Velominati Super Prestige: Giro d’Italia 2012
After a winter of long training rides that offered more in the way of numb extremities than it did in acute enjoyment, I have to say that the warming of the air and brightening of the skies have served to remind me that while I love riding in bad weather, I certainly don’t have anything against riding when its nice out.
But dont think for a minute that this quells my desire to watch the Pros battle the elements as well as each other and, quite frankly, after a Spring Classics campaign that gave us only fleeting tastes of Rule #9 Glory, I welcome the arrival of the 2012 Giro d’Italia which holds the distinction of being held in the worst weather and over the worst roads. Come July, I’ll get just as wound up as anyone about the biggest racing spectacle of the year, but in my heart, the Giro d’Italia is the best Grand Tour of the three.
All that said, I’m a little disappointed to see that the Giro starts in Denmark. Not that I have anything against Denmark – lovely place – it’s just that this choice takes us away from the classical Giro opening week involving a mountaintop finish or two and gives us a Tour de France-style opening week of flat stages and crosswinds. We’ll have to wait almost two weeks before we start seeing the riders cross the highest passes and hitting the uphill finishes, though the final week does appear to set us up for considerable fireworks as the second-last stage will see the riders cross the Mortirolo and finish atop the Stelvio.
What does this mean for the VSP? Quite a bit, actually. Bearing in mind the changes we’ve made to the Rest-Day picks from the years past, it means that as the race settles out, those who have made changes to their lineup on the first rest day will not have the opportunity to do so again on the second rest day. And, those who wait for the second day will see steep penalties tallying up against their totals. But on the line is a Symbol Pack, the chance to post for the rest of year with the Maglia Rosa VSP Badge and, of course, the grand prize of the personalized Shop Apron. Check the start list and with any divine beings that you might be able to influence, and then get your picks in by the time the countdown timer goes to zero at 5am Pacific on the 5th May.
For reference, please review the new Grand Tour scoring and penalty guidelines. Also note that since these new rules required new coding and this represents the first Grand Tour, there is always the chance that there are defects in the code. Watch your picks and your points as we move through the event and alert us of any anomalies. If your points seem wrong, use the dispute function to alert us of the matter; complaints in the posts feed to this effect will be ignored. Finally, don’t leave anything to the last minute so we have time to fix any problems before its too late. Good luck.
Scoring:
Readers who wish to enter shall enter their predictions for the top five placings on General Classification of each Grand Tour by 5am on the day of the first stage or prologue.
Points
Points will be scored as follows: 20 points for first place, 15 for second, 10 for third, 7 for fourth, and 5 for fifth; plus 3 points per rider in the top five regardless of the rider’s placing, but riders are not scored twice.
Changing of the Picks*
Contestants are allowed to make line up changes on one of the rest days of the Grand Tours but not both. These changes will come with a point penalty. You will be allotted one (1) rest day to make swaps in grand tours. You pick either the first or second rest day. The penalties for swapping will be lower for the first rest day than the second. This will allow you to swap out a rider(s) who gets caught in some first week nervousness with a 5 point penalty for each swap. Or make some go for broke/doomed to fail break-away swap on the second rest day for a 10 point penalty per swap. You make one swap or five on either rest day for the corresponding 5 or 10 point penalty per swap.
Additionally, if one of your riders crashes out, DNF’s, or DNS’s, you may swap them out on a rest day with corresponding penalties if you haven’t already used up your one rest day swap. The only exception to this is riders who are booted from a race for a positive test; if your rider is on the juice and gets chucked off the race, you get a free swap of that rider within 24 hours of the disqualification.
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@Netraam
Yup, and if I’m not in the mood to fix it, and the contestants don’t verify their picks and dispute anything that’s wrong, well then that’s just tough shit. Fixed and tables updated, btw.
@RedRanger
Hahahahahahahah, no shit! I grew up near the brewery. We called it (pre-PC days!!) “squaw piss” for the label. Nasty stuff.
@RedRanger
Don’t be.
I’ve got a cellar with racks (24x .5l bottles) of German and Belgian beers, plus a few oddballs — Asahi Super Dry or the Czech KruÅ¡ovice.
The Leinenkugel reminds me why I have racks of German and Belgian beers.
@frank
Thanks for the stats Frank!
@Bill
I thought it was a midwest-only beer; its the only place I’ve ever seen it. I don’t even think you can get it here in Seattle. It was the best beer available in the twin cities until Summit showed up, which plays along with most micro-brews.
@Sauterelle
That’s what we called it, too!
Jezus christ, Phinney just absolutely killed the opening TT. 10 seconds faster than Thomas!
