Velominati Super Prestige: Le Tour de France 2013

Robert Millar leads Greg LeMan on the road to l’Alpe d’Huez in 1984

The early eighties saw the tide change in the European Peloton. Components were taking on a new, curvy shape as they left their boxy forms behind. The glint of toe clips in the sun would become a rarer sight as the move towards clipless pedals would take hold in 1985. English speakers were winning the big races classically won by continental Pros.

The 1984 Tour could be my favorite edition of the race. In 1983, the rookie Laurent Fignon had won in the absence of Le Patron, Bernard Hinault. The 1984 race saw the two go head-to-head, with Fignon becoming the one and only person in history to have laughed at Hinault and lived. He did more than live, he won. The new guard was here, and they were making their presence known.

This photo is from the stage to l’Alpe d’Huez. LeMond was riding in support of Fignon, and Robert Millar, in his second Tour, was leading the King of the Mountains competition, which he would eventually win. Millar wrote an account of this stage in Issue 13 of Rouleur, which everyone should make an effort to find a copy of. He describes the attacks that come fast and furious on the penultimate climb in such vivid detail, it makes my guns ache. But worse than that is his and LeMonds effort to hold on to Fignon and Hinault’s wheels in the ride through the valley to Le Bourg d’Oisans and the base of the final climb. It is the perfect description of the suffering of the Cyclist. LeMond, in service to his leader, is on the front one moment as he reels Hinault in after an attack, before being cast into the gutter and the back wheel a moment later when the next attack comes.

Just as 1984 was a watershed moment in the Pro peloton, 2013 is a watershed year for the VSP. This year we are offering five amazing prizes from five amazing partners.

Prizes

First prize is a Veloforma Strada iR road frame, painted in an exclusive Velominati color scheme with the newly-designed Velominati Super Prestige logo. Please note that this is a brand-spankin’ new frame for Veloforma. The geometry can be reviewed here.

Second prize is a pair of Café Roubaix carbon tubular wheels. The winner of this prize will be given the choice between the sub-1000g Haleakala wheels or a road version of my beloved Arenberg wheelset. As an additional incentive, anyone who enters their picks in the Tour VSP will get a $200 discount on any wheelset at Café Roubaix.

Third prize is a pair of Bont cycling shoes. The winner of this prize will be assisted in selecting the size, color, and model of shoe.

Fourth prize is a Flandrian Best kit from DeFeet consisting of a wool U-D-Shirt, Arm Skins, Kneekers, Slipstreams, and a pair of V-Socks.

Fifth prize is a wool jersey from our Keepers Tour tour partners, Pavé Cycling Classics.

Many thanks to each of our sponsors for providing such exciting prizes.

Rules

Enter your picks for the top five riders on G.C. by the time the countdown clock goes to zero; Grand Tour scoring rules apply. Check the mapping of your picks by the end of Stage 1 and use the dispute system should it be mapped incorrectly.

We will be enforcing Piti Principle rules much more closely. We will be accepting pick disputes through the start of Stage 2. After that, it will be at The Keepers’ discretion as to whether or not we allow the dispute. If your pick is ambiguous and we map them to the wrong rider, make sure you check your disputes before the deadline; we may reject the dispute after that time. For example, should both Tony and Dan Martin take the start and you enter “Martin” as your pick, we will pick one for you and you will have to live with it if you forget to dispute it before the deadline.

Good luck, and Merckxspeed.

Update: This is the same paint scheme that the winner will have, except the VSP Winner’s Badge will be replacing the V-Lion.

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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

Deakus says:

Jul 15 2013 at 3:47 am

@Chris

@minion @mouse The armchair guilty by comparative performance speculation is beginning to piss me off too.

Seems to me that there's a bit of a changing of the guard going on at the moment. There's a bunch of riders that everyone expected to be doing well have failed to turn up at all. I'll bet that if you had a look at the top ten most popular VSP picks you'd see Froome, Contrador and a whole load of disappointment. Cadel - MIA, Valverde - MIA, Porte - MIA, TJ - MIA; Ryder - MIA, etc. Did many people pick Mollema and Ten Dam? And there are a few others that are hopefully going to have a great ride through the Alps - J Rod and Quintana that probably featured in peoples picks but haven't hit the top 5 yet.

