Velominati Super Prestige

Velominati Super Prestige: Giro d’Italia 2013, Stage 10

Altopiano del Montasio. Photo via Cycling Passion
Altopiano del Montasio. Photo via Cycling Passion

Day 5 of the Six Days of the Giro continues with an impromptu VSP event.

Lets have a look at where we are in the 2013 Giro. Wiggins must have spent time training in Luxembourg because he’s been descending like a Schleck when things get dodgy before disappearing into the team van to have a cry about it. Hesjedal has put in some good moves and then proceeded to get creamed in the time trial before getting shelled on the last climb in yesterday’s stage. Evans seems to be riding like he did when he won the Tour though he’s sure to get sick before very much longer, as appears to be his usual approach to racing. Perhaps the biggest shock is that Gesink has managed to both stay in contention and on his bike. And Nibbles is killing it, proving once again that moving to a team with a long history of doping is usually all anyone needs to convert from contender to winner.

We’ve also had climbs, rain, rain, climbs, turns, descents, twists, rain, climbs, and more rain. The Giro is proving once again why it is the best Grand Tour of the year.

In honor of the first big climbing stage and with the time gaps already big enough to suggest some bigger, gutsier moves from some of those riders who have already lost time, this could be a zinger. Most likely some wild cards will escape and stay away, which makes naming your picks even harder than usual, but surely the favorites who are already behind will lay down massive helpings of the V to try to claw time back. The irony is not lost on me that the climb has the word piano in it, when you know the last thing that would ever happen is that they would ride up there at an easy tempo.

Get your picks in by the time the clock goes to zero. There isn’t much time, so get to it.

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215 Replies to “Velominati Super Prestige: Giro d’Italia 2013, Stage 10”

  2. I still hold a modicum of hope for our maple syrup powered superhero. Everyone else is just fodder.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Ryder Hesjedal
    2. Nibbles
    3. Cadel Evans
    4. Wiggo
    5. Rocky Rodriguez

  6. That’s as good a summation of the race so far that I have read anywhere.  If Wiggins does not have some kind of bug then I just don’t understand the utter lack of heart this last week.   Training in Luxembourg ( there’s an o in it Frank) indeed. 

    I need to think about this a bit more…

  7. To be fair if I could have picked Nibbles five times I would have…he’s looking super strong IMHO.

  12. Wow, crazy week!

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Nibali
    2. Gesink
    3. Wiggo
    4. Uran
    5. Scarponi

  14. There was a glitch in the matrix.  My first post wasn’t showing either in the messages or the recent posts list until I posted again.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Nibbles
    2. Cuddles
    3. Henao
    4. Uran
    5. Wiggens

  17. VSP PICKS:

    1. Darwin Atapuma
    2. Domenico Pozzovivo
    3. Benat Intxausti
    4. Damiano Caruso
    5. Mauro Santambrogio

  21. The sun is out, new tyres fitted. Rapha hastily fit airbags to their kit. Wiggins attacks, Betancur tries again but is happy with another 2nd, Ryder deploys Plan B early doors.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Wiggins
    2. Betancur
    3. Hesjedal
    4. Nibali
    5. Evans

  22. I see Uran dropping the shit out of Wiggins. Nibali and Evans are the only “favorites” racing for real, but Gesink is going to blow shit up starting NOW.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Rigoberto the Colombiano
    2. Pasta-before-a-race Nibali
    3. Gesiiink!
    4. Butt Chin Evans
    5. Wiggo

  23. VSP PICKS:

    1. Apu Nahasapeemapetilon nibali
    2. Dr. Julius Hibbert henao
    3. Chief Clancy Wiggum wiggins
    4. Capital City Goofball cadel
    5. Radioactive Man ryder

  27. I hate to place Ryder back, but this is from my educated expertise…yeah, that’s it

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Nibbs
    2. Cadel
    3. Ryder
    4. Sammy Sanchez
    5. Wiggo

  28. I haven’t a clue, probably some of the lesser riders take a turn on the telly and whoever guesses right blows the VSP apart. I hate rest days, oh wait is the ToC on Eurosport tonight?

