Velominati Super Prestige: Giro d’Italia 2014
For the simple reason that the Cobbled and Ardennes Classics are behind us, I have not alternative but to get back on my soap box about the Giro being the best of the three Grand Tours. Well, usually, at least. Last year’s race sucked the big one (even if it was supremely Rule #9), but for the most part it is the race that is the most closely contested of the three. There are mountains everywhere Italy meaning there are less bunch sprints, the weather is completely unreliable, and the slightly lower calibre of rider seems hungrier. Or maybe the reduced pressure means riders aren’t quite as stressed out and are able to funnel that extra energy into the race.
My favorite Giro is a hard one to pick out, but its either the 1988 Giro when Andy Hampsten took the win after freezing himself stiff with Erik Breukink on the Gavia or when Pantani took his in 1998. I’ve been watching the ’98 Giro during my morning turbo sessions and Merckx-oh-me, that was an All-Drugs Olympics nail-biter. ’98 is also an interesting contrast to ’88; in just a decade, the technology had changed so much but more than that, the doping atmosphere in the sport transformed completely. From Hampsten’s Giro, EPO went from just being dabbled with on the fringes to being abused by leaders and domestiques alike by the time Pantani won. Hampsten wrote a nice piece about racing against dopers in Tyler Hamilton’s book, The Secret Race. He described the various side-effects that the popular drugs of his era had, such as bloating and a tendency to make the user over-estimate their abilities. Amphetamine made the riders do stupid things, cortisone made them retain water, and steroids made them heavy; a clean rider could use those factors to their advantage. A far cry from the rocket fuel that allowed humble domestiques to big ring up major alpine passes.
Why am I talking about drugs? There’s a race starting in a few days, people! This is our first Grand Tour, and the picks are worth more points, not to mention that strategy starts to play into things with the chance to swap your picks out on either of the rest days – at a certain point penalty. Remember that points are not accumulated; the standings on the last day of the race are what kinds, so keep the long game in mind.
Any points you win count towards the overall prizes plus the winner of this event also gets to post for the rest of the year in the pink jersey badge. So check the start list, review the VSP Grand Tour Scoring Guidelines and get your picks in by the time the countdown clock goes to zero at midnight PDT on Friday, May 9th. If you think we mapped one of your picks wrong, use the dispute system and we’ll review it. Also remember to be precise enough in your description so we know which rider you mean; in other words, if you enter “Martin”, we will use our discretion (read: wild guess) to decide if you mean Tony or Dan – and that choice will not be negotiable once the the countdown clock goes to zero. There has also been a recent scourge of people putting a rider in more than one place. Two words: Piti Principle, people! Don’t make me do a bunch of extra programming to keep you from being allowed to submit such an obviously unsportsmanlike set of picks. We will mercilessly clear out all your entries should we find you have attempted this.
Also don’t forget we’ve got three major prizes for the season-long VSP:
- First place overall wins a Veloforma Strada iR Velominati Edition frame in addition to the customary VSP winner’s VVorkshop Apron
- Second place overall wins a set of hand built CR Wheelworks Arenberg wheelset in a custom Velominati paint scheme laced to orange Chris King hubs. (CR Wheelworks is Café Roubaix’s new wheel goods brand.)
- Third place overall wins a full Velominati V-Kit with accompanying custom orange Bont Vaypor+ road shoes.
Good luck, have fun with it, and don’t lose your Rule #43 spirit.
[vsp_results id=”29781″/]
@Mirko
Yes undeniably generous.
@Mirko
[ Pee Wee Herman voice ] “Exhibit A!
Lets see if Saxo can get someone up, Majka in for Dan Dan the Crashing man.
VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):
1. Cadel
2. Quintana
3. Uran
4. Rodriguez
5. Majka
@Buck Rogers
Glad you’re mentioning the 25-points-down-thing, there’s really no need to lose you’re shit, people, I’ll end up dead last anyway. Pedro had the clock already running, I have -25. (Besides the whole thing wasn’t my fault. During voting time I was stuck in a shitty hotel without internet connection in some 3rd world country (Bavaria), voting was the first thing I tried when back in civilisation, but it was too late.)
VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):
1. Quintana
2. Uran
3. Rodriguez
4. Evans
5. Scarponi
VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):
1. Quintana
2. Rodriguez
3. Roche
4. Uran
5. Evans
“Bavaria” is a third world country? Uhhhmmmm….
@Minnesota Expat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irony
So I didn’t pick Danny for the top 5 after I picked him to win LBL and made him crash. I thought maybe I’d do him a favor this time, get well soon Dan. No changes for me, Cadel looks miserable but he always does. other than that all My wee lads are A-OK.
No rest day swaps from me. It’s called bike racing people and it comes with risk and a sense of honour! So what if I don’t get my hands on a Veloforma or the other bling? I’m not here for that. HTFU.
Dan Martin out, Uran in please at number 5
Since this is the Velominati Super Prestige and not the Velominati So-So Prestige, no swaps for me either. When our riders triumph we share their glory, surely we should share their anguish as they crash and burn also?
I am (as I have done) comfortable with swapping for crashes. Especially this early.
Not that it affects VSP, but the Giant German has headed for the beach much earlier than expected, claiming a fever. Pfft. Cipollini at least waited till the road headed upwards by more than 0.5%
@Shlumpen
Truly Frahnk and Mirko and all pick changers, my panties are not in a bunch over all of this this year (must be my fading testosterone count) but THIS sums it up for me. Well said Schlumpen (wtf name is that?).
One should have honour and integrity in all things they do in life. The small things even more so than the large things. It is what one does when alone and no one can see that makes the person.
As the great Walter Sobchak once said, “You’re goddamn right I’m living in the fucking past! … Am I the only one around here who gives a shit about the rules? Mark it zero”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvaTg1kd82E
@Mirko
See what we’ve been saying about mud guards?
Wrong race, but Cavendish on the first ATOC stage? That’s a pretty tidy throw your bike at the line. Perfectly timed and oh so smooth.
@Al__S
You muat be joking mate, today’s stage is as flat as it gets, what sprinter would possibly pull a Cipo before it? If there’s eve beven a credible DNF due to illness in the history of cycling, it’s this.
@unversio Lando gets a bad rap in that movie.
With the shit weather today, it appears we won’t see much, if any, actual racing.
@Steampunk
Indeed, well done, but it is still only the “Let’s Get Everyone Back on EPO Tour of California”. I still cannot believe that we have a “major” race sponsored by Amgen that takes place at the same time at the Giro. Must be oooooo so fuckin painful to be told by your team that you have to ride the Epo Tour and not the Giro if you are a full on pro.
6 laps to go and still neutralized.
3 laps to go and still neutralized.
Today will be an 8.3 km race. Last lap!
Rain sprint
Alfonsina Strada, what an awesome name for a “road” racing athlete!
Damn! Missed the first rest day rider swap! Oh, Danny….
GdI
@Buck Rogers
Based on the big names who show up in Cali, I am guessing that the guys from Europe look forward to a week or two training and racing in California. It might actually be a reward for the guys who killed themselves in shit weather on the continent during the classics. Surprised Amgen is still the big sponsor, but money talks.
@Floridian
Don’t know if you’ve seen this yet but here is some pretty awesome footage of that sprint –
@Buck Rogers
Or maybe you’ve been told you are on the TdF squad and the Amgen tour is preparation for a start in July.
@San Tonio
+1 Saw the clip this afternoon. Good stuff. It can’t be long before this is the standard. Great for fans, cyclists, and even the rest of the world that merely rides a bike. Perhaps most importantly, sponsors should love it.
@Minnesota Expat
There’s a link to a slightly different version on steephill. I like when John D. says, “Go. Go. Go.”
@Geraint
yup, clock started running at his official start time, not when he rolled down the ramp. Meant he was already 2 minutes & 40 seconds behind before even turning a pedal.
