

The Amstel Gold Race is the gateway drug into a three week massacre on the hills of the Ardennes.  Amstel is the youngest of the classics, but by no means the easiest. This race used to finish in Maastricht, often in a small bunch sprint similar to MSR, until the organizers decided to move the finish to the top of the Cauberg outside the town of Valkenburg. A 1.5km stinger, a hill like this does not feel good when you’re off the front, trying to keep the lads breathing down your neck at bay.

Hard enough to exclude the sprinters, but not so hard the rouleurs don’t have a chance, this one is about as hard to call as they get – and I think a quick review of the scoring on the VSP thus far pretty clearly paints the picture that we collectively know fuckall about predicting races.

With that, we kick off the 2011 Velominati Super Prestige for the Amstel Gold Race. As usual, the winner of this VSP edition will earn an “Obey the Rules” bumper sticker and all reader’s points qualify towards the final prize of the free personalized Velominati Shop Apron. If you are inclined to enter, simply post your predictions for the top five placings in the designated area above the posts section, bearing in mind that entry/modification of picks closes at 5am Pacific time on the day of the race. Check the Super-Prestige main page for rules and scoring information.

A VSP Edition hardly seems complete without our requisite videos, and this time we have two. One of my nearly-namesake Frank Schleck (who’s about primed for another classics win, I would think), but the one below is actually my favorite Amstel finish; out on the original finish in Maastricht, Dekker was one of the coolest and schrewdestest riders of the last decade, and this one is a masterclass. After bridging up to Pharmstrong, he has the strength to contain Armstrongs attacks on the Cauberg and then sprints off the front to win.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAqIVanqbuw[/youtube]

Sadly this video cuts out the great attack by Pharmy which was contained by some generous helpings of Rule #5 being dished out by my boy Dekker. If anyone can find it, please point us to it.

Good luck.

 

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237 Replies to “Velominati Super Prestige: Amstel Gold Race”

  3. @G’phant
    That’s the exact thing as I was working. The notebook I take with me was a scribbled mess as I tried working out different scenarios.

  4. RedRanger:
    @G’phant
    That’s the exact thing I was thinking as I was working. The notebook I take with me was a scribbled mess as I tried working out different scenarios.

  6. VSP PICKS:

    1. PhilGil
    2. Ghessinnkkk
    3. Grimpeur the Elder
    4. Wawkeen Rodriguez
    5. O, Hesjedal

  7. G’phant :
    What’s Dutch for ‘crap shoot’?

    Road furniture.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. PhilGil
    2. Ghessinnkkk
    3. Grimpeur the Elder
    4. Wawkeen Rodriguez
    5. O, Hesjedal

  8. VSP PICKS:

    1. R Hesjedal
    2. P Gilbert
    3. D Cunego
    4. Leukemans
    5. Gasparotto

  9. VSP PICKS:

    1. Sparty
    2. Gilbert
    3. Chavanel
    4. Frank part deux
    5. Sagan

  11. Okay, the race last year…how does one find the legs to do what Gilbert did? He went very, very fast up a steep hill and dusted all those on his wheel. That really does blow my mind that a guy can summon that power at that time in a race and just make other PROs look well, slow.

    Power to burn.

  12. VSP PICKS:

    1. grimpy the elder
    2. gesink
    3. j-rod from the rokkit skwad
    4. snickers and a coke (horner)
    5. sammy sanchez

  14. Deer with no eyes…

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Phil Gil
    2. Greg Van Av
    3. Sammy Sanchez
    4. Franky S
    5. Millar

  17. @frank
    I’m in tears. Absolute tears. The Dutch commentators were pretty stoked when Gesink went to the front…and then were very impressed with Gilbert when he went, “Oh, goodbye everyone, this is how you ride a bike…”

    They sit and chatter about the win until finally Gesink crosses the line and the commentator goes – “Oh, and here comes Gesink, who gave us a potato.”

  18. VSP PICKS:

    1. F Schleck
    2. Phil Gil
    3. Hesjedal
    4. Gesink
    5. Chavanel

  20. Another great write up Frank, although I now know a whole lot more about Dutch Canal systems then I really need to!
    Anyone know if Eurosport are streaming live?

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Gilbert
    2. Franky Schleck
    3. Leukamans
    4. Nic Roche
    5. Baden Cooke

  21. Cheers Scuba. I can feel my mid pack form consolidating by throwing caution to the wind with my picks. Have a feeling Leopard Trek has one of the strongest teams, and even Freire and Hushovd can’t even get into my top five. Which is why I’m picking a pro continental rider and an Italian.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Di Luca
    2. Gilbert
    3. Cunego
    4. Devolder
    5. Vino

  25. Hard to bet against Gilbert this race, although I don’t recall him and “Les Freres Grimpeur” toeing the line at the same race in anger yet this year….

