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″/]
VSP PICKS:
1. Richie Porte
2. Ryder Hesjedal
3. Nairo Quintana
4. Alberto Contador
5. Joaquim Rodriguez
VSP PICKS:
1. Christopher Froome
2. Richie Porte
3. Peter Sagan
4. Alberto Contador
5. Tejay Van Garderen
I would absolutely love the ASO deem that the race must be run on bikes like those. Steel is real, down tube shifters but with modern carbone rims and tubs. Heaven.
I really pray Contadope finishes this high. I want to believe his results prior to the ban are true. Not a result to dopage. Please.
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Contador
3. Porte
4. TeeJay
5. JRod
@Dan_R “Badges, we don’t need no stinkin’ badges.” +1
But we need those wheels!
Man, this site just launched into The Price is Right territory… Awesome work (as always) Keepers!
VSP PICKS:
1. Contador
2. Froome
3. Sagan
4. Rodriguez
5. Tejay Van Garderen
Doping is still not a crime in Spain, is it?
VSP PICKS:
1. Contador
2. Froome
3. Rodriquez
4. Valverde
5. Schleck
VSP PICKS:
1. FROOME Christopher
2. CONTADOR Alberto
3. VALVERDE Alejandro
4. RODRIGUEZ Joaquim
5. CHAVANEL Sylvain
Well it is wayyyyyy too bad they were not giving out a set of Haleakelas for the fucking Giro winner. Cunts…..
@meursault
Awesome photos!
@strathlubnaig
I’m certain that your comment was tongue in cheek, but strays a bit too close to entitlement. Don’t please bite the hands that feed.
@mouse maybe go re-read your The Rules about the bit and having a sense of humour there Moose. ffs.
First go at the super prestige, but it’s worth a punt
VSP PICKS:
1. Chris Froome
2. Alberto Contador
3. Nairo Quintana
4. Richie Porte
5. Cadel Evans
VSP PICKS:
1. Contador
2. Quintana
3. Froome
4. Evans
5. Porte
VSP PICKS:
1. Rolland
2. Porte
3. Good Cadel
4. Contador
5. Dan Martin
@strathlubnaig
Getting squeamish about your abilities to repeat the performance? And until you become Dutch, that word is off limits unless its keepers tour, at which point it becomes a noun, adverb, adjective, pronoun, predicate,and conjunction.
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Contador
3. Evans
4. Joachim Rodriguez
5. Quintana
@frank
Tabernac…..here’s me thinking the language police were only active in la belle province. Let’s see how this pans out then.
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Contador
3. Sagan
4. Cavendish
5. Rodruigez
@frank kinda like “pinche” is in Spanish. Greatest word in that beautiful language.
kcuf…that is gonna be a hard 3 weeks. the LT’s are gonna be wiped and that is what my picks show. OK Cap-i-tans, lets see mano-y-mano.
hopefully the weather and crashes dont force me to do the trade game on the rest days.
and Frank, et al…much thanks for the game and sweet pot ‘o prizes!
VSP PICKS:
1. Froomeeee
2. Cuntador
3. Cuddles
4. Ryder
5. Rui-Costa
Here goes nothing!
VSP PICKS:
1. Chris Froome
2. Cadel Evans
3. Alberto Contador
4. Tejay Van Garderan
5. Joaquim Rodriguez
@scaler911 Do you really need to be so kind to the noobs?
Looks like one of my pics has gone, it doesn’t make much sense now…
@frank
one too many saturday mornings spent watching cartoons
Placeholders, really. Great prizes! Well done, Keepers.
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Hesjedal
3. Evans
4. Contalope
5. Tralfamador
Amazing extra excitment in this year’s VSP, good luck everyone.
VSP PICKS:
1. C Froome
2. R Porte
3. J Rodriguez
4. D Martin
5. C Evans
@strathlubnaig
Eh, whatever.
My pappy taught me never to call anyone a cunt until after you’d met them. And yeah, I’ve got no sense of humour.
What are these “The Rules” that you speak of?
@mouse
I was amazed when I moved south of the border – and I don’t mean Mexico – how offended people were by the use of the word. Back in Scotland it was used as verbal punctuation constantly.
It can’t always have been so offensive as there used to be a Gropecunt Lane in London, you didn’t need to ask around to find out where the prostitutes hung out in them days!
@mouse
I imagine your Pappy would have loved giving a young Marcus frequent, and vigorous, thrashings for not heeding this advice. But that’s just me.
VSP PICKS:
1. Contador
2. Froome
3. Cavendish
4. Sagan
5. Porte
Delighted to participate. Best of luck all.
C.
VSP PICKS:
1. FROOME, Christopher
2. CONTADOR, Albert
3. PORTE, Richard
4. RODRIGUEZ, No English Equivalent
5. VALVERDE, Alexander
@Mr_Jolly Umm, you do realise this is for the whole tour, not the first stage ?
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Contador
3. Tejay Van Garderen
4. Quintana
5. J-rod
VSP PICKS:
1. Chris Froome
2. Alberto Contador
3. Richie Porte
4. Joaquim Rodriguez
5. Cadel Evans
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Contador
3. Valverde
4. Cavendish
5. Rodriguez
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Hesjedal
3. Evans
4. J Rodrigues
5. Uran
I’ll need Shimano compatible hubs on my new Roubaix wheelset
VSP PICKS:
1. Froooomey
2. Cadel
3. Quintana
4. Richie Porte
5. Thibaut pinot
Rule #1
( the only rule that matters )
VSP PICKS:
1. A Contador
2. C Froome
3. J Rodriguez
4. C Evens
5. R Porte
VSP PICKS:
1. Chris Froome
2. Contador
3. Van Garderen
4. Valverde
5. Evans
We’ll see.
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Contador
3. Van Garderen
4. Evans
5. Joaquim Rodriguez
@Nate
I suppose it’s kinda like telling someone their helmets on backwards.
.@frank kinda like “pinche” is in Spanish. Greatest word in that beautiful lalanguage
I was out of it last night! I meant to say that “chinga” is such a world. As in “chinga tu madre”
it ha so many uses.
@mouse
The Rules, well if you dont know then you have been asleep. See page 8, paragraph 3. And I have met them, aye.
VSP PICKS:
1. Contador
2. Froome
3. Joachim Rodriguez
4. Nairo Quintana
5. Valverde
What happened there then? Have my picks been registered or not! They do not show on my post, or is it because I’m a complete noob at this?
Noob question………
In the VSP grand tour competition, do we score points only on the final gc and not on daily finishes?
VSP PICKS:
1. Chris Froome
2. Al Contadorrrrrrrrr
3. lil Richie Porte
4. TJ Vangarderennnnnn
5. Nairo Quintana
@starclimber
Quesque c’est la fuq?
@Don Amedo
Correcto-mundo. Tho there’s usually a couple stages the Keepers choose during the race where we have a “mini VSP”. It won’t count towards the final GC, but they have prizes, like sticker packs or t-shirts (and bragging rights).
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Van Garderen
3. Alberto Contador
4. Cadel Evans
5. Richie Porte