Velominati Super Prestige: Le Tour de France 2013
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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[vsp_results id=”24179″/]
@PeakInTwoYears
Such utter bullshit that they did not let him start. Fuck the TdF. As Walter Sobchak said, “Fucking Amateurs”.
‘Strayan doping. Skip to about 1.30
Fucking Cav is Awesome!
@Cyclops
+1 to that! About time too…
@Cyclops
both EBH & Greipel were right on his wheel when he jumped & neither made any ground on him at all. Fantastic sprint
@minion
Thank you for a well needed laugh. I know what I’m carrying in my jersey pocket tomorrow.
@minion That is without doubt the best salmon advertisement involving bicycles that I’ve ever seen.
@ChrisO
Definitely in my top 5…
@PeakInTwoYears
This was on Strava yesterday. Great riding!
@Sauterelle saw that, impressive effort to still set a KOM while staging a protest!
@Sauterelle
Ha!! That kicks ass!
Watching the replay of today’s stage right now, and I would swear I just saw a number of riders wearing skin suits. Anybody else see that?
@Spun Up
I was thinking they were some sort of aero jerseys…hell of a long stage for a skinsuit
@Gianni
Famous last words @Gianni!
According to The Times the Race Jury is controlled by the UCI, not the TdF organisers. It too highlighted the ‘bending’ of the rules back in 2011 when 88 riders fell outside the time limit and yet were allowed to continue.
As far as I’m concerned the UCI led decision to not allow Ted King to continue is simply yet another example, or reason, why there has to be wholesale changes within the UCI, starting with the two [insert adjective here] at the top.
david
Now, wasn’t this a long time coming? Yesterday’s stage, finally someone does in one of the runners that all of us have dreamed of doing in. Fucking superb!
Right Hook!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaXyLbeqE54
@Ron
Ha – more of a coathanger than a punch but effective nonetheless.
In the final 11km Svein averaged over 393 watts with 92 rpm average cadence. The Canadian pro averaged 58 kph with an average heart rate of 162 bpm.
40 second pulls at 600 watts. I’m soooooo weak.
Andre!
Luckily we are only at stage 6. No one saw Impey in the lead, for a day?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DNAZL59VO8
Coz @Rons link is stuffed.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1DNAZL59VO8
@starclimber
Svein is a beast!
Jensy has gone up the road again…2 man break 5 mins up on the peloton…
One crash too many for Twistin Banged and Felled. Hate to see someone go out like this, especially on their last tour. Chapeau for getting up and going again but when the repairs start coming loose it’s probably time to step off.
“Christian suffered his second crash in three days today and unfortunately his injuries have forced him out of the Tour,” Steffen said. “The multiple contusions and abrasions he suffered in today’s crash, compounded with the injuries he sustained on Stage 5 which included a blood clot in his neck muscle, a loosened screw in his clavicle plate and upper back injuries, made it impossible for him to finish today’s stage. We’ll examine him closely tonight and continue to evaluate his injuries“
@Chris Ouch!
Beautiful gesture from Gerrans, that’s some way to say thanks for the stage 3 win.
And in other news, Schleck the Elder will be looking for a job when his ban ends. I wonder if Junior has a get out clause in his contract to cover such eventualities.
@Chris
talk is that because it was Leopard that fired Grimpeur the Elder, Trek taking over the running of the team next year will allow him to rejoin his brother…
@Chris
Grimplette is currently in contract renewal negotiations with the team….he could leave, or Grimpelder could return when Trek take over….
@Chris
Not the only American with a screw loose. (Did the surgeon forget the loctite?)
This from Brian Holm, talking about Cav ranting after losing a sprint. Beauty.
“There were three, four, or five riders who crashed when Cav went down and, if you ask him, it was probably somebody else’s mistake,” he said. “I just heard him yelling inside the bus but I don’t know what about. I think nobody can understand him when he’s yelling. Nobody has a clue what he’s saying.
@Gianni
Hmmm . . . apparently “that fucking bike” was distinctly heard several times!
@wiscot
It kills me that Brian Holm said that. I can understand Cav, but if english is not your first language, it’s not going to happen. The Belgians must stand there nodding, hoping he won’t demand an answer. And I thought he liked Specialized bikes?
@Tobin
What Tobin said
What is that Rule #50 violating abomination that Sagan is got around his lips?
@Adrian
give the guy a break, he’s a young man doing what young men do…..( get yer minds out of the gutter, I’m meant he’s experimenting with a different look is all).
@paolo
Yeah, I don’t think it’s that bad. And he backed it up today with a win and a salute to his team.
They grow up so fast.
heproperly he could have at least had the decency to shave his head first. Its way too Errol Flynn for me.
His sprint timed shear power, and the team rode like machines, definitely a cannondale day!
Bloody iPad post all mixed up, too lazy to fix
@Gianni
I think it was an issue with a 10sp wheel being put on an 11sp bike…I was reading something that Chava & another Frenchman were a little iffy about Cav joining the team after reading some quote of his that went along the lines of ‘The Fucking French always do that’, but after meeting him they just realised that every second word of his is Fuck.
Sagan needs a beard on his fucking VOICE, not his face. *My* face needs whiskering, but my voice is panty remover. Thank fucking Merckx.
@Adrian
The way he hammers it, he could grow Elvis sideburns or a Fu Manchu. Rule #5 trumps all.
Great result for Team Cannondale, very interested to see if a team ride by Sky to deliver Froome at 2km to go will be viewed in the same light ?
Pretty impressive watching three teams Argos, Lotto, Omega unable to make the catch, the look on the faces when they gave up,
One way or another, tonight er tomorrow , whenever the fuck it is for the rest of you, is going to be a high point of this years race, they are big fuckin climbs, no where to hide, bring it on!
Froome and Porte rip the field to shreds…
And Kennaugh. Quite a performance by Sky.
So how soon can those dumb enough not to have them 1 & 2 from the start switch Richie in to 2nd behind Froome?
Death of a Grand Tour article comes to mind…
@Mikael Liddy
Not so fast! I have just dispatched some “special” steaks to bertie to help him recover….
@Deakus can you send Cadel a whole cow?
Massacre on the mountain. Anskyhilation. Bad Cadel. Ryder rib implosion. Cantador.
@Mikael Liddy
Still a long way to go. I think Porte will be hard pressed to hold them all off while supporting Froome, but he looked great today. And yes big kudos to Peter Kennaugh – awesome descent and then just buried himself at the start of the climb.
As for dumb picks, Van Garderen looks like being Most Likely to be Dumped on Rest Day.