@Netraam
That was quite a clinic he put on.
@frank
You grew up in the Twin Cities? I’m from Eau Claire originally. Leinie’s is all over the place now, I see it here in Syracuse.
@Sauterelle
@Bill
I cant even look at the bottle with out getting a little sick.
There was this super cool bar/steak house in Saint Paul, on west 7th(frank knows what im talking about) that only sold that brand and New castle. needless to say I would always drink heavily at home before I got dragged over there.
@frank
Look a little harder if you really want some. I can get it at any super market in town. Its such a “north woods” thing that one of the owner(former?) lives in Scottsdale and the brand is sold at the local AZ baseball teams stadium. My friend is the team photographer and gets all excited about the beer(clearly he has never tried it).
Scarponi isn’t exactly nailing it… Even worse than Schleck at the intermediate point.
Kreuziger, Basso, Rodriquez, Schleck is how the GC man are now lined up.
Scarponi 7 seconds slower than Schleck, 37 seconds slower than Hesjedal.
Damn, I wish I picked Hesjedal.
How many times is Harmon going to exclaim, “Why, he’s even slower than Frank Schleck!”
The Avatar slayed it!
@frank
He has actually stated many times that he is not a fan of the Schleck brothers at all.
@RedRanger
That’s not what I mean, I mean how funny is it that poor old’ Frankie sucks so badly at the TT that he’s the benchmark for slow. “why, he rode slower than a schleck!” (also funnier with the requisite English accent/tone.)
@Rigid takes the opening day’s pink jersey over @ChrisO and @cchern. Quite honestly, I’m shocked anyone has points already, its usually a few days before we see anyone move past the donut.
Remember that this year we’re only updating the VSP standings on the opening day, the rest days, and the final day of any Grand Tour.
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@Sauterelle
Yup, Saint Paul. Most of my training was always in the hills to your south there in the Durand WI area; very much like the Belgian Ardennes. My parents bought a farm out there in the hills there and we’ll do a Cogal there at some point – absolutely amazing riding. My first cycling-related hospital stay was in Syracuse – missed a corner on a descent on a hill out there and went over a few retaining walls.
@frank
1 of them picked Phinney and the other two picked Thomas.
@frank
Oh, I had friends with a farm in Durand…beautiful country out there! I used to drag race in Rock Falls, not far from there.
@frank
Thanks for the stats. Interesting to see agreement on 3 of the top riders, maybe some collective wisdom?
Scarponi and Basso 1-2 would presumably therefore keep the VSP game fairly flat, moving into the tour as so many have picked them for the top spots, while kreuzinger (my no. 1) or Rodriguez winning, would make a strong selection early season, as even if people correctly identify 4 of the top 5 they won’t catch someone who correctly guesses 1st and presumably also has 2 or 3 of the top 5. Combined with the TT and most of the mountain top finishes being after the final rest day should make it an interesting competition.
Hopefully a chance to catch up with the leaders, though with The Fish agreeing with my picks 2 and 3 (J-rod, Scarponi) I feel i’m less likely to gain seriously unless kreuzinger wins.
@frank
Cheers! But I’m certain my boys will rule in the last two weeks (of what I’m no longer sure).
@Sauterelle
Syracuse: trust you’ll make it over for the Ontario Cogal, starting in Dundas, ON. About a four-hour drive. Will be an excellent ride. Feel free to contact me for details.
@frank
Lexicon worthy if it’s not already there. Even Andy’s won the Luxembourg TT championship a couple of times (and U-23 once). It’s telling, though, that he remains a legitimate podium threat. A sad indication of the state of contemporary grand tour racing. I long for the old days of all-rounders. Puts Contador and Armstrong in sharp relief, actually…
@Steampunk
Oh my Merckx, you guys would probably kill me. I don’t think I’m Cogal-worthy yet and my bike DEFINITELY isn’t! But I’d like to see the route if you wouldn’t mind sending info. Email is tete.de.la.course@hotmail.com
@Sauterelle
Weak: see Rule V. Route is posted on the Cogal page.
@Sauterelle
Nonsense.
@Steampunk
Ohhhhh, I’m working on it, thanks to you guys! I have Rule V posted all over the place. That looks like a great ride but I’m definitely not ready for it.
Je ne suis pas un grimpeuse, je suis trop gros pour grimper! (It sounds much nicer in French!)
@frank
The least that can be said about Lienie is that it’s not Miller or PBR. That being said, at the end of the Wisconsin Cogal we;ll be heading over to see Wayne at the Riverside Brewery for some in-house brews on tap. Real beer earned the hard way.
