Velominati Super Prestige

Velominati Super Prestige: Gent Wevelgem 2014

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The Kemmelberg is a brute. In my opinion, its the hardest of the cobbled climbs in the Spring Classics; it has a high speed tarmac approach that saps the guns of their snap. The transition from tarmac to cobbles is awful, the stones are very badly laid throughout and if you don’t hit it just right, you’ll come to a standstill. The cobbled part of the climb is long enough to make you consider a plea-bargain with any deity willing to listen before it ends with a brutal 23% ramp with good cobbles. The length, the camber, the gradient, and the way the stones are laid combine in a way that makes you feel every centimeter of the climb.

Gent Wevelgem is considered a sprinters classic, but it’s a shock considering how many climbs are along the route. I can’t imagine the Italian curses that must have escaped Cipollini’s mouth along his bumpy way to winning the race. No wonder he chucked the odd bidon at a motorbike.

I miss the old setup of the Cobbled Classics, with the Ronde on Sunday, Gent on Wednesday, and Roubaix on Sunday, but on the plus side, now we get to drool over the racing for three weeks instead of just one. So, check the start list, review the VSP Scoring Guidelines and get your picks in by the time the countdown clock goes to zero at midnight PDT on Sunday the 30th. If you think we mapped one of your picks wrong, use the dispute system and we’ll review it. Also remember to be precise enough in your description so we know which rider you mean; in other words, if you enter “Martin”, we will use our discretion (read: wild guess) to decide if you mean Tony or Dan – and that choice will not be negotiable once the the countdown clock goes to zero, so be sure to give yourself enough time.

Don’t forget we’ve got three major prizes for the season-long VSP:

  1. First place overall wins a Veloforma Strada iR Velominati Edition frame in addition to the customary VSP winner’s VVorkshop Apron
  2. Second place overall wins a set of hand built CR Wheelworks Arenberg wheelset in a custom Velominati paint scheme laced to orange Chris King hubs. (CR Wheelworks is Café Roubaix’s new wheel goods brand.)
  3. Third place overall wins a full Velominati V-Kit with accompanying custom orange Bont Vaypor+ road shoes.

Good luck, and don’t lose your Rule #43 spirit.

[vsp_results id=”29351″/]

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323 Replies to “Velominati Super Prestige: Gent Wevelgem 2014”

  1. Should probably have put in more ‘Vans’, this being Belgium an all.  Vanmark is probably going to crush it now.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Sagan
    2. Degenkolb
    3. Van Avamaert
    4. Stybar
    5. Stannard

  2. Over-indexing on sprinters this time. But Canch must be fuming after being caught behind a crash at E3H and then forced to do the chasing, so as they came together on Oude Kwaremont he had burned too many matches to follow Thomas’ acceleration. G was super impressive at E3H, making him a top favourite for Flanders, but he doesn’t have the sprinting chops for GW.

    of course, what the hell do I know…

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Cancellara
    2. Degenkolb
    3. Greipel
    4. Sagan
    5. Vanmarcke

  6. OPQS and Belkin to dominate on the front only to get smoked by Peter Pincher in the sprint from a select group.  Tommeke, despite his injuries to lead the chasing group home with tears of pure Flandrian iron in his eyes because he’s so damn hard.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Peter Sagan
    2. Moreno Hofland
    3. Edvald Boasson Hagen
    4. Sep Vanmarcke
    5. Nikki Terpstra

  10. VSP PICKS:

    1. Peter Sagan
    2. Fabian Cancellara
    3. Ian Stannard
    4. Greg Van Avermaet
    5. Sep Vanmarcke

  11. Revised to include Fabs who will likely continue with his habit of providing great lead outs for riders on other teams.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Degenkolb
    2. Sags
    3. Fabs
    4. Stybar
    5. Demare

  12. VSP PICKS:

    1. Sagan
    2. Cancellara
    3. Boonan
    4. Degenkolb
    5. Kristoff

  13. Just like Cav in the TDF, I’m only borrowing the leaders jersey.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Degenkolb
    2. Sagan
    3. Farrar
    4. Kristoff
    5. Phinney