Just because his competitors haven't performed doesn't mean Froome is doping, they're going a long way to making him look incredible.

I absolutely fucking loved yesterday, mental crowds (the size and intensity, not the dickheads in costume), the flares, the motos crashing running into each other, Contrador having the class and decency to say "Chapeau, the best guy won", Richie Porte's grin as the Rodriguez group finally ground past him, the fact that Froome attached the fuck out the mountain to the point of needing oxygen. Fucking loved the balls of this guy:

I reviewed the highlights last night when Froome was on the podium, despite the smiles he was absolutely fucked, I recognised the ginger steps of someone who has nothing left in their legs as he stepped off the podium they looked like they might give way.

I suspect he went deep in to the red yesterday and may well suffer for it in the Alpes. I am not certain this race is over just yet....but it was stunning to watch!
Chris says:

Jul 15 2013 at 4:08 am

@Deakus Not only did he look physically drained but he looked like he was struggling to hold the tears back. He was emotionally buggered as well.
Mikael Liddy says:

Jul 15 2013 at 4:49 am

@Deakus fair enough, didn't know about that instance of it.
chrismurphy92 says:

Jul 15 2013 at 4:51 am

VSP PICKS (2nd Rest Day Swaps):

1. Chris Froome
2. Nairu Quintana
3. Richie Porte
4. Alberto Contador
5. Cadel Evans
Steampunk says:

Jul 15 2013 at 5:04 am

@Chris

This is probably the pic of the Tour so far: absolutely fabulous. Where did you find it?
seemunkee says:

Jul 15 2013 at 5:05 am

@Chris

Fucking loved the balls of this guy:

From the look on his face and where he is staring, they have have fallen off.
Deakus says:

Jul 15 2013 at 5:21 am

@chrismurphy92

VSP PICKS (2nd Rest Day Swaps):

1. Chris Froome
2. Nairu Quintana
3. Richie Porte
4. Alberto Contador
5. Cadel Evans

Ooo..day 2 swaps are very very expensive...I hope Good Cadel appears to save the day!
Chris says:

Jul 15 2013 at 5:23 am
@Steampunk Found it on Tumblr, I think it was taken by Caley Fretz of Velo News.

I have got to go and ride Ventoux soon*.

soon

/soÍžon/
Adverb
In or after an indefinite period of time in which a 20% in power can be achieved and 15kg can be shed.

Early: "it was too soon to know".
Synonyms

indefinite - infinite - unlikely
wiscot says:

Jul 15 2013 at 5:27 am

I have to say, I think Sky must be very happy Wiggins sat this one out. If they had nominated him as leader, I think it would be very embarrassing watching Froome having to wait for him while others scampered up the road. Even if Wiggins was #2, do you really think he's be hanging with Porte and Froome and Quintana et al?I don't think so. Blushes all around avoided I think.

Also, I'm getting tired of the "he must be doping" stuff. Sure, we're all a bit suspicious since COTHO, but just because a rider puts in a great performance, to instantly resort to doping alllegations is tiresome. Remember, Froome targeted this race. His team prepares to perfection. I read a big artuicle onSky team nutrition yesterday. Incredible. Froome knows there are certain stages where he can really gain time and this was one of them. He might have a bad day yet and needs a cushion.

Also, as was posted earlier, guys are finishing stages shattered. Didn't see much of that in the COTHO era.

I saw some pish on the Cycling News comments (talk about tiresome shite) and someone posted all the Ventoux times. Of course, they just listed straight times. They did not state what the wind was each time and I know that has a huge factor on that climb. Anyone know what the wind was like yesterday?

And while we're talking doping, three track and field athletes just got busted - so let's all tar them with the same brush, right? Seems fair?. No.
seemunkee says:

Jul 15 2013 at 5:31 am

@Marcus

In light of your Usain's competitor comment, Tyson Gay has admitted to failing an out of comeptition drug test.