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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@Erik
Gadret said “non” to a rider who at the time was his team leader. He should have had the shit punched out of him by his DS and his teammates. But because he is a Frenchy, the DS just gave a Gallic shrug of the shoulders, lit another Gaulois and poured himself a pastis. This is one of the many reasons why French cycling is so fucked. No discipline.
The fact that “Non” may end up being a better rider than Nicolas (and probably has a Dad who hasn’t morphed into a fuckwad) is immaterial.
@Marcus
Mais oui.
@Marcus
French cycling may be fucked, but France and the French is/are awesome for those same reasons. I always feel at home there. So, whatever…(shrug)…
Also, it’s possible that the DS thinks Nico is an overpaid waste of time, and gave Non a sneaky haute cinque afterwards.
@Bianchi Denti
Apologies. Haute cinq. Accidentally went Italian there for a moment.
Seeing as how I officially have the lantern rouge: If I overtake any of you suckers on the VSP, you’ll hear about it. Of course Frink has probably blocked my picks from scoring points, but I’ll know.
@Marcus
My recollection is fuzzy, but I’m pretty sure that Stephen Roche wasn’t the assigned team leader, a certain Roberto Visentini was, in the amazing Giro of ’87(??). The sport is filled with rivalries and questions over who is the captain… see, e.g. LeMond / Hinault or Contador / Armstrong. Some are more media generated than others.
This one is interesting because it is two riders trying to prove themselves to be good enough.
Ah ha ha Frank! I don’t watch a lot of Southpark but when I do, Cartman is stunning. We have an annoying biker bar right in town, which brings their noisy machines. Someone point out that I should check out “The F Word” episode. Cartman is incredible in that one.
And, I was pretty much just kidding. A new wee photo does throw me for a loop for a bit, but I’m not tellin’ anyone what to do, especially the Big Guy. (pretty crazy how mentally ingrained you get to attached a small photo with an immediate sense of the tone of what will then be written next to it.)
@Marcus
I don’t buy your nationalist argument. You’re conveniently forgetting that Nico Roche has a french mum, and is a product of the French cycling federation. It’s no mistake that he’s riding for AG2R. To say he’s Irish is about the same as saying he’s French.
I’d say @Bianchi Denti’s explanation is more compelling.
The latest adventures (and stylings) of Pippy Longstocking. The tan lines on the arms have to be seen to be believed.
Enjoy: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/may/23/bradley-wiggins-tour-de-france
@Bianchi Denti
@Bianchi Denti
@Erik
ok iPad on horizontal back from a night out settling in to watch the Giro. So let me address things. I wasn’t saying the French DS was discriminating against the non-frenchie – I was saying that the French have no (or non) esprit de corps. No discipline to dig in to whoever the fuck they were told to dig in behind and get on with it. I could raise many examples and you could raise many in the opposite – but the fact is that there has been NO French cycling team that has ridden as a team since the 80s.
I am talking about team cycling discipline
And to be a bit silly – the two best frenchies since then – JaJa and Reeshard – have had Aussie domestiques – Hodgey and Dodger.
Look forward to your responses
Apparently before today’s stage Gadret announced he was ” going to dynamite the race today”. So far his only contribution I can tell has been a bit of seamstressing on his jersey. Perhaps a new Gadret clothing line next season?
Holy SHIT! It’s on like Donkey Kong at the Giro!!! Stuck at work following a live ticker between patients but this is amazing! Cannot wait to see the video later! Gadret has BLOWN! Guess what he meant by his “going to dynamite the race today” was that he was wearing a suicide vest. Ryder hanging touch. Kreuziger gone. Man, unbelievable!!!
@Bianchi Denti
We should all agree on Miss France 2011.
@versio
With that BIG fuckin nose and weird ass crook’ed smile???
Can we please end this stage. Don’t the Italians know that I have WORK to accomplish and a relatively important meeting this afternoon.
Whew. Feels good to get that out there.
@Buck Rogers
You can’t go against Miss France, she’s Miss France.
@Buck Rogers
I can agree.
We’ll see from Gadret yet. He may still pull it off. (Is it weird that I’m becoming a Gadret fanboy? Don’t answer that.)
@Erik
No kidding!!! I am falling wayyyy behind as I cannot stop waiting for that next update!!! Ryder realling pulling out all the stops and Scarponi cramping up!!! Man, what a stage!
@Erik
Fucking hate Gadret and will for life. Sorry, just cannot help it.
@Buck Rogers
Probably his haircut.
This descent could really use some rain.
Pretty awesome from Scarponi and Uran.
Sky have been posting some stunning photography by Scott Mitchell on their site. There’s some pure cycling porn in there.
Jered Gruber is also capturing the magic
(I’ve been away and I’m not sure that my Sky+ box has been recording so I’m having to rely on photos and race reports)
@frank
+1
Gadret rolls in 1:22 down. I think I have to accept defeat for him. Oh well. I do love me some outsider picks.
Awesome stage – I don’t think the Angry Cross is coming back, and Gadrets a fucking ugly fucking fuck who also isn’t coming back.
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@frank
A+1! This descent is the real reason that Grimpelder ducked out yesterday.
I think every grand tour should have loads of sponsorship from the relevant country’s Dept of Tourism. I mean, really. Can you think of a better pr strategy for showing the most beautiful, scenic parts of your country that gorgeous helicopter shots of mountains, castles, villages etc? Every day I exclaim “I want to go there!”
Should have put Basso in my picks on the rest day. Damn Rujano and now damn Kreuzinger. Still got three of the top 5 though.
