Velominati Super Prestige: Giro d’Italia 2017

Vincenzo Nibali won the Giro going downhill.

I spy with my little eye a certain Michele Scarponi, who sadly lost his life while out training near his home two weeks ago, in there amongst his teammates after his captain, Nibbles, won the race. I’m torn about a death like Michele’s – we subject ourselves to similar risks every time we climb aboard our bikes and we accept it as part and parcel of our craft. Yet, while every day members of our tribe lose their lives to their trade, it takes a high profile rider to remind us how real that risk is.

But onto lighter topics, Nibali won the Giro last year going downhill, and it happened on the one stage I managed to sleep through which is another way of saying I missed it. But I love waking up to a that WTF feeling only a reshuffled GS can give you.

The race starts Friday morning, which is sooner than I expected, so I’ll stop typing so you can start picking. Get them in by the time the clock goes to zero, and remember that our Grand Tour scoring rules are a little different than the smaller events. So jump on that start list and get prognosticating!

Good luck!

[vsp_results id=”104353″/]

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

David van Dijk says:

May 4 2017 at 10:27 am

VSP until the system actually works:

1) Nairo - simply the best - Quintaninho

2) Stefan - no salto's this time- Kruiswijk

3) Thibout - little duckface- Pinot

4) Tom - the Windmill- Dumoulin

5) Bouke - always has a bad day- Mollema
BaltoSteve says:

May 4 2017 at 10:35 am

preview of my VSP picks for the 2017 Giro:

1 Nairo Quintana

2 Vincenzo Nibali

3 Tom Dumoulin

4 Steven Kruijswijk

5 Bauke Mollema
Woody says:

May 4 2017 at 10:44 am

Just in case

1. Quintana

2. Kruijswijk

3. Nibali

4. Pinot

5. Adam Yates
MangoDave says:

May 4 2017 at 10:58 am

Still closed for entry, so:

1. Nibbles

2. Quintana

3. Adam Yates

4. Pinot

5. Kruijswijk
Geraint says:

May 4 2017 at 11:15 am

Still closed, just in case:

QUINTANA ROJAS Nairo Alexander

NIBALI Vincenzo

THOMAS Geraint

KRUIJSWIJK Steven

DUMOULIN Tom
mulebeatsdrums says:

May 4 2017 at 11:31 am
Oh no, technical difficulties!

I'm going left-field as my VSP run is all but over already (I Delgadoed both Flèche races).
1. Gee
2. Kruijswijk
3. Yates, A.
4. Nibbles
5. Pinot
dyalander says:

May 4 2017 at 12:05 pm
1. Quintana
2. Mollema
3. Kruijswijk
4. Yates
5. Thomas
Jansen says:

May 4 2017 at 12:20 pm

1. T. Dumoulin

2. B. Mollema

2. S. Kruijswijk

3. M. Landa

5. A. Yates
the Engine says:

May 4 2017 at 12:42 pm

In the blind:

1 Nairo Quintana

2 Nibbles

3 Krijswick

4 Geraint Thomas

5 Mikel Landa
dyalander says:

May 4 2017 at 12:48 pm
I can't leave out Zakarin.
1. N. Quintana
2. Mollema
3. Zakarin
4. Krijswick
5. G. Thomas