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Evans
    2. Wiggins
    3. Nibali
    4. Pozzovivo
    5. Henao

  29. What I hate about Eurosport though is the ignorance of the pundits when it comes to pronouncing the riders names.  Isn’t it the case that in the Latin languages the second to last vowel gets the stress (if it ends in a vowel) , unless there is an accent over a letter (Málaga, Barcelona, Madrid)?  Maybe I’m just thinking about Spanish and maybe the Colombians speak it differently.  What’s doing my head in is the Irish guy who keeps saying PANtano instead of PanTAno.  He’d say PanTAni whouldn’t he?  I need to check the rules.  All road races are named as they are in the country in which they occur but do we give the same respect to the riders?

  30. @snoov

    What I hate about Eurosport though is the ignorance of the pundits when it comes to pronouncing the riders names. Isn’t it the case that in the Latin languages the second to last vowel gets the stress (if it ends in a vowel) , unless there is an accent over a letter (Málaga, Barcelona, Madrid)? Maybe I’m just thinking about Spanish and maybe the Colombians speak it differently. What’s doing my head in is the Irish guy who keeps saying PANtano instead of PanTAno. He’d say PanTAni whouldn’t he? I need to check the rules. All road races are named as they are in the country in which they occur but do we give the same respect to the riders?

    I hear you. Could be worse. In the Women’s Olympic RR, Paul Sherwen kept calling Armistead Armitage.That’s some serious mispronunciation. Mind you, let’s be honest, some of those Basque names are horrible to try and pronounce.

  31. I pick like a bit of a girl really…not to disrespect girls, I have two at home.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Rabottini
    2. Atapuma
    3. Gatto
    4. Nibali
    5. Evans

  32. Prediction: Sammy tests the group and falls back, than blasts off for the win in the final 15km.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Sammy Sanchez
    2. Tommy D(anielson)
    3. Michele Scarponi
    4. The Australian fellow (Evans)
    5. Vinny Nibali

  33. Wait… Oh- Isn’t this the Tele-tubbies fan club page? Sorry wrong website.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Nibbles
    2. Cuddles
    3. Wiggles
    4. Po
    5. Tinky-Winky

  36. @snoov

    By ‘the Irish guy’ do you mean Sean Kelly?

    As far as the Eurosport commentary goes, I’ll take their worst commentator over the Steve Schlanger or Todd Gogulski crap we get for US racing.

  38. @xyxax

    I pick like a bit of a girl really…not to disrespect girls, I have two at home.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Rabottini
    2. Atapuma
    3. Gatto
    4. Nibali
    5. Evans

    You pick the riders you think are the cutest?

  39. Er I am confused…are we running a second VSP just for stage 10?  I made my swaps but I’ve got 2 VSP banners at the top of the page…..?

  40. @snoov

    What I hate about Eurosport though is the ignorance of the pundits when it comes to pronouncing the riders names. Isn’t it the case that in the Latin languages the second to last vowel gets the stress (if it ends in a vowel) , unless there is an accent over a letter (Málaga, Barcelona, Madrid)? Maybe I’m just thinking about Spanish and maybe the Colombians speak it differently. What’s doing my head in is the Irish guy who keeps saying PANtano instead of PanTAno. He’d say PanTAni whouldn’t he? I need to check the rules. All road races are named as they are in the country in which they occur but do we give the same respect to the riders?

    I had to go back to Sporza after watching only a few races on Eurosport for this very reason!

  41. My secret for climbing………

    start off slow and gradually go slower

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Sergio Henao Montoya
    2. Matteo Rabottini
    3. Cadel Evans
    4. Vincenzo Nibali
    5. Sir Brad Wiggins

  43. Garibaldi(the road book) says

    First uphill finish. Quite a short stage (167 km) with two Category 1 climbs. First 100 km on a shallow but constant climb as far as Paularo (intermediate sprint). Climb to Passo Cason di Lanza with gradients up to 15%. A short, technical descent interrupts up the climb. Long descent (technical on narrow roads for the first part) as far as Pontebba, then the descent continues, less markedly, on a wide road as far as Chiusaforte. Final climb of about 22 km with the final 4 km at very high gradients.

    So those who descend like girls might as well go piss up a rope

    VSP PICKS:

    1. dirty Sanchez
    2. pozzovivo
    3. Hesjedal
    4. Evans
    5. Nibali

  48. A stage for the wee yins I think.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Pozzovivo
    2. Betancur
    3. Atapuma
    4. Evans
    5. Wiggins

  50. Give them a go, hope Wiggo can find some dry weather

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Santambrogio
    2. Betancur
    3. Nibali
    4. Evans
    5. Wiggins

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