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Gilbert
    2. Frere Frank
    3. I’m a bike Ryder
    4. Leukemans
    5. Cunego

  28. VSP PICKS:

    1. Vino
    2. Gesink
    3. F.Schleck
    4. S.Sanchez
    5. L.P. Nordhaug

  29. No F’in idea so going with a few roughies. Hopefully the wildcard teams throw everything at the big boys, lay down the V and earn their entry.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. PhilGil
    2. Greg Has a mate
    3. Gio Biscotti
    4. Le Mans
    5. Hooterland

  30. and frank. Thank you for the dike lesson. I always try to learn something new on a daily basis. A History, Geography and Cycling all wrapped up into one, awesome.

  32. VSP PICKS:

    1. Gilbert
    2. Leukemans
    3. Chavanel
    4. Frank Schleck
    5. Di Luca

  34. VSP PICKS:

    1. Gilbert
    2. Hesjedal
    3. Visconti
    4. Sylvain Chavanel
    5. Leukemans

  35. VSP PICKS:

    1. Frank Schleck
    2. Gilbert
    3. Hesjedal
    4. Horner
    5. Purito Rodriguez

  36. Tilting at windmills:

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Gilbert
    2. Schleck, F’in
    3. Rodriguez
    4. Leukemans No Hands
    5. I’m just Gesink

  37. VSP PICKS:

    1. Schleck Senior
    2. Philip Giblets
    3. Get in the Sink
    4. Cunego No Go
    5. Vino Vidi Vici

  39. It is going to be another shut out for the Dutch. Which is sad. But this one is a crap shoot. I’ll eat my Molteni cap is DiLuca wins. Cunego will falter. Vino will look great but go too early.

    And finally, a shout out to Gustav Erik Laursson, because I was almost named Gunter Erik Laursen. And how could I complain about that?

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Andy Schleck
    2. Sammy Sanchez
    3. Hesjedal
    4. Phil Gilbert
    5. Jeff Louder

  41. VSP PICKS:

    1. Gilbert
    2. F. Schleck
    3. S. Chavanel
    4. Leukemans
    5. Hesjedal

  42. Gesink has too much to ride for this year, so he’s going to grab the victory. Faboo will trail in fifth and scare people for next year. Gilbert will blow his wad slightly too early, like at Tirreno and WC2010. Hesjedal becomes the rain outside today blew in from Canada. Horner because I just like that dude. A hillbilly with a big ‘ol gun rack.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Gesink
    2. Hesjedal
    3. Gilbert
    4. Horner
    5. Faboo

  43. VSP PICKS:

    1. Gesink
    2. Leukemans
    3. Gilbert
    4. Schleck the Elder
    5. Hesjedal

  44. VSP PICKS:

    1. Gilbert
    2. Hesjedal
    3. F. Schleck
    4. Gesink
    5. Leukemans

  45. Just heard that Evans is out… So in goes Vino.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Frank Schleck
    2. Gilbert
    3. Cunego
    4. Sammy Sanchez
    5. Vino

  46. after last week, i’m just calling it a crap shoot as some of you have also
    w/the climbing and all. feel like a piss in the wind this weekend

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Van da man Avermaet
    2. Nuyens big guns
    3. Sagan
    4. flank schlickdick
    5. kolob’myknob’kanev

  47. Frank, nice write up. Dekker was the man.

    Dekker was one of the coolest and schrewdestest riders of the last decade, and this one is a masterclass. After bridging up to Pharmstrong, he has the strength to contain Armstrongs attacks on the Cauberg and then sprints off the front to win

    I believe he even blew off his DS who told him not to work with Lance and to wait for back-up. He told the DS to piss off and that he was going to win. What a man!

    OK, I’m done with Faboo, I don’t much care for the Schlecks, Gesink is too skinny, Vieno is too old, Cunego is cooked. Diluca??! There, no points for me.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Ryder
    2. Gilbert
    3. Sagan
    4. L.L. Sanchez
    5. Hoogerland

  48. VSP PICKS:

    1. Rodriguez
    2. Hesjedal
    3. Schleck (the older)
    4. Cunego
    5. van Avermaet

  50. After a day of laying out The V I really want to watch this race. My picks be damned, having never watched this race before I don’t have a clue.

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