Velominati Super Prestige: Giro d’Italia 2015

The Prophet crushes fools on the way to the Tre Chime in the '68 Giro

This is the most exciting thing that’s happened in Cycling since April. Yes, that’s a full two weeks with nothing exciting happening and its been killing me. I know its been killing you, too.

I love the Giro, the master alchemist of bad weather and big mountains that keeps the racing exciting from the first day through the last. You can generally count on enough climbing in the first week to see the leadership bounce around like one of those singing ping pong balls on Sesame Street. The race has its fair share of provenance as well, with many a legendary battle fought between legendary riders.

This year’s race is also remarkable for the fact that a GC rider is not only racing both the Giro and the Tour, but for Contador’s publicly stated objective of doing the Giro-Tour double, a feat not matched since Pantani crushed it back in 1998. That is an awesome goal, I just wish it was a goal set forth by a rider I could get enthusiastic about. A quick scan of the start list has me wondering who is made of the same stuff Bertie, and I’m coming up short. Uran Uran and Pozzovivo are the standouts; and I have serious doubts about Porte being able to come up with the goods, not to mention my boy Ryder who, despite having actually won the Giro, does not inspire confidence in his ability to repeat the feat. It is looking like energy bars may be Contador’s biggest rival for the title, like in last year’s Tour.

Now that I’ve given you three paragraphs of useless drivel that you’ve probably already skipped over, I feel comfortable getting down to Road Tacks. This is the Giro, people, lots of points at stake. And those points are going towards amazing prizes including a Jaeger frame and a Café Roubaix wheelset. There is plenty of time for you to Delgado the thing, too, so my advice is that you avoid doing that. Give yourself enough time to enter your picks so if something has gone amuck, you have time to hit “reload” or come back V minutes later to try again before the event closes. Remember, your procrastination in this matter will not result in the only Keeper with database skills diving into the backend to enter your picks for you. (And if you do encounter a problem, please be so kind as to take a screenshot and upload it as the descriptor “it didn’t work” doesn’t help us debug the problem.)

The scoring for the Grand Tours is a tad more involved than the one-day races, so look them over before making your prognostications. (One of the best things about the VSP is that I usually get to use the word “prognostication”, an opportunity one should always relish.)

So get your picks in before the countdown clock goes to zero, hit the go button, and good luck.

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frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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View Comments

piwakawaka says:

May 27 2015 at 6:10 pm

@Harminator

you can't blame Landa for sitting on, his team leader was behind bleeding seconds on the mountain, his job therefore is too stay with Contador, not help him put more time into Aru and then take as many bonus seconds at the finish as he can, that is bike racing.

I really, really hope all is legit with Landa, he rides so well.
Barracuda says:

May 27 2015 at 7:06 pm

@Ron

I’m quite able to enjoy the pro racing and also acknowledge there are plenty of unclean riders. I wish it was different, but sporting and money do bad things.

I can separate the two and still enjoy the racing, the scenery, the dreams of riding on a PRO team with all that support…

The only thing that bugs me about all of it is the fact that cycling, out of all the sports, is generally viewed as the dirtiest and I simply don’t believe that it is, just that most other sports have laughable testing/rules.

Sums up my thoughts / reactions excellently. Well said, I can block out and acknowledge one side whilst still enjoying the spectacle and history and aura of the whole show.
rockkk says:

May 27 2015 at 11:08 pm

@Barracuda

@Ron

I’m quite able to enjoy the pro racing and also acknowledge there are plenty of unclean riders. I wish it was different, but sporting and money do bad things.

I can separate the two and still enjoy the racing, the scenery, the dreams of riding on a PRO team with all that support…

The only thing that bugs me about all of it is the fact that cycling, out of all the sports, is generally viewed as the dirtiest and I simply don’t believe that it is, just that most other sports have laughable testing/rules.

Sums up my thoughts / reactions excellently. Well said, I can block out and acknowledge one side whilst still enjoying the spectacle and history and aura of the whole show.

@Harminator

@rockkk

I’m happy for you that you can ignore obvious anomolies in the Giro but the cycling fan has every right to remain cynical in the face of continuing displays of questionable performance. Too many solo wins from unproven riders. You asked Mikael “why the hate” and he responded with five reasonable points. Why don’t you respond to his “five point exposition” instead of condemning him for making it?

For me, taken in the context of GT history, the Giro this year has had some highly questionable stage winners. History shows us that extraordinary performance + suspect team + cheating DS = a Dog in a Hat. Landa’s ride on Stage 16 takes the cake. If he rides for another 5 years and (A) repeats this kind of form more than once and (B) doesn’t get busted, I’ll be very surprised. That was completely NOT NORMAL. There was no hint of suffering from him as he raced this years most brutal stage – and then he puts 40 secs into Contador in the final 4k? Aside from being a complete cunt for sitting in for 40 then jumping at the finale, Landa looked like he was on the Sunday coffee ride. Kruijswijk and Contador visibly suffered (as did Aru!) Class from Contador to let Kruijswijk take the KOM points and finish line honors…

I cant argue with anything you said . That still doesn't take away from the enjoyment of the stage .In fact I'll call it one of the best stages in a GT for ages
rockkk says:

May 27 2015 at 11:10 pm

@Ron

I’m quite able to enjoy the pro racing and also acknowledge there are plenty of unclean riders. I wish it was different, but sporting and money do bad things.

