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″/]
Given the balance of abilities with the favourites, my greatest hope for this Giro is that Nibbles really finally lets fly down the drops like we know he can – it is a bit of an eternal frustration sitting waiting for him to gas everyone downhill, only for him to think about it, and wisely sit in – admittedly you don’t win anything on the downhills, but maybe this Giro will be one where a few seconds will make the difference…. fasten your seatbelts
@Mikael Liddy
way to go Mrs. Liddy and welcome to the world, Sebastian.
@Mikael Liddy Congratulations to the Liddy family!
VSP PICKS:
1. Wiggins
2. Nibbles
3. Hesjedal
4. Scarponi
5. Kiserlovski
Is it a fair question to ask if Astana is still a dirty team? I like Nibali so I hope not, but his form has been great so far this year…
He was 6+ minutes down on Wiggins at the end of the Tour, can he really improve enough to win?
@Mikael Liddy
Congrats! Me thinks you’re on night shift from now on. It’s all good fun though!
Nice piece by Graeme Obree on the Wiggo/Froome spat, although I can’t see how Wiggo can stay in contention in the mountains unless he’s found an ability accelerate with the climbers. Presumably if they’re both leaders, Sky will burn through the domestiques keeping the pace high until there’s only Wiggo, Froome and whoever else left, at which point Froome won’t hang around for Wiggo.
Particularly, liked the bit about Froome being hen pecked.
Meanwhile BMC announce that Mini Phinney’s team bike is to be modified to a fixed gear for the Giro and that the UCI have relaxed the the Helmet/Clothing regulations to allow retro ironic caps and messenger bags…
VSP PICKS:
1. Sir Wiggo
2. Nibbles
3. Ryder
4. Where’s the team listing ffs
5. Skyrider #2
@Mikael Liddy Congratulations!!
VSP PICKS:
1. Nibali
2. Wiggins
3. Ryder
4. Cadel
5. Betancur
VSP PICKS:
1. Sir Wiggo
2. Nibbles
3. Ryder
4. Henao
5. Uran
@Chris
Froome gone from Giro
@Mikael Liddy
Warm congratulations: let the blimping begin! I have a V theory that blimping is made possible by the fact that your velomifoetus will transmogrify into a velomitoddler, who will transmogrify into a velominatus and then be present to pull you up hills, etc. As much as we are in perpetual search of the most efficient pedal stroke, we fail to appreciate that adding V members to our train makes the whole riding experieeast hat much faster and more pleasant…
VSP PICKS:
1. Hesjedal
2. Nibali
3. Wiggo
4. Cadel
5. Henao
@DocBrian
You read like a mathematician (although you don’t write, or proof read, like a teacher). Given that I was commenting about an article on the contre temps between Wiggins and Froome over their Tour ambitions, I think it’s safe to assume that I was talking about what might happen in the Tour. Admittedly I might have made it clearer for you if I added “The Giro will be a good indication of his climbing ability to the end of the first paragraph.”
Besides, was Froome on a start list for the Giro at any point recently?
VSP PICKS:
1. Wiggins
2. Nibali
3. Scarponi
4. Evans
5. Hesjedal
@Mikael Liddy
Congratulations!
Just my second VSP entry. Fortunately I have experience rolling dice and flipping coins, so I should be among the favorites.
VSP PICKS:
1. nibbles
2. good cadel
3. Wiggo
4. Ryder
5. Phinney
VSP PICKS:
1. Nibbles
2. Wiggo
3. Scared Pony
4. Sam San
5. Ryder on the storm
@Dr C reckon Evans Tour was very much won because, in part not completely, of his descending skills. Remember when Tommy V ended up in a frenchman’s garage? Evans put Tim into just about everyone that day.
In a tight GT descending skills count. A certsin bird of prey that went onto great fame as Franks crash test dummy won a giro too…
@Marcus
Descending skills count. Period. Without them, you fall off your bike or lose gobs of time. Nevertheless: if descending skills are a wash (and I don’t think they are), I fancy the younger legs going up the hills. I’d like to see Evans do well, but I’m happy to settle for “fading with dignity.” I hope I’m wrong, but teeth are getting long…
@Mikael Liddy
Congrats, my VMH is gonna be that way come November, well timed for out of season !!!
VSP PICKS:
1. Wiggins
2. Nibali
3. Gesink
4. Hesjedal
5. Evans
Got to chose the king of the casual bike park, Wiggo. He’s shaved his head and gone more serious looking as well!
