Velominati Super Prestige: Clasica San Sebastian
The inaugural Velominati Super Prestige continues with its the first Summer Classic, Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian, on Saturday, July 31. This will be the first post-Tour event in the series and with the unpredictability of how riders are recovering, it makes this race a tough one to predict.
The route of this Basque road race is a difficult one, and this year’s new route makes it more suited to the strong climbers who can finish well like Damiano Can-he-go. Defending champ Carlos Barredo showed good form at the Tour; will he be able to defend? Peer deep into the race preview, and then deep into your heart, and divine your selections.
This winner of this Super Prestige edition will again earn an “Obey the Rules” bumper sticker and all reader’s points qualify towards the final prize of the free Velominati Shop Apron. As always, if you are inclined to enter, simply post your predictions for the top five placings in the comment section. Make your picks for by the time tomorrow’s stage starts, regular VSP Rules apply. Good luck!
Rules and results are posted Velominati Super Prestige page.
1. Barredo for the repeat
2. Navarro b/c after working his ass off for Bertie he wants some glory
3. Garate because I picked this dude for the dotty jumper and he let me down. Might as well let him do it again, right?
4. Kolobnez (not a typo, he goes by Kolobnez en espana). Want to put him first because the ground-to-air missile team is blowing shit apart like Pashtuns shooting down Russian helicopters. Maybe we should nickname that team Charlie Wilson?
5. Bertie. He won’t contest but wants to show something to his countrymen.
My San Sebastian picks!
1. Gilbert – who deserves some love and a nickname from the Velominati – if he doesn’t already have one?
2. LL Sanchez
3. Pippo Pozzatto
4. Cunego
5. Barredo
1. Rodriguez: finished Tour strong and likes the course.
2. O Hesjedal: if the Tour had lasted another week, he would have busted Bertie & Andy.
3. Nibali: taking a flyer on fresh over in-form””b’sides: he climbs and descends well.
4. Cunego: He came up short again and again during the TdF, but he was often there or thereabouts.
5. Barredo: because I’m running out of Spaniards””and he won it before.
According to Wikileaks, you can probably update that metaphor to The Taliban shooting down American choppers…
Imma drop some knowledge later in the evening, after I catch up on Kanye’s tweets…
Ok, here goes
1. Rodriguez – Can climb, can go down, is spanish, can win
2. Can-he-go – can’t go enough
3. Pip Pozzato – I love this guy.
4. Ryder – reckon he must be peaking this week
5. Gesink – the sort of classic that suits him I think
1. JANEZ
2. J-ROD from the ROKKIT SKWAD
3. Papa Tiempo Sastre
4. Handy Sammy Sanchez
5. Gavazzi – dude is on the upswing.
Always bet on the Spaniards in Spain, and throw in an Italian to keep it oiled.
OK, first time up flirting with the curse of the rainbow bands. The pressure, the pressure …
1.J-Rod. (Could’ve almost as easily been Kolobnev or Pippo, and at a pinch Ivanov. But I agree – J-Rod is on fire at present and climbs like I don’t.)
2. Can-he-go. (He’s been there and thereabouts a few times already this year, and I think he’s got another performance or two left in him.)
3. Barrrrrrrrreeeeedo. (Spanish and peaking.)
4. Navarro. (Ditto.)
5. Richie Porte. (Yeah, I know, fat fucking chance. Except I love an outsider (even, on occasion, an Australian one), and there’s the Broken-Hearted Bjarne (unless he snags Bertie) factor …)
1; This one’s got Phil Gilabert written all over it… or has it?
2; F Poz… needs the limelight back, and I dug his black Italian kit at Roubaix.
3; Yes-the little-fucker-Can-Go.
4; Janes Addiction… the best moment of the Tour for me was watching him blow himself to bits driving it up to Morzine; he became a fave rider of mine that day.
5; Kiwi Rouly… why the hell not? If a kiwi who takes an Aussies screen name can pick an Aussie, then I’m taking one back for the Colony.