I can separate the two and still enjoy the racing, the scenery, the dreams of riding on a PRO team with all that support…

The only thing that bugs me about all of it is the fact that cycling, out of all the sports, is generally viewed as the dirtiest and I simply don’t believe that it is, just that most other sports have laughable testing/rules.

Why cant I say it like that ? Agree 100 %.
Roobar says:

May 28 2015 at 7:53 am

The only thing that bugs me about all of it is the fact that cycling, out of all the sports, is generally viewed as the dirtiest and I simply don’t believe that it is, just that most other sports have laughable testing/rules.

i think the perception is because the gains are so significant compared to most sports. the gains for a sprinter are marginal, but a poor start can still lose the race, a footballer can be heavier and faster, but the tactics and team still decides he contest. In cycling the ability to add 1-2% over a 3 week GT, to chase when you should be tired, attack on the final climb, and generally grind the opposition into the ground gives the doper a much larger advantage than most other sports.

There aren't many sports with a big following that put the sort of demands on the body that a GT makes. similarly, with so little between the best, there are few sports where doping gives such a big edge.
wiscot says:

May 28 2015 at 8:12 am

Damn! That was a fine day's racing today. Great win for PhilGil - he was so stocked to get stage win #2. Great to see big Ryder's not throwing in the towel either. I can't see anyone touching Bertie, but as for the rest - plenty still to ride for.
KW says:

May 28 2015 at 8:15 am

Great ride from Phil Gil today. He absolutely annihilated that descent!

Ryder is sure showing a lot of heart the last few stages too. I hope for his sake he can break into the top 5 at least.
johny b says:

May 28 2015 at 2:05 pm

For those watching the Giro on beIN, do you guys find the Copa America commercials annoying? Who the hell came up with the "make way for..." phrase lol. The "make way for Uruguay" one annoys me like no other. Guy is a little TOO excited.
Erik says:

May 28 2015 at 2:57 pm

@Chica

@erik

Why hasn’t Landa been on my radar before this? What did I miss?

Landa finished 5th in the 2010 Tour de l’Avenir, which is saying something, given that Nairo Quintana won, Andrew Talansky was second, and we also saw the first inklings of success from the likes of John Degenkolb, Tom Jelte Slagter, Darwin Atapuma, Michael Matthews, Michal Kwiatkowski, and Taylor Phinney in that year’s edition. It was likely that result that got him off the Orbea team and onto Euskaltel for 2011. Perhaps he would’ve been developed in time on the Basque squad if they had continued sponsorship, but let’s be honest: it was Euskaltel – he’d have had a shot at a mountain stage here and there, but probably lacked a strong and diverse team to have gone for a GC result even if he had been the de facto leader.

Perhaps all he needed was a strong team and a chance. With all of the pressure on Aru, all Landa needed to do was shepherd his leader, stay close, and he’d get a decent result. Then again, this is Astana, and they have notorious past. I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt based on his previous performances, but time will tell if the kid is a future contender or another of Astana’s fallen.

In other news, I am loving Oleg Tinkov’s outrage over Astana’s and Katusha’s attack on Contador. There’s an article on Cyclingnews that quotes him saying Astana and Katusha showed no class by attacking, and that five or ten years ago, there would have been more respect for the race leader. Oh, the irony. Does he not know about the Schleckanical five years ago? He’s not going to find any sympathy in the peloton. Payback’s a bitch, Oleg

If that was karma for the Schleckanical, I wonder what today was. This blood feud could go on for generations.

And thanks for the Landa info. Much appreciated.
piwakawaka says:

May 28 2015 at 3:28 pm

@Roobar

The only thing that bugs me about all of it is the fact that cycling, out of all the sports, is generally viewed as the dirtiest and I simply don’t believe that it is, just that most other sports have laughable testing/rules.

i think the perception is because the gains are so significant compared to most sports. the gains for a sprinter are marginal, but a poor start can still lose the race, a footballer can be heavier and faster, but the tactics and team still decides he contest. In cycling the ability to add 1-2% over a 3 week GT, to chase when you should be tired, attack on the final climb, and generally grind the opposition into the ground gives the doper a much larger advantage than most other sports.

There aren’t many sports with a big following that put the sort of demands on the body that a GT makes. similarly, with so little between the best, there are few sports where doping gives such a big edge.

Bollocks! Of course the gains are marginal in sprinting, the race is only 9 seconds long, Carl Lewis anyone? Prick still has all his medals, way bigger cheat than Ben Johnson, the reason cycling gets such a bad rap is it has always been at the forefront of the fight against drug use, has in fact led the way, and consequently has the highest profile of sports, but let's be really clear, there are cheats at the highest level in all sports, and athletes willing to do almost anything to win across the board.