VSP PICKS:
1. Wiggins
2. Nibali
3. Hesjedal
4. Scarponi
5. Henao
VSP PICKS:
1. Nibbles
2. Wiggo
3. Gesink
4. Ryder
5. Scarponi
VSP PICKS:
1. Nibali
2. Wiggins
3. Scarponi
4. Hesjedal
5. Gesink
if only JRod was riding the Giro this year, it would turn the awesome level up a few notches. Phinney for the TT win! Evans somewhere aroun 9th place…
VSP PICKS:
1. Nibali
2. Wiggins
3. Ryder
4. Senor Sanchez
5. Uran
@Mikael Liddy
Congrats! Welcome to the official start of your Breeding and Blimping phase!
@Mikael Liddy Chapeau! Now you parents: sleep as much as you can, whenever you can.
@Marcus
Indeed, that’s why I think this year’s Giro could be the opportunity for Nibali to really go for it, as Wiggo is never that happy on the downhill chases, especially when he gets gapped and can’t see where he’s going next, and the TTs aren’t so heavily favouring Wiggo like they did in the Big Lap last year
VSP PICKS:
1. Wiggins
2. Nibali
3. Scarponi
4. Hesjedal
5. Henao
@motor city
The Giro is such a different animal from last year’s Tour that it really can’t be called into play. With an uphill TT and numerous nasty grades, look for Nibali to ride away from Wiggins the way Froome did in the tour last year, except he won’t sit up and wait. Plus Wiggins doesn’t have Froome to pace him up the climb when he loses contact, so…unless he can put a lot of time into Nibali on the one TT where he has a real advantage, I don’t see how Wiggins pulls it out. We can only hope it is still contentious come the Galibier, because watching Nibali tear into that thing will be fun. The only thing more fun to watch would be a Schleck style desperation gasp by Wiggo on stage 19 or 20 with a start to finish ITT to bring back Nibali.
Wiggins at the Giro Press Conference today:
Here he is illustrating the chance that he will support Froome in the Tour
And here he is showing 1) what large cahunas he has (especially compared to COTHO), or 2) the size of his TT big ring, or 3) how big of a pussy Froome is for having his girlfriend to the talking last year. I’m just not sure which.
VSP PICKS:
1. Sir Wiggins
2. Nibbles
3. Ryder
4. Henao
5. Betancur
VSP PICKS:
1. Wiggo
2. Nibbles
3. Scrapsonly
4. Gesink
5. Ryder
No mop of hair to overheat the brain, no sidies to slow him down in the TT’s, wiggo in pink… suits you sir!
@Tartan1749 Jesus, I thought it was the COTHO there on first glance. A little too close for my comfort.
@Buck Rogers Yes, I noticed the uncany similarities as well, right down to the cockring (which in black and white, yellow vs white would look identical).
You brits are cute with your love for Wiggins.
And those of you putting Minnie Finnie in there for a podium are equally demented.
Can’t wait for three solid weeks of bike racing every day! I loves me some grand tours.
And hopefully we’ll finally have some fucking shit weather. MSR went all in on Rule #9 for the Spring; now its time to double down. (I hope I got that gambling context right but I don’t really understand black jack so there’s a distinct possibility I got that wrong…)
VSP PICKS:
1. Nibbles
2. Ryder on the Storm
3. Kitchen Gesink
4. Twiggins
5. Scarples
VSP PICKS:
1. Twiggins
2. Ryder
3. Nibali
4. Gesink
5. Rigoberto UranUranUranUranUran
VSP PICKS:
1. Wiggins
2. Nibali
3. Hesjedal
4. Evans
5. Scarponi
@frank Brave picks my friend.
But ultimately wrong…consider the snack talked!
And, yeah, what is with the French prisoner look from Wiggo? I thought that went out with COTHO?
*SMACK, not snack. Although, I do have a chocolate turnover in the coffee bar…
@frank
It killed me to pick Wiggins, or any Sky rider, but being realistic I had to go with the hype. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than seeing wiggins & co get the heave-ho however. #gorydergo
Big points available here in the Giro, it’s looking like a great race this year.
VSP PICKS:
1. Nibbles
2. Wiggo
3. Sammy Sanchez
4. Hesjedal
5. Uran Uran
@the Engine I think you need to admit you are really a sky fanboy.
VSP PICKS:
1. nibbles -finally
2. wiggo -now what
3. PozzoVino
4. Cobo
5. Ryder
VSP PICKS:
1. Nibbles
2. Hesjedahl
3. Pozzovivo
4. Wiggins
5. Cuddles