Leinie’s is now partially owned by Miller and takes advantage of Miller’s distribution channels, so it is muchmore widely available than when Frank was hoisting them up der in da nort woods, hey der. Leinie’s original is still the best of the bargain beers, and some of their specialty brands are decent too. Leinie’s Red is a favorite of mine.
Alright, I’m gonna gush for a minute. I first met Davis Phinney at a ski shop on Highway 00 (Double Oh) in Hayward, Wisconsin. We did lots and lots and lots of training on the Birkie trail and Davis was getting into it around the time Greg LeMond was. (We spent lots of time on the trail with Greg as well – absolutely more friendly and kind than you could imagine, especially from an athlete who had just won the Tour de France for the second time.)
My dad and I recognized him but didn’t want to bother him, knowing who he was and all the fans he must run in to. Finally, he turned to us and asked us what we thought of the Peltonen skis he was looking at. We hated Peltonen, and preferred Karhu, who at the time made the best and fasted (if least popular) nordic racing skis. My dad was diplomatic, I said they skied like a pair of bent javalins: pointy and unpredictable (I’ve never been un-opinionated). We chatted a bit and someone recognized him and he walked off to chat with them a while.
My dad and I both remarked on how nice and humble he was, and how interested he was in just talking tech.
Then Davis finished his “duty” with the fans, and walked back up to us and said, “Sorry about that, I want to know more about why you like Karhus so much.”
So amazing. He didn’t know of us from adam, but he just wanted to talk to someone who loved the sport and had opinions, whatever they were. What a great role model. Tyler Farrar showed the same spirit in April when I ran into him waiting for our bikes after Roubaix. What cool athletes these guys are – who take it as more than a job and take it as a passion.
To say I’ve got a soft spot for Taylor Phinney after meeting his dad like that is an understatement. I think you all know enough about me to imagine the way I was yelling at the computer this morning (fuck you Comcast for not airing Universal Sports anymore) and seeing him take the win in the prologue.
This is sport. This is why I love this shit.
A-Merckx, Talyor. A-merckx. You’ve got big things coming for you, and I can’t wait to watch you do them.
Love this guy. First met Davis at the Killington Stage Race. Can’t wait to see what Taylor can do!
@frank
I maintain his Tour de Romandie heroics from last year remain the unofficial V moment of 2011.
Mini-Phinney is the shit. He picked his parents well.
@harminator
Fucken A. Who is the fish? The point of picking unnecessary arguments was so this didn’t resemble a sports betting site (unless Anne Fro-Ank is running a game on the side and I’ve rumbled him) but the unforseen side effect was how immensely satisfying it is. I have also deliberately avoided many any picks so I can freely insult the intelligence, taste and upbringing of all of you without fear of concurrently criticising my own picks.
having said that, I thoroughly endorse all of Johhny’s picks and can’t wait for one of those no-hopers to be the last man standing. If Rigid’s in front you’re clearly all fucked
And this morning reminds me why I should stick to the German and Belgian beers. There’s an odd sensation behind my eyes, fueled by the Leinie.
Taylor Phinney and his mother Connie Carpenter are speaking a beautiful Italian.
Pozzato in the Phantom Aero Bars.
Yikes. Phinney with a dropped chain.
Dropped faster than me off the back…
Nibles to leave leaky gas.
I would really hate to see him go to Astana and BMC has way to many leaders already. horrible news.
@RedRanger
That is a shame. I rather liked Nibali and Liquigas. My money is on him going to Lampre, who will likely be in the market for a GC rider for next year, and an Italian would fit the bill nicely…
That is indeed a shame. As you say, BMC are awash with personalities who will all want their aims satisfying, and I can’t shake off the feeling that there’s something not quite right about Astana. The article makes it sound like it’s all about the money as well – not surprising, but a shame nonetheless.
You have to see this about Taylor Phinney and his ‘mamma’!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am_ktA28r0Q
@Steampunk, @Fausto, @RedRanger: don’t forget that Peter Sagan will stay with Liquigas the next seasons, maybe that was the problem…
@Pedale.Forchetta
True, true. IMHO I thought Sagan was a couple of years away from being a GC contender, and learning from Nibbles would be a good thing for him. Hey ho, must be an early start for silly season!
@Pedale.Forchetta
Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.
@Fausto
Didn’t realize Sagan had GC hopes. I figured him for a pure classics rider.
Serpa broke his hand today, so those of you who chose him: better luck next time!
@RedRanger
And stages, of course. We’ve seen before that it’s really hard to have a team with a serious GC contender also successfully accommodate a stage hunter. Concentration of force and mass on one goal. Sky is struggling with this one regarding the Tour.