Velominati Super Prestige: Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal 2012
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!
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.
What? That came and went faster than a schoolboy with a Penthouse. Just because it’s Canada doesn’t mean it doesn’t deserve publicity.
Nordhaug anyone?
Moser?
Kolobnev – @Brett – you’re a genius
And Boasson Hagen was just dumb luck for me….
@the Engine
Damn, I was going to pick Nordy and Moser too, and thought ” no way…”
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@ramenvelo
Well, call me Pedro.
Fortunately the riders were aware of the travesty unfolding, and contrived a result that gave fuck-all points for anyone.
Dayum; I figured a hyper-conservative selection would at least guarantee summink in the way of reward. This VSP lark is harder than it looks.
Woa, if I’d put in my picks last night instead of this morning I wonder if I’d have got first?
I would encourage those of you complaining about the short window on this VSP to remember a few things:
@frank +1
I Delgado’ed my own country’s event. Sounds like a personal problem to me…
I actually got my picks in, but I didn’t realize the race was today. I alway thought Quebec and Montreal were a week apart. I totally would have picked Lars Ulrich
the results sheet is hilarious
@Buck Rogers
Zero points either way.
@frank please do not neutralize. And deduct 5 points from anyone who whinges about it – as a lesson in Rule #5.
The fact that people did enter means there was opportunity for all to do so. Sometimes the VSP awards the opportunists.
Gerrans looking like he is in tip top form for the Worlds.
I picked a good race to delgado. I’ve never even heard of the winner. Young Moser will be a force to be reckoned with and I’m starting to think Sagan has finally tired himself out.
@Marcus
You are right about Gerro, that Worlds course suits him and he is on form. People better mark his ass. And Fucking Conatdor too. He could easily be next one in rainbow stripes. booom.
@batchuba
Indded, mate! My method: pull your picks blindly out of your hat, cross your fingers, and have fun. Although, I’m 87th or so on the year so maybe don’t listen to me.
@Gianni
Not to worry Gianni. The on-site announcer was very animated in describing Boasson Hagen’s sprint down the final stretch for the win. Only well after Nordhaug had crossed the line did the he realise his mistake. He then referred to Nordhaug as “the other Norwegian” before finally figuring out his name.
I may not have done well in the VSP but I was pretty spot on with that prediction…
People whinging about the VSP not going up, then when we do, others whinging about missing it… I had to do this on a Sunday morning when I could’ve been doing Sunday morning stuff, so Rule #5 is indeed the order of the day. If you’re playing the VSP seriously, then you would’ve known one was due, even if we didn’t! Sorry for the lateness, not sorry for your own incompetence or lack of attention.
@brett riiiight, like there are so many cool things to do on a Sunday morning in Wellington.
The General Store would have been shut wouldn’t it?
If its like this, the World’s would be harder to pick than a broken nose!
All I’m gonna say is this was an awesome race to watch. There’s nothing like the smell of a peloton burning their carbon wheels while breaking during a 70km/h decent. Didn’t expect the final result at all but that finish is really hard with the uphill sprint.
@Marcus
It’s called a dairy over here (for reasons unbeknownst to me) and yeah, it was shut.
Bggr. Delgadod again. Lack of organisation on my behalf.
Quite happy to be in the top 60 having missed this and the vuelta.
@frank
and @Brett too
Neutralise, shmeutralise. Don’t do that. It’s our own fault. We need to STFU and appreciate what we get from this community…for free!!
@frank
48 sleepless hrs between Afghanistan and the UK may not have helped the grumpiness of my post, so here’s a more positive suggestion – a 48hr cutoff for posting a new VSP up. If real life intrudes on you guys getting the latest comp up, apologise, skip it and move on. It happened earlier in the year, and I’m sure no-one will complain if it happens again. We get that this is done for fun and for free, so don’t feel that you have to make rods for your own backs by rushing it when there’s more important stuff on.
I don’t mind a neutralising of it.
I saw it by chance 4 hours before closing.
@Fausto
That’s fair, considerate and reasonable… are you new to the internet ?
Being friends with velominati keepers on Facebook means you get notification of a VSP going live along with when a new article is published. I appreciate that not everyone one is on Facebook but I find it useful for keeping up to date with stuff.
I’m guessing the velominati twitter feed is similar?
Just a thought for those that didn’t know this was happening.
@motor city
Seems a bit weird that you have to be a member of a social networking site, to get notice of the site you are interested in but…
Having said that, I appreciate all the work the keepers do, so don’t mind my Delgado.
@meursault
No, you don’t have to be on Facebook to get notified of a VSP or an article. The VSP goes up here first, then is put on Facebook.
Of the top 5 in the VSP who have a chance to win it, no-one scored more than 1 point, so it’s really not an issue.
Case closed.
@meursault
I’m not a massive fan of FB but I suppose thats one of the main reasons I use it – to keep updated on a wide range of different stuff I’m interested in one central place.
I guess I’m just saying that if you are on FB, you may as well like or friend (or whatever) velominati keepers then everytime a new article is published you get it in your news feed. If this means you don’t miss a VSP, like a lot of people have done in this instance, then its worth doing.
People care about this in the real world? Well eff me sideways with a supermodel.
@frank @brett Don’t neutralize. It is definitely ta ime for Rule V (when is it not?). Apologies if my comment suggested otherwise. (It is easy to be uncomplaining when the result turned out to be so irrelevant.)
@minion
I just spilled my tea…
@graham d.m.
Sounds foolproof. Also, you get to proclaim your genius in the event of a win.
I shall be picking some obscure-ass-bastards for the worlds.
Shit, is it over? Did I miss it??
@brett @motor city
Sounds fair enough, It just goes to show how good this site (Best for cycling imho) is, as people care about the VSP.
@frank
Point taken. My apologies. But I actually really do enjoy the VSP and really enjoy following it along and trying to do well. I know that I am borderline OCD on most of things in life and this is the one of them. Probably just need to get on some meds or something. Psych never was one of my favorite rotations in med school.
Maybe a 24 hour or 48 hour window of posting before the start or not posting the event at all as Fausto suggests would make sense. I know that we talked about that in the last off season.
Could also be that I have now been in my Dad’s 300 sq ft RV with my wife and five kids for 22 straight days now. Man, we need to get our house soon or we are all going to go crazy here at West Point!
Just gotta say that I’m sure the Keepers put in far more work here, for free, than I can imagine. I do truly appreciate that. It’s awesome, I love sticking around here and seeing what happens.
But, to just say Rule V this and get over it because it’s a game misses the point, for me. Yeah, the VSP is just a fucking game. But, isn’t this place just for fucking fun? And has a big-time “you get out what you put in factor”? Participating in the VSP, reading articles, helping others out with questions (though I’m generally the one getting helped), talking about rides, races, cycling, that’s what we’re here for. I consider taking an interest in and following the VSP part of being a contributing member.
My call for a neutralization was kind of out of shock that I’d missed it when I woke up Sunday morning. Letting things stand is totally cool. BUT, I do want to point out that caring about taking part in the VSP is a piece in the larger puzzle of being a Follower, for me. I hope this doesn’t come off as a further whinge or complaint. It’s not. Just a clarification that the VSP is a part of this whole and if everyone just said fuggit, things would be less fun.
Thanks, Keepers!