General classification after stage 5:
3
Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
0:00:15
4
Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step Cycling Team
0:00:19
Convinced Rigoberto would do well at this Giro d’Italia — he looks to be doing well.
This Giro is beginning to disturb me. Since when is it standard practice to call time out and soft pedal for 140 miles if it is cloudy weather? I feel like I’m watching a frickin’ century ride. Can we please start the real Giro? What would Merckx do?
@fignons barber
That, Sir, is a wonderful thought! It’s raining…so what? It’s a bit slippery…so what? I’m just going to ride off the front and brutalise these upstarts in to submission.
2 crashes just before 10k and all are racing towards a rain sprint finish — Katusha rider to the hospital.
Big day for Evans and OGE. Was that the right decision to press on after that huge crash though?
I would not call foul on the lead group going for it. 1. The race was on…that means the race was on…you don’t hold up for anything once the race is on. 2. It was not one crash, it was two or three. Race radio would have been completely bonkers and pretty much indecipherable, just look how long it took the ambulance to arrive to Carusso.
The other point is why is it all be levelled at Cuddles, Michael Mathews the race leader was in the same group, he obviously did not call time (nor should he have) so Cadel was obliged to race. It may be that this did not even cross his mind but to go eyeballs out to extend any time gaps was absolutely the right thing to do. Yes he was fortunate but everyone needs a bit of luck from time to time. That is part of Grand Tour Racing.
Fuck me! There goes J-Rod down the toilet. But awesome stage and I have no problems with the group continuing the fight until the end. That’s why you position yourself near the front if you’re in the GC fight.
A mechanic by a top contender is different than being back a bit in the peloton in a sketchy situation and then going down in a crash. Just like Real Estate, it is all about location, location, location.
@justinevan88
It’s a race not an equal opportunities parade.
It’s what makes winning a grand tour difficult, because every minute of every day you have to make sure you’re not in the wrong place at the wrong time.
It does my head in when I have to do it for three or four days. The mental pressure for three weeks must be incredible.
There’s only one rule, which is not to attack the leader’s jersey when they have a mechanical. Everyone else is fair game.
Purito reportedly crossed the line 7:23 after Evans…
I feel sorry for the Katusha rider, Caruso. 5 minutes after posting about the riders not racing in the rain….crash.
But the crash occurred when they were 6 or 8 across the road (peloton going slow spread across the road always most dangerous).. It may actually have been safer if they were lined out 1 or 2 across and racing.
Also worth considering that Evans group at 5km to go had just over 30 seconds lead over a group of maybe 20 riders. By the end it was nearly 50.
Maybe Quintana and Uran think they can get that time back on the high mountains, but it was a pretty weak effort at limiting losses. They sat in and let others try to close the gap – not the way favourites at a grand tour should be acting. That was a time to take personal responsibility.
@Deakus
Agreed. Evans is a veteran pro and regular GT contender. He knew where to be, when, and why. BMC were probably massed at the front prior to the crash to drive the pace to the bottom of the climb to see if Evans could gain time today on the way up. That, and because they are a well drilled PRO team with a veteran leader who made sure they got their asses up there to keep him out of trouble. Job well done.
@ChrisO
Spot-FUCK’IN-on! When a leader, be a leader for fuck’s sake. Nothing worse than supposedly being in charge and not leading.
Fuck, Rodriguez is OUT.
@Buck Rogers
Amen brothers. Cadel is a wise old pro. He knows the ropes and made sure he was in the right place at the right time. Sure, luck can often play a big part in things, but to a certain extent you can help make your own luck. Evans did what he needed to do as a professional bike rider who is paid to win big races like the Giro.
Unlucky rider? Hesjedal. Unlucky rider? Martin. Wrong place at wrong time.
If Quintana and Uran think they can pull it back in the mountains, good luck to them. Cadel’s got about a minute on Uran and over a minute and a half on Quintana. This ain’t Cadel’s first rodeo.