Ok, as some of you have been reminding us, this one slipped off the radar last year, and threatened to do the same again this time. Is it because it’s held in Canada? That despite a quality field and only two weeks away from the Worlds, it’s in Canada? That even though the course is a perfect template for riders who hold hopes for earning some stripes in Valkenburg, this race is still in Canada?
There should be a good deal of interest in this race from the locals, now that The Weight of a Nation has been somewhat lifted with Ryder’s win in the Giro in May. He will be on the start line in Montreal, no doubt garnering the most attention of anyone clipping in for this semi-Classic, fast gaining a solid reputation along with its sibling in Quebec, held on Friday and won by Aussie puncheur Simon Gerrans. These two could both feature here, and will definitely be looking ahead a fortnight too. Lats year’s winner Rui Costa is back to defend, and the likes of T5, GvA, LL Cool, Chav, Sags and Boss Hog will all have something to say.
Check out the start list, think about your goals for the Worlds, get your picks in and 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
And why are the picks closed? The race does not start for another one hour and ten minutes?
Woah, definitely not happy about this. Checked late on Saturday evening, not up, around 18:00 EST. Went out with friends, woke up, missed it.
I think I gotta call for a neutralization of this. I've been playing the VSP all year, had this marked on numerous calendars, tried to enter, never saw it, and now it's closed. Argh...
@Ron
+1
@Harminator
Yes, got me there... although I would argue in my mitigation that's Marketing and PR not Spelling and Grammar.
@Ron and BR - don't worry you can have my points. Why don't you say who you would have picked now, before the race, even though picks are closed - then if you've got 5/5 you can make Frank feel bad about it and claim a moral victory.
And if you don't then he can tell you to fuck off... although I guess that works equally well for both outcomes.
(I would insert an emoticon but he would tell me to fuck off too).
What we need is a non-emoticon, an emotinon. Like a symbol that represents any emoticon without actually being one... sort of Schrodinger's Smiley.
@Ron
I'm witup you on this Ron - checked before flying home - nothing, just got home - picks closed! First Delgado of the year.
'in mitigation'... started writing 'in my defence' and it came out as 'in my mitigation'. Sigh.
hmmm Delgado'd Too busy thinking about my Tour of Britain picks...
holy crap, second Delgado in a row!
Ha, maglia nera is mine!
While on the subject of annoying errors... this from Cycling News report on Boonen's Paris-Brussels win.
"The finish here at Paris-Brussel is not so easy. The team led me perfectly until the last corner. [Nikolas] Maes literally killed everybody during the lead-out. His job permitted me to pass the train of Rabobank and have a good sprint."
I'm not surprised he won. The UCI now has to worry about mass murder on top of drugs - it's like Mexico.
I assume Boonen gave the interview in French or Flemish, in which case the problem may be translation - but that's worse, as a professional translator or a professional journalist should know the meaning of 'literally' more than a professional rider.
Although I assume those languages also have a distinction between literal and metaphorical, so maybe that was what Boonen did say.
In any case... AAAAAAARGH
+1 on Ron's comments. Neutralization please.