Velominati Super Prestige: Gent-Wevelgem 2013

Gent (Deinze)-Wevelgem, it starts with 130 km of cruising around Belgium and Northern France followed by a flurry of bergs and then a final 38 km of flatter riding to the inevitable sprint finish. How hard can the climbing be if Super Mario got over them? Ask the riders from KT 2012, (the ones not in the following car) and they will tell you the Kemmelberg, for one, is a steep beast of a climb. It does not go up too far but it goes. And all these bergs seem to have some climbing just to get to the named climb, so yes, one can be gassed real fast in this area. Luckily there is the chance of catching back on each descent too, something sprinters like Cipo must have been good at.
This is one of the final tune up races for Ronde van Vlaanderen. The Velominati banner shall be flying in Flanders in a week from this Sunday’s race. Whomever is fit and fast into Wevelgem shall be on the short list for the Ronde.
Here is a provisional start list and here is the race profile. The start list shall be updated by Saturday so double check your picks before start time. No whining, no delgados.
[vsp_results id=”22780″/]
VSP PICKS:
1. Faboo
2. Sagan
3. Cav
4. Goss
5. Mini Phin
No thought, I’m in a curry house after 2 days of Rule #9 slogging round Yorkshire. Pure guesswork…
VSP PICKS:
1. Faboo
2. Tomeke
3. Cav
4. Sagan
5. Boom!
we could make this a double or quits thing like the lottery by having a single yes/no answer as to whether Tyler F crashes. Reckon it’s just about a 50/50…
VSP PICKS:
1. Cav
2. Goss
3. Sagan
4. Petacchi
5. Farrar
VSP PICKS:
1. sagan
2. cancellara
3. Boonen
4. Thomas
5. Amador
VSP PICKS:
1. Faboo
2. Sagan
3. Oss
4. Thomas
5. Iglinskiy
VSP PICKS:
1. Cavendish
2. Griepel
3. Sagan
4. Cancellara
5. Gilbert
VSP PICKS:
1. Hushovd
2. Gilbert
3. Cancellara
4. Cavendish
5. Sagan
VSP PICKS:
1. Cav
2. Sagan
3. Paolini
4. Degenkolb
5. Pettachi
VSP PICKS:
1. Cavendish
2. Sagan
3. Boasson Hagen
4. Thomas
5. Gilbert
Bike racing takes balls…
VSP PICKS:
1. Peter Sagan
2. Fabian Cancellara
3. Silvain Chavanel
4. Tom Boonen
5. Taylor Phinney
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Fabian Cancellara
3. The Manx Missile
4. Petacchi
5. God of Thunder
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Cancellara
3. Goss
4. Thomas
5. Boonen
VSP PICKS:
1. Farrer
2. Boonen
3. Cancellara
4. Gilbert
5. Chavanel
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Spartacus
3. She’s Legal in Amsterdam
4. Thomas
5. Thor
VSP PICKS:
1. Boonen
2. Cancellara
3. Thomas
4. Sagan
5. Goss
Any thaughts on the zebra kit in the photo? I hope even my cold dead body would fight back and not allow someone to put that kit on me.
VSP PICKS:
1. Farrer
2. Boonen
3. Cancellara
4. Gilbert
5. Chavanel
If it’s held at all.
VSP PICKS:
1. Cav
2. Bozic
3. Greipel
4. Goss
5. Sagan
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Cav
3. Thor
4. Greipel
5. Goss
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Spartacus
3. She’s Legal in Amsterdam
4. Thomas
5. Langeveld
@Chris
I can’t even see Cipo he blends in with the team car so well.
VSP PICKS:
1. Greips
2. Cav
3. Goss
4. Degenkolb
5. Sagan
VSP PICKS:
1. Saganator
2. Tomke
3. Faboo
4. Oss
5. Langeveld
It’s going to be cold. Slight chance of snow, but I’m thinking it’s a straight up sprinters gig. I’m batting a .000 on winners this year, and hope to keep the streak alive.