@Brett
Kiwis picking Aussies. Aussies picking Kiwis. Whatever next? Lance 4.0 … ?
1. Rider Hesjedal the redeemer
2.
Sylvain Chavenel because he deserves oneNibali3. Barredo 3rd times not charming enough
4. Mattie boy Lloyd my gut call
5. Can’tiGo…just because he can’t
@Souleur
Chavenel isn’t starting due to an infected toe
Oh Hesjedal
JQ Rod
Sammy Sanchez
Gilbert
LL Sanchez
Ok… I’m out of the loop… no Idea who’s riding.
1. Weight of a Nation
2. Baredo
3. J-Rod
4. Flecha
5. Can’thego
oh…thanks Andy.
How about Nibali then #2
Its just that I like him, he deserves it and now will probabaly be down the hatch, but after the Giro, I just like him.
@Good Geofelephant
Here, this is Armstrong 4.0:
My crystal ball is a little cloudy, but what the hell:
1. Navarro
2. Barredo
3. Cunego
4. Hesjedal
5. Veino
Well, I’m rather surprised no one else has had the heuvos to choose this lineup, but here goes.
1. Veino – he’s got the dope right this year, he is all on, and you can’t dope for the way he dishes out the Rule #5. He’s back on the A-List here, folks.
2. Hesjedal – Could win it, but when you have a descent before the finale, you know the Vodka Rocket is catching up.
3. Dirty Sanchez – Dropped on the climb, catches on during the descent, but cramps and can’t hold ‘er to the line.
4. J-Rod – Also on good drugs, but a little too small to keep it together on the descent.
5. Gilbert – goes for a flier at 1km to go, but gets caught by The Count.
@Frank – spot on. (somewhere anyway)
1.Drac – he’s going to shred this. The man is immune to pain.
2.Pozzato – he’s got a LOT to make up for ‘that’ advert.
3.Gilbert – will go at the end, then blow.
4.Barredo
5.Kolobnev – I’ve never picked him, dude needs some love.
I’m feeling good about this. Just had a good ride in the absolutely cunting rain (in fact had to stop only because I couldn’t see anything) and am now drinking banana milk, listening to Howlin’Wolf. Quick glass of champagne after that, and I’m off to get married. Ciao regazzi!
Pippo
Hjesedal
Nico
Kolobnez
Barredo
As me record in the VSP is appalling, anyone with the same picks as me might want a last minute re-think
@Joe
is getting married your usual post-ride cooldown? Congratulations!
@Joe congrats, have a great time
Story of my racing career: get in the break and not get the result. I was feeling good their for a while as well, with Nico and Haymaker in the selection
Good race though
Looking back over the selections it’s amazing how many names keep on appearing and how many actually made the final break. I guess many of us were thinking a like, as this is a tricky race to call. You have the Tour riders who should be super-fit, some of whom will be out to make up for a bad Tour, but others will be knackered so you never really know who is going to perform. Then you have the classics riders and those who weren’t at the Tour who will be fresh and wanting to race.
Given that there are no obvious contenders like there are at the spring classics – choosing a Spanish rider is obvious, not clever – that’s a massive number of riders to chose from. Yet our selections although very different, were similar enough to suggest that we felt there were key favourites. Of there fourteen of us, only @marko managed not to pick any riders who made the selection. Even those slightly left-field choices hit the mark.
But then again, this is the Velominati, we should be getting these things right.
@Jarvis
Yea man, thanks for pointing that out. Seems like a spot on analysis of the velominati tho.
LL Sanchez! Son of a bitch, that was obvious and yet I completely forgot about him. Doh. I fear wise Frank has won this. Nice work F. You too Marko.
@Joe
Banana milk? Getting married? is this some sort of code? euphemisms? Cunting rain I understand. You can’t really be getting married as no man has proceeded his marriage with a ride/banana milk/Howling Wolf/champagne…that would be too pleasurable and wise. If it’s true, you have added to your already massive legend. Is Guy shooting it? Did Guy survive? Poor Guy.
most of us were just that close…..