Yeah, the bad blood between Roche and Visentini was bad in 87. Roche basically had two allies: Eddy Schepers and Robert Millar. Nice article on it in this month’s Peloton.
Pozzovivo is hanging in there! Come on man, you’re my number 3 man (he’ll never finish third, but hopefully top 5!). I seriously under-estimated Ryder. I keep waiting for him to fold in the mountains. Still plenty of time but I never thought Kreuzinger would crack out before Ryder. Great RACE!!!
Go Ryder.
@Buck Rogers
When did Kreuziger blow? And how badly? I disciplined myself to get some work done this morning before tuning in. By the time I got to the screen, there were just six left. Hesjedal has been very impressive. Scarponi looks as though he might be the next to crack””he was definitely on the edge today, although that was a spectacular recovery and descent from him.
@Erik
Desperately wanted Nieve to catch the lead group when he was out on his own. He was my outsider pick, but it’s hard not to pull for the Basque team””I really hope they’re back next year.
@Steampunk
40 k’s from the finish on the next to last climb he came unhinged and then could not make it back on the descent. Not sure how much time he lost but it looks like his Giro is over. Yeah, I was PRAYING for Scarponi b/c he is my main pick to win but he definitely was in the pain cave. sure hope he just had a bit of an “off” day and recovers well for the rest fo the week!
@Steampunk
Just saw that Kreuziger lost over ten minutes. Game over for him.
@Marcus
@Buck Rogers
Yup. Had him down for the win too, so I’m going to throw my weight behind Wolf Boy for the win, mostly because I have J-Rod down for 2nd. Come on Hope of a Nation…
Hmmm. Not sure why that last post had @Marcus at the top, as I was quoting @Buck Rogers…
Does the VSP know that versio is Vin’cenza? 1_Basso(3rd) 2_Rodriguez Oliver(1st) 3_Kreuziger 4_Ballan 5_Scarponi(4th)
@Steampunk
@Buck Rogers
He popped about the same time I went to take a shit this morning… very metaphorical. Arriverderci Roman! Fuck. Now rooting for Scarponi to finish second. Purito is looking muy fuerte, hope he stays way from the steaks.
Rodriquez commented after today’s stage that he could not ride another day like that and that he thinks that Ryder and Michele can’t either. He also said Basso is still looking very strong.
Is this Rodriquez throwing up a smokescreen or is he surrendering to Basso?
And as I was disappointed in Schleck before and hoping Rujano to be as good as last year, now Kreuziger has left me as wel. Only Basso and Scarponi remain, and I’m not so sure if they’ll make it.
@Netraam
Don’t know but Gazetta TV showed Scarponi and Basso having a wee hug and chat afterwards. Bernard Hinault sure didn’t do that shit.
“Today I saw a very strong Ryder,” said RodrÃguez, who kicked to victory and kept the pink jersey. “Ryder was there all day today. If the Giro continues like this, the victory will be his. I hope he cracks and I’ll do everything I can to make him crack. But Ryder is strong.”
That’s right bitches, who has the big brain now? OK, my other picks are questionable, Visconti and Jacky Bobby, I’m a dreamer. But Ryder winning, that would be f’ing huge.
@wiscot
Hugs and chats are things you can do when you’re retired. Basso, you just worked your ass of to gain time on Scarponi. You should be hating him, not hugging him. Scarponi, Basso just dropped you and tried to gain time on you. You should be hiding a knife for when he comes too close, not chat with him about it afterwards.
Are Basso and Scarponi also skyping after each stage?
@Gianni
I can see Ryder winning the Giro. On the other hand, I can also see Basso putting major time into everyone on the last stage. He looks like he has the most power and endurance. Wish I picked Hesjedal and Rodriquez instead of Kreuziger, Rujano and Schleck.
@Netraam, @sgt:
I’d be thrilled for a Purito/Scarponi 1-2. That’s what I picked, anyway. But I suspect we’ll see JRod and Basso on top; Basso is looking very strong and comfortable at the moment. Looks like he’s got some gas left.
We still have a 38km TT at the end of this, JRod may lose some big time in that.
@RedRanger
On who? Scarponi is looking like a wet towel, Ryder is going to suffer, Basso isn’t the TT rider he was before… I see him losing time, but not over a minute.
@Netraam
I’m inclined to agree. So far, JRod and Basso seem to be riding within themselves more effectively than the others (Hesjedal still looks good, too, mind). If JRod can go into the TT with a one minute buffer, it would be hard to bet against him. 38k isn’t that far. Of course, he has collapsed in a finishing TT before…
@Steampunk
J-Rod claims that he needs two minutes on Ryder to secure the win. If they do not put some distance into him on Friday or Saturday, the Canadian has a real chance of pulling this off. But, and it is a huge but, Fri and Saturday are going to be so epic that all the rest of the days should not really matter.
@Buck Rogers
I wonder how much of that is smokescreen? Purito is very definitely the rider most on form. TT is not his strong suit, but he didn’t even try to make a move today in spite of the fact that he looked pretty relaxed as they went over the top of the pass.
@Steampunk
His sprint wasn’t as impressive, Basso went fairly early and Rodriquez could barely match his acceleration. Add to that that he’s been on form since just before the AGR… He could suddenly crack in one of the coming stages, and even if he doesn’t Basso and Hesjedal are there.
@Netraam
You could be right; it’s been a good run for Purito so far, but he seems to be riding with confidence. Note, too, he was actually first to the line in the end.