VSP PICKS:
1. Cavendouche
2. Gripel
3. Slovakian Running Man
4. Potatoe
5. Goss
I know after todays ride picking Faboo seems like the surest thing next to Lindsey Lohan violating her probation, but I was so impressed with Cavs’ ride at MSR I’m going to take a flyer on him. I think if OPQ can keep him close, he’ll have enough ups to get over the climbs and be there in the end to show the world that he’s still the fastest in a flat out sprint.
VSP PICKS:
1. Cavendish
2. Sagan
3. EBH
4. The Motor
5. Boonen
VSP PICKS:
1. Heiny
2. Thor
3. Cav
4. Hutarovich
5. Bennati
VSP PICKS:
1. sagan
2. cav
3. thor
4. boom
5. bennatti
@brett
You can take the Australian out of Australia…
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Boonen
3. Cancellara
4. Gilbert
5. Stannard
VSP PICKS:
1. Langeveld
2. Cav
3. Thor
4. Sagan
5. Cousin
VSP PICKS:
1. Cavandish
2. Griepel
3. Sagan
4. Degenkolb
5. Boasson Hagen
VSP PICKS:
1. sagan
2. boss hogg
3. boonen
4. tuft
5. van summeren
@Chris
This dude don’t have any negative thoughts on the zebra kit. It’s long sleeve-n-leg which would keep your cold dead body warm!
Chavanel isn’t racing? I’ll try this Sky thing
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Gilbert
3. Cancellara
4. Geraint Thomas
5. Boonen
@sthilzy
That is happily the funniest picture I’ve seen in my entire nearly 50 years on this planet. Worthy of some sort of AoP discussion – for instance is he wearing the kit for a bet; is he being paid to wear it or did he buy it to match his shoes? Who is he? He must have balls the size of ostrich eggs.
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Boonen
3. Boasson Hagen
4. Hausler
5. Cancellara
With Easter almost here it didn’t seem right to pass over (!) somebody named Jesus.
VSP PICKS:
1. Peter Sagan
2. Filippo Pozzato
3. Mark Cavendish
4. Edvald Boasson Hagen
5. Jesus Herrada
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Eisel
3. Boonen
4. Oss
5. Cancellara
VSP PICKS:
1. Cancellara
2. Sagan
3. Boonen
4. Roelandts
5. Geirant Thomas
@the Engine
Ah, this old chestnut shows itself again. Dude actually went to a ton of work to get that look. I mean, where TF do you find zebra striped bar tape?
I’ll bet a hundy that he’d be the first guy to sign up for Cippo’s Seminar; “How to Look Fucking Fabulous, and Kill it with the Ladies”, then drive around forever alone in this:
@scaler911 That van is not intended for ‘alone time’. It’s intended for rolling goth with your Magic playing friends on your way to the Trekie Convention. Either way, nobody gettin’ none.
VSP PICKS:
1. Cavendishoutthepain
2. Secondagan
3. Faboonen
4. Tomellara
5. The Go-rilla
VSP PICKS:
1. BOONEN Tom
2. BOASSON HAGEN Edvald
3. GREIPEL André
4. BENNATI Daniele
5. HUSHOVD Thor
@sthilzy
Personally, I’m a bit disappointed he didn’t make the effort to find a tiger striped helmet to complete the look…
Gonna bet on a mass sprint….
VSP PICKS:
1. Cavendish
2. Sagan
3. Griepel
4. Degenkolb
5. Boonen
(Nacho voice) “Beneath the clothes, we find a man… and beneath the man, we find his… nucleus.”
VSP PICKS:
1. Cavendish
2. Greipel
3. Sagan
4. Boasson Hagen
5. Haussler
VSP PICKS:
1. sagan
2. boonen
3. faboo
4. hushovd
5. boom
@Skip
Could very well end in a sprint. They have shortened it by 45 k’s and will possibly drop two ascents of the Casselberg as well, all favoring Cav I would think.
The hardest thing about calling this one is if the winner is gonna come out of a small group or a bunch gallop. Also, Sagan has to be sick of second place, it’s time to step up.
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Cavendish
3. Greipel
4. Oss
5. Cancellara
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Cavendish
3. Greipel
4. Boasson Hagen
5. Cancellara
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Sparatacus
3. Boonen
4. Farrar
5. Griepel