Velominati Super Prestige: Giro D’Italia 2013
Twiggo is dreaming of a Giro-Tour double. He has sent out mixed messages about his Tour ambitions. Will he use the Giro as the ultimate Tour preparation or will be burn all his matches in May and hope he can find another pack for July? He has abandoned his successful 2012 Tour run-up strategy of winning every stage race he entered the previous spring. Now it’s the seclusion of Mount Doom of Tenerife, his coach and his watt meter his only competition. Team Sky is supporting Wig with a very strong squad, including superman, Kanstantsin Siutsou and with Cav no longer a teammate, it’s all the knights of the round table for Sir Twig.
Will the curse of the god-awful Astana kit continue to haunt non-Kazahk riders? Can Vincenzo’s Italian mojo overpower its powerful pale blue and yellow aura? Roman Kreuziger was finally able to win a big race once he shed that kit and pulled on one of Bjarne’s Saxo jerseys. Maybe it was more Bjarne and less jersey that made the difference.
Ryder gets no respect as the defending champion. His little dance at the end of Liége-Bastogne-Liége showed he is fit and ready for a fight. He can time trial, he can climb. Personally I have to back the local boy. And I always hate the overpowered, overwhelming favorite (read Team Sky here) in any race, unless that racer is Fabian Cancellara. No one can say Fabs has won a race this year surrounded with a team as strong as Sky’s. The Shack is just the Shack or a shack. Once Cancellara leaves for the Swiss “I AM” team, it’s lights out in the shack. Frandy, don’t forget to turn out ’em out when you leave.
If Cavendish wins the first day’s sprinter’s stage he will be in pink. He may be out of it after stage two, a team time trial.
But this is the Giro: crazy, unexpected, beautiful things can happen. The spinning wheels of fortuna are less predictable in Italy as they are in France in July. The betting window is now open. The complete start list is not yet available, an incomplete one is here and shall be updated soon. So sleep on your picks, wait for all the teams to make it official, unless you want to go with the obvious all Sky podium. The race begins Saturday so don’t Delgado away a Grand Tour opportunity.
[vsp_results id=”23343″/]
Mini out Evans in.
VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):
1. Bradley Wiggins
2. Vincenzo Nibali
3. Ryder Hesjedal
4. Cadel Evans
5. Robert Kiserlovski
VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):
1. Nibali
2. Evans
3. Scarponi
4. Gesink
5. Sanchez
VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):
1. Wiggins
2. Evans
3. Nibali
4. Gesink
5. Henao
VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):
1. Wiggo
2. Nibali
3. Hesjedal
4. Scarponi
5. Evans
VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):
1. Nibali
2. Hesjedal
3. Gesink
4. Evans
5. Scarponi
Can you go into negative points? Let’s see…
VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):
1. Morabito
2. Millar
3. Machado
4. Modolo
5. Marcato
If you now realise that your rest day swaps were stupid and want to revert back to your original picks does the system take that into account, or are you doubly penalized (as perhaps you should be for being stupid)?
@brett
Jealous of @frank and gunning for the maglia nero?
Does anyone else strangely and oddly relevant to this site, (frank perhaps)?
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/savoldelli-wiggins-problem-on-descents-is-fear-not-material
VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):
1. Nibali
2. Evans
3. Hesjedal
4. Scarponi
5. Henao
I think I may get charged with treason for my swaps…
VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):
1. Vince Nibbles
2. Evans
3. Beaker
4. Gesink
5. Uran
@Sauterelle
Hey Now? WTF?
Gotta do it…
VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):
1. Nibbles
2. Wiggo
3. Ryder
4. Scarponi
5. Cuddles
No swaps, 6pts are better than 1. Anyway the 1st week is just the aperitif, the Giro begins with Tuesdays 20% kick in the balls. At least one favourite will lose a shed load of time.
I’m sticking to my guns for now, but will no doubt panic and swap like crazy on the next rest day to try and salvage something. Also, I fear Cadel may be flattering to deceive and Dirty Sanchez has to do something special at some point to justify those golden slippers of his…
VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):
1. Nibali
2. Wiggins
3. Evans
4. Gesink
5. Scarponi
VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):
1. WIGGINS Sir Bradley
2. SCARPONI Michele
3. NIBALI Vincenzo
4. POZZOVIVO Domenico
5. DI LUCA Danilo
After Basso didn’t even make the start, I might as well start all over again.
VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):
1. Good Cadel
2. Scarponi
3. Nibbles
4. S Sanchez
5. wiggins
What was I thinking putting Sanchez in there? He even said a stage was his priority! Cadel can hang in the bad weather and has his mountain bike skills to rely on, unlike Twiggo. Let’s cross our fingers and hope for an epic attack from Hesjedal, does he have it in him?
VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):
1. Nibali
2. Cadel
3. Hesjedal
4. Wiggins
5. Gesink
Sammys out and Cuddles is in. Still holding faith that Ryder can right the ship and pull some gaps in the hills. Either way the first week was some fantastic racing…and tomorrow morning should b more of the same. Can’t wait.
VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):
1. Beeker
2. Nibali
3. Ryder
4. Cadel
5. Gesink
@frank
Henao surely?
“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.”
Shit – should have kept my powder dry for the second rest day.
@San Tonio More costly though.
@Mikael Liddy
Don’t dream it’s over.
@mouse
Thats the song I’ve got stuck in my head. Damn you cycle pun related earworm.
@San Tonio
O nooooo I don’t think you will regret it. Day 2 is so expensive as to make it impossible to benefit unless you have that crystal ball handy….don’t forget the cost of each swap doubles on day 2!
@motor city
Just to make sure it stays there……such an awesome band it is worth putting up the live version! @Frank….you will never miss this pun again I assure you……
@Deakus
Actually there is a technical question in here (and I accept this is anti-V so I won’t be doing it but). What if all your picks are dogs and you swap them all on day to to the top 5 favourites. Are the costs of swaps netted off the end result or at the time of the swaps and can you go negative.
If the answer to them is the latter and you can’t go negative, then 5 swaps at day 2 when you are already at zero mean you are still at zero but with an awesome chance of cleaning up at the finish line….forgive the question, I am just bored the ToC has ended and the Giro has yet to start for the day….
@Deakus
You’re only allowed to swap on ONE of the rest days, and yes you can go negative.
@snoov
Shit! I thought I had found arbitrage! The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow! The anti-V lurking in the wings! The lawyers approach to VSP! Hope……..
@Deakus
I try to tell myself it’s only a bit of fun, especially since I only get good points when Vos is racing, but I WANT THAT FUCKING APRON!!!
@snoov
half right. You only get a donut, there’s no drop in to the negative.
@Mikael Liddy
O!
@Mikael Liddy
Oh sorry, I though I had a memory of it happening to someone last year, must have been in a dream. Getting much sleep at the moment? Hope all it going well.
@snoov it’s not too bad at the moment (I’m staying up to watch the Giro anyways), especially given I can kinda go straight back to sleep when he wakes during the moment. Having this month off makes it a little less taxing too.
What’s the odds that Uran and Henao try and work over Nibbles and Cuddles today in an effort to drain them for Brad to make his steady way through the bunch and out the front?
@Deakus
Possible. According to the forecast the roads will remain dry, so Wiggins won’t be in need of all his team.
@Mirko
I think we got the Zoncolan today so either way it’s going to be a beast of a stage!
@Deakus
No Zoncolan in this year’s Giro, although they’re in that region today.
@Mirko
Yes I looked at the profile and could not see it, not sure but I could swear I read somewhere that it was in there….nevermind it is still proving gripping with Uran laying down the V and leaving Nibbles in the middle of shit sandwhich with Biggles!
O dear, I see Biggles cracking and Uran becoming point man, so Biggles decides to try and push Froomedog out of his Tour spot….
He was Hungry Like the Wolf.
Looks like the Storm Troopers just got themselves a new leader to march for.
Wow, awesome stage. Hesj is but a whisper on the breeze at this point. Wiggo not looking so good for the win, and the race seems to be down to Nibbles and Evans.
@Blake takes over the provisional standings.
@PeakInTwoYears
Meeting Beaker with a view to a kill
Face to faces, secret places, feel the chill
@PeakInTwoYears
Awesome….for those youngsters out there….
Todays stage knocked Wiggo, Ryder, my VSP and this fan all out of contention:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDQhrM1i1b8
@Deakus
As one of those youngsters I’m quite familiar with the song, but not the video. Are you sure this isn’t the broadway adaptation of Apocalypse Now?
@Mirko
Ha! A better choice by far. Chapeau.
@razmaspaz
Back in the day, I remember they were renowned for some of the best pop videos around….obviously MTV was in its infancy back then and the world was a better place…..glad you enjoyed….I recommend the “Girls on Film” vid or “Wild Boys”…fuck “Rio”….boring shit on a boat!