Please tell me you guys saw those podium girls! Holy smokes they were hot. TdF podium girls ain’t got shit compared to them!
@Joe
Outstanding way to commence the day of your nuptials. Congratulations.
@Omar
That comment is useless without pictures. Get on it, lad!!
@frank
Can’t link directly to the pictures or embed them, but there’s a link to the photos on velonews.
http://velonews.competitor.com/2010/07/news/luis-leon-sanchez-wins-clasica-san-sebastian_132142/attachment/classicabam
Those are, by far, the two hottest podium girls I have EVER seen.
In fact, if I were him, this is exactly what I would say to those podium girls: “My middle name isn’t ‘Leon’ (Lion in Spanish) for nothing. Would you like to find out why? I’ll give you a hint, it’s not because I can win bike races.”
And taking it one step further:
Luis probably wants to take his Leon and give them the dirty Sanchez.
Sorry Sammy, Luis wins this one.
@Omar
So what’s story, Omar, you just get outta prison? Sounds like is been a while.
Think you are taking it a bit far to say they are the best ever – quite nice looking girls but a long way from La Grande Dame of the TdF, Ms Laura Antoine.
@Marcus
You’ve been living on the tundra too long! That Laura is waaaaaaaaaaay over-rated. Omar’s picks are way hotter.
Julie Blanc is pretty tidy…
@brett
Brett – I agree that Julie Blanc is tres magnifique! Merci for the link.
I always support Laura in that she looks like she is a whole lotta woman who could lay down some serious Rule #5 apres podium! And being invited back to the Tour has gotta count for something?
I have no problemo with Omar’s picks – just that I wouldn’t call them the greatest of all time. Mme Blanc may come close though.
@Marcus
change that to c’est magnifique – although three of her would be even better
@Marcus
Three of her would be a great way to die!
And the tundra comment… sorry, I was thinking of Marko. Which is a surefire way to quell any downstairs movements that Julie or Laura may initiate.
@Gentlemen – many thanks. I am close to completely broken after the weekends festivities. Going to attempt to avoid the in laws this evening for a little cyclo-catharsis. The aromas and product that need to be expunged from my body will not be pleasant to witness, wish me luck.
Love Drac’s comment at the end ‘my head wanted the victory but my legs couldn’t respond…’
Weird squeaky voice? check, crazy white hair? check, refers to self in the 3rd person? bingo….Someone needs to photoshop him into a big leather armchair with one of those wrinkly, bald, cats. He’s a Bond villain isn’t he? Splendid.
@Joe
Belated congrats Joe. Now your challenge is to avoid breeding and blimping.
@Marko
… unless you relish the challenge of subsequently de-blimping as you rid yourself of 10 – 20 kgs (which, while painful, does provide its own peculiar sense of achievement).
@ all
I was all set to do a new post this arvo, but a couple of bottles of Epic Mayhem and the fact that I’m going to see a little band called the Pixies kinda got in the way…
Could take a couple of days to recover, bear with me… Gouge Away!
@all
I missed some good stuff, it looks like. I will try to get to tallying up the results of the VSP and declaring the winner just as soon as I can.
@Joe
Congrats, mate.
@frank
Can you do an elephant with Cadel’s face?
@Good Geofelephant
A bit creepy, actually.
@frank
A++1.
That’s genius-level shit, that is.
Needs a cleft trunk…
@Brett
Favorite detail is the fact that I put Nigel Tunfnel’s chin on there.
@all
Completely forgot to score this…we all did pretty awful. I got 2 points, and the aside from that, only a handful of people scored a point. There was an 8-way tie for second with 1 point, and since I’m not eligible, I had to find a tie-breaker for the bumpersticker. It goes to Marcus, who was the first one to enter his picks.
Well done, mate.
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