  14. Looking forward to a bit more easy on up with more speed from Le Grand Faboo.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Cancellara
    2. Sagan
    3. Boonen
    4. Thomas
    5. Degenkolb

  16. Here we go!

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Cancellara
    2. Stybar
    3. Phinney
    4. Van Avermaet
    5. Degenkolb

  18. might as well try this combination. Can’t see past Fabian though

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Fabian Cancellara
    2. Sep Vanmarcke
    3. Sagan
    4. Geraint Thomas
    5. Tyler farrar

  21. VSP PICKS:

    1. Degenkolb
    2. Kristoff
    3. Cancellara
    4. Farrer
    5. Van Avermat

  22. VSP PICKS:

    1. P Sagan
    2. A Greipel
    3. A Kristoff
    4. J Degenkolb
    5. A Demare

  24. VSP PICKS:

    1. DEMARE, Arnaud
    2. KRISTOFF, Alexander
    3. DEGENKOLB, John
    4. FARRAR, Tyler
    5. BOZIC, Borut

  26. VSP PICKS:

    1. G Van Avermat
    2. P Sagan
    3. F Cancellara
    4. J Degenkolb
    5. Stybar

  28. I’m hedging on a select group or a sprint of some sort. Farrar’s head has been poking up at the pointy end of things this season. Perhaps that scare with not getting renewed at Garmin boosted his motivation for the season.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Tyler Farrar
    2. Greg Van Avermat
    3. Sep Van Marcke
    4. Peter Sagan
    5. Fabian Cancellara

  30. All change. Stybar to win by attacking 10km out. OPQS controls the bunch, tires out Sagan, and also wins the sprint for second.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Stybar
    2. Cavendish
    3. Sagan
    4. Bozic
    5. Degenkolb

  31. VSP PICKS:

    1. Sagan, P
    2. Greipel, A
    3. Kristoff, A
    4. Farrar, T
    5. Boonen, T

  32. VSP PICKS:

    1. F. Cancellera
    2. T. Boonen
    3. M. Cavendish
    4. P. Sagan
    5. G. Thomas

  33. VSP PICKS:

    1. Peter Sagan
    2. Fabian Cancellera
    3. Zdenek Stybar
    4. Taylor Phinney
    5. Sep Vanmarcke

  34. Rolling the dice in the darkince more.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Billions
    2. Stybar
    3. Thomas
    4. Fabs
    5. Vandenburgh

  37. @Wardy

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Cancellara
    2. Boonen
    3. Degenkolb
    4. Sagan
    5. Stannard

    Question mark over Tommeke’s finger / not sure why I picked Stannard after G in the first place, he gets my vote after E3 performance, despite the shades…

  38. @Wardy

    @Wardy

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Cancellara
    2. Boonen
    3. Degenkolb
    4. Sagan
    5. Stannard

    Question mark over Tommeke’s finger / not sure why I picked Stannard after G in the first place, he gets my vote after E3 performance, despite the shades…

    So picks are now Sagan, Cancellara, Thomas, Stybar, Degenkolb

  39. Just remembered seeing Hushovd abandon into a crowd of fans at E3 on Friday. So what is going on with him – mental? physical? wrong team? He just seems a shadow of his former racer self. I know these guys are all really, really damn good but he just doesn’t seem to have it these days.

    And what about Luca Paolini? Not trying to be a cunt and I know he has been solid throughout his career and won Omloop last year but now the guy just seems to be able to ride as strong as he wants in all sorts of races. Setting up Kristoff, working on Friday…he seems to recently have gotten much better than he used to be and that is never good for a Katusha guy. He ain’t young and he looks like a little meatball and he can just hang with the diesels in rain, hail, cobbles…

  44. VSP PICKS:

    1. Sagan
    2. Farrar
    3. Boasson Hagen
    4. Stybar
    5. Appollonio

  46. VSP PICKS:

    1. Tom Boonen
    2. Peter Sagan
    3. Fabian Cancellara
    4. Tyler Farrar
    5. Arnaud Démare

  49. With any luck I will earn some points…

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Cancellara
    2. Boonen
    3. Kristoff
    4. Sagan
    5. Farrar

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