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.
[dmalbum path=”/velominati.com/content/Photo Galleries/frank@velominati.com/Veloforma/”/]
[vsp_results id=”24179″/]
@frank
Ya, whatever. Shit’s going to change big tomorrow. While I don’t think I have it perfect, it’s still too soon to be talking about who’s taking that frame home (me). As @Deakus link showed: the weather is a changin’.
@scaler911 I fucking hope so, for the race’s sake. I love me a cheap thrill!
@Tartan1749
I hope it adds to the fun, and doesn’t detract. Its very tough to decide if adding prizes adds to the fun or detracts from it. After you lose, it will put you square in the center of the focus group to research the findings.
I said focus group, so I might as well add a pie chart.
@frank Speaking of adding to the fun, it’s supposed to rain tomorrow for the TT. Surely that will produce more Schlecking whinging from Our Race Leader.
@Chris
On the radio this morning the BBC were discussing the current athletics doping headlines with Jessica Ennis’ coach. Not in terms of bans or the scale of the problem but questioning whether the vitamin supplements that many athletes use can be trusted as being free of accidental contamination.
WTF. With attitudes like that, there is no hope for clean sports.
“I wasn’t doping, honest. But I did buy my vitamin C tablets from the same factory that makes all the banned stuff.”
@Chris
Mmmmm, Jessica Ennis.
@DerHoggz
Indeed. I should have posted this to counter the image of pale tattooed flesh in @sthilzy‘s post.
I was going to post a comment about Kreuziger disobeying team orders and having a go for the podium until I scrolled down and got Jess Ennis looking at me. My mind hasn’t gone blank but I’m certainly not worrying about Roman right now.
Just noticed a blatant #37 breach by Cunego. Does this guy know the rules? three lashes with a mini-pump for him at the end of the TT and maybe he’ll learn his lesson.
@Buck Rogers
Love this quote contained therein: “Sean Kelly with his goatee of filth.” Classic!
@sthilzy
As much as I hate to post the photo again, isn’t that a COTHO autograph tattooed in the upper right?
@velodeluded
You mean Can-he-go is in this race???
@Skip It certainly looks like it.
J-Rod balzing the course!!! Come on man, move into the Top 5!!!
Just walked in, turned on TV and saw A Schleck cross third fastest… clearly my plane went through some sort of wormhole into a parallel universe.
@ChrisO
I was thinking that the Cycling News ticker had broken down again. That’s a lot more suspect than any of Froome or Porte’s performances.
Also, am I the only one who thinks this bike changing business is total bollocks ?
They should only change if they have a mechanical.
@Chris
The same can’t be said of Bad Cadel. Someone put him out of his misery.
@ChrisO
Totally agree.
Oh, hey, Paul Sherwen is still an idiot in this timeline too ! Is that what they call a universal constant ?
Talansky!
@Chris Unless you do it like this…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri6r1L_K4a8
Can only assume Cadel has decided to have an extra rest day today…10th last in the TT
ARGH!!!! Bad Cadel!
So it goes.
@Chris
I think he’s done it to drop out of GC and hope to take a stage – plus why kill it for no reason today when you’ve got Huez x 2 tomorrow ?
@VirenqueForever Nope. Only if they can do it without touching the ground.
@Chris
x 3. Smacks of the anti-V to me.
@ChrisO
To be fair, he didn’t have to ride badly today to drop out of the GC and he hasn’t exactly done anything to suggest that he’s got a stage win in him at the moment.
I can accept that he might not want to give it everything when he’s nothing to gain but as a previous winner and team leader, that smacks of anti-V.
@Buck Rogers
@Chris
Wow, that’s a bit weird. Has @frank added some code to ensure that we don’t talk about tits?
Now J Rod is on top of the leaderboard. WTF is going on ?
@Chris
I was chastized a few days ago for talking about tits.
@ChrisO
Finally my picks start riding. Not quite enough though. I needed J-rod to make up about 7 minutes and Malmerde 14 minutes today.
@Chris
Also, sorry to plagiarize you there. Didn’t see that aspect of your post (actually still don’t).
@frank
Frank, I always thought your picks reflected the true spirit of being a gentleman: you are the mastermind and #1 keeper so it would be bad form to win the prizes with sound, quality picks. So, in order to avoid embarrassment, you put some wild-ass crazy picks in there so you could say you competed honorably. You know, a very chariots of fire kinda thing.
As for my picks, I have no such amateurish excuses. Mind you, if shit happens, Purito and Jaws could come through for me yet!
As I predicted, my day in yellow may be over what is shaping up to be a mediocre performance from Dutchman Mollema.
@ChrisO
FFS, how many times has he called Valverde Contador and Contador Valverde today? And did Phil just freak out over a replay? What I really want to get a ruling on today, is the chick just past the time check in the bikini hot or not?
@Buck Rogers
No need to apologise, you got your’s in first. Just amused that we both plumped for the same phrase at the same time.
Ouch, Peraud crashed & broke his collarbone in the warm up recon this morning. Said he’d ride the first climb & decide how he was feeling, obviously he was ok to continue until he crashed out in the last 2k & landed on the busted c/b again! Rode the last 2k but has since withdrawn after finishing the stage.
Hoogerland has a new resident.
Mollema imploding on course. Say good bye to podium Mollema.
@Mikael Liddy
Chapeau! Well said. Love the Hoogerland!
Seriously?! Froome wins the TT? He is amazing. I can’t believe I bet against him based on his Vuelta. My picks suck!!!
Froome is the new patron when he crosses the line in Paris.
My VSP is starting to shape up!!! Just need J-Rod to gain at least one more spot, three would be better, though!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GL6LH6ufhM
Yeah mine’s starting to look a bit better too, just need J-Rod and Quintana to swap places!
@iceman
Good to see my boys. Coming good, now if bmc could just get their shit together i can start thinking about that frame!
Big shuffle on the GC after today’s ITT and we’ve got a new leaderboard on the VSP. Shit, I hope we don’t wind up with such a short point spread, but either way, the prizes will distribute in the order the results appear. That would be painful, I imagine, for those who miss out with essentially the same picks. Goes to show it pays to enter your picks early!
I’m hoping we get a good shake up in positions 3-5 tomorrow. Like Evans and Valverde getting in a break to the end.
@ChrisO
Agreed.
@Erik
Fuck that, becoming the Patron has to do with a lot more than just winning the Tour. Hinault was a Patron. Merckx was a Patron. A Patron commands the entire bunch’s respect; he is the Cogfather of the peloton. He is someone who gives another rider permission to attack.
@RedRanger And gaining what, 45 minutes?
@frank I can dream right?