Velominati Super Prestige: Gent Wevelgem 2015

Mapei parties like it's 1998.

Oh boy! Oh boy! Oh boy oh boy oh boy! Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy!

This is it! We are really into the thick of it now! E3 Harelbeke is today, and on Sunday we have the Kemmelberg in Gent Wevelgem – the first real serious cobbled race of the year. For Keeper’s Tour in 2012 we stayed just outside Kemmel, and for KT2013 Bretto and I went off for a jetlag-neutralizing spin together into the same area and rode the climb from both sides. When I arrive in Belgium on Thursday, the first thing we’ll do is head over there again; the area feels a bit like home at this point.

All of Europe bears the marks of World War I, but this bit of Belgium is even more heavily scarred; when this many people die in one place, it lingers in the air like a thick mist. This hill in particular was the site of several battles; the Germans took it in April 1918 and it was reclaimed by the allied forces in September. Monuments, graveyards, barracks litter the landscape.

Although its short, the Kemmelberg is a brute of a climb with a steep ramp at the top; the cobbles are rough and very badly laid at the base; the best route has you swinging wide to the outside if you’re to maintain your speed. If you are unlucky enough to be forced into the inside, you will come to a standstill and find yourself chasing from the onset.

And speaking of chasing, its time to get some points on the board with the VSP so you have a chance of claiming one of our prizes. Get your picks in by the time the clock goes to zero. And for the love of Merckx, don’t wait until the last minute before flooding my inbox with complaints about the site going down. Your procrastination is not my emergency, boys and girls. But if you do happen to have some trouble (and it’s not the last minute, or the middle of the night) then feel free to let us know; we’re happy to help you out so long as the event hasn’t closed yet. So, prognosticate on the start list and enter your sure-to-be dud picks.

We are still finalizing the prize list for the overall VSP, but second place has been confirmed as being a set of CR Wheelworks/Velominati wheels. CR Wheelworks is Café Roubaix’s wheel product line, and you’ll have the choice of rim size and hub. The Velominati edition comes with orange Chris King hubs, but if that’s too bling for you, I’m sure the configuration can be changed for the winner.

First prize will be something even more amazeballs and third place will be a full Velominati kit complete with V-Cap. My wheels just arrived, and I can’t wait to ride them.

And, we’ll wrap it up with some 2013 Gent action:

[vsp_results id=”32565″/]

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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View Comments

frank says:

Mar 29 2015 at 2:06 pm

HOLY FUCKBALLS I CAN'T WAIT TO GET OVER THERE.

@ChrisO takes his first win in a Semi-Classic VSP event, not bad for a guy with a broken leg!

[vsp_results id="32565"/]
PT says:

Mar 29 2015 at 2:09 pm

Well done Mr Paolini. (AKA Gimli?)

Hell of a day out and given his form in MSR, not a surprising. Was a contender for Super-Domestique of the Year: now what?

Goes to show that $400 shades and beards are important; how you wear your leggings, apparently less so. Luca would know, being Italian.
Ron says:

Mar 29 2015 at 2:22 pm

Those shades of his belong on senior citizen ladies livin' in Miami.
Mikael Liddy says:

Mar 29 2015 at 3:33 pm

Wonder if there's an inverse correlation between how awesome a race is, and how many VSP points are scored?

Now that we're all tending to pick the faves (the prizes on offer are a little too good for long shots), an awesome race with underdogs winning, means everyone scores sweet FA.
wilburrox says:

Mar 29 2015 at 3:39 pm

@ped

@wiscot

@ped

@wiscot

This is true, but I think He rocks the despised aero helmet well, and even those Assos shades and a beard look pretty damn good on him

My issue is with what he looks like from the waist down!

Those safety pins go through his quads!

And that is almost precisely what @ChrisO was describing yes?? Cramps? Pin 'em... Only logical then to prevent 'em by shoving pins in my quads before I even hit the line. Perfect.

@frank FUCKBALLS ?!? That's the word of the week. I'll look for good opportunity to put that to use. Cheers
justinevan88 says:

Mar 29 2015 at 4:31 pm

Hey, I'm 41st! At least i was the first person listed in the results as getting 0 points. Great race nonetheless! I will never complain about wind ever again.
frank says:

Mar 29 2015 at 7:10 pm

@justinevan88

Hey, I’m 41st! At least i was the first person listed in the results as getting 0 points. Great race nonetheless! I will never complain about wind ever again.

On a tie, the win goes to the first person to enter their picks, so the early bird gets the worm. Or, in this case, the early bird sucks slightly less.
wilburrox says:

Mar 29 2015 at 7:31 pm

Ya gotta love when Paolini says, "Halfway through I was asking myself if it was reasonable to continue. But I resisted (the temptation to quit) and I've earned the best win of my career." What a stud. Those nagging doubts that creep in to your mind along with the pain. Maybe was after his second time down and on the third bike?? And to hammer on. Classic, classic stuff. And Sir Bradley??
Daccordi Rider says:

Mar 29 2015 at 8:28 pm

Sir Brad? "Nah, fuck this where's my Schleckchute" I'm waiting anxiously to see how many tip him for PR based on the zero form displayed this season.

Also monster ride by Jurgen Rowlandts.
Mikael Liddy says:

Mar 29 2015 at 8:56 pm

@Daccordi Rider luckily for Sky, P-R is the kind of race where you need plans A through to C so they can claim he's a protected rider, while actually riding for the bloke with form in Thomas.