The inaugural Velominati Super Prestige continues the with Giro d’Italia, on Saturday May 8 in Amsterdam. This will be the first Grand Tour of the series, and while we have a set of rules established for the competition, we’ll be modifying them as we go if we notice any problems with them.
Personally, I feel the Giro is the Cyclist’s Grand Tour; it’s not as main-stream or commercial as the Tour de France, but the race generally makes for a more exciting three weeks. There is something about the topography and geography of Italy that seems to lend itself to unpredictable and aggressive racing where several riders typically stay in contention until the final stages of the race.
With this being the first Grand Tour of the series, we’ve set up a scoring system that we think will be fair but will also help to close down the competition and afford newcomers the ability to catch up with some good picks. Jump over to the VSP Schedule, Rules, & Results page for a full explanation of the rules and the standings, but here is the ten-second overview:
Every contestant is to choose their top five General Classification picks of the race. The final podium of the Giro is worth 15 points to the winner, 10 points for second, 5 points for third, 3 points for fourth, and 2 point for fifth. Given the effect crashes can have on a tour, we’ve set up some guidelines around making changes to your lineup during the race: you’re allowed to change your lineup if any rider in your pick list drops out for any reason without any penalty; rest days will allow contestants to make changes to their lineup, however those changes will come at a point penalty. (Visit the VSP Schedule, Rules, & Results page for a complete breakdown of these points.)
Every day, the leader in the points standings will have the honor of wearing the Pink Jersey when commenting on the site; the overall winner will wear the Pink Jersey for the remainder of the season, and will also earn an “Obey the Rules” bumper sticker. All reader’s points qualify towards the final prize of the free Velominati Shop Apron. As always, if you are inclined to enter, simply post your predictions for the top five placings in the comment section.
Sub-competitions will be conducted while the Giro is underway for specific stages. These stages will be chosen a few days prior to the stage being held and will be selected based on the current race conditions with the aim of choosing the most decisive and exciting stages of the race, so check back often to make sure you don’t miss out.
Good luck!
I know as well as any of you that I've been checked out lately, kind…
Peter Sagan has undergone quite the transformation over the years; starting as a brash and…
The Women's road race has to be my favorite one-day road race after Paris-Roubaix and…
Holy fuckballs. I've never been this late ever on a VSP. I mean, I've missed…
This week we are currently in is the most boring week of the year. After…
I have memories of my life before Cycling, but as the years wear slowly on…
View Comments
@frank
Basso looked really good today. That's nice to see. Tomorrow should shake things up a bit and be hella fun to watch. Most of all our pics are starting to creep back into contention.
Not sure I can cope with too many more personalities for Evans: Good Cadel and Bad Cadel have now been joined by Disgraceful Cadel -
"Evans lost contact with Vincenzo Nibali, Ivan Basso and Michele Scarponi towards the top of the Monte Grappa but got back to Basso and Scarponi on the descent. However he described the way he rode downhill as "a disgrace"."
As much as I dislike Basso... that was some ride today
@Nathan Edwards
Word. I love that guy, myself, and it was great to see him climb like his old self. He just stayed on top of that gear like an animal.
I couldn't believe how long that last km took...he went through 400m to go, and then still rode for another 5 minutes!
@all
Updated standings today sees Jarvis re-take the Pink Jersey Badge:
Contestant Total
1 Frank: 7 points
2 Jarvis: 5 points
3 Rob: 4 points
4 Marko: 3 points
5 Geof: 3 points
6 Joe: 3 points
7 Brett: 2 points
8 Nathan Edwards: 2 points
9 John: 1 point
10 Robert Marques: 1 point
I fall into the fandom of Basso and was pleased to see him tear up the Zoncolon today (what a bugger that thing looks like). I suppose he falls under the categorie of repentant doper and therefore, good doper. I kept saying to him over the computer screen, "see dude, you don't need the juice to do this shit". Fitting as well that he's the poster boy for the Giro edition of the VSP. Good Cadel certainly showed up as well but man that guy never makes it look easy. What a masher and stark difference from Ivan.
So what's the average time for the GC favs to make up in the next week? 5-6 minutes? Godamn this is a cool bike race.
Fucking A. Forza Ivan comes good. Christ, Zoncolan is satanic piece of tarmac slavery...what a beast. Caught the last 20 minutes after getting back from 3 days steady lubrication, pastafication and riding up mountains. The pain and the espresso are still fresh and I'm feeling my inner Italian. Hell, I might even shave my legs in celebration. Vai ragazzo!
Did anyone else notice the ride that Sastre did? At the start of the climb he was heading out the back of the group, then rocks up in 6th less than 3 minutes down. Don't think that guy is finished yet.
@Marko
Spot on, Marko. I have steadily revised my view of Basso, from hostility (he was a doper) to resignation (at least he wasn't a Ricco-sized arsehole) to neutral acceptance (he's just humbly going about his work - and posting his data on-line) to enthusastic support (teamwork with Nibali, etc, and then Zoncolan). And if anyone starts casting aspersions on the current run of form by Liquigas (let's not forget Little Peter tearing it up Stateside) and the depth of its roster I am going to bury my head (metaphorically) in a big deep hole, because I Don't Want To Hear It.
@Jarvis
Sastre always rides the first parts of climbs badly... we'll just have to see. Basso seems to have this one now. I'm wondering whether to take a points penalty to put him in my line-up. Rest day is tomorrow right? So I have to decide by then.