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″/]
I’ve been lurking here a while now but I had to sign up given the awesomeness of the prizes on offer, not that I expect to win anything.
VSP PICKS:
1. Contador
2. Valverde
3. Porte
4. Hesjedal
5. Nibali
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Contador
3. Teejay Vangarderen
4. J Rod
5. Thibaut Pinot
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Contador
3. Porte
4. Cuddles
5. Rolland
Looks like a good one
VSP PICKS:
1. Chris Froome
2. Vicenzo Nibali
3. Richie Porte
4. Cadel Evans
5. Alberto Contador
So – Froome falls off or gets done over by an unholy alliance of teams not called Sky – what then?
VSP PICKS:
1. Rui Costa
2. Bauke Mollema
3. Cuddles
4. Roman Kreuziger
5. Przemysław Niemiec
I reckon team support is gonna be really important this year – Wiggo’s win last year was largely down to his team mates laying down lots of V for him, and loads of the other top riders feeling like they just couldn’t mount an attack of any use. I reckon other teams will be playing the same game, and Porte is looking so hot now I think he’ll lay down so much to get Froome secure he’ll end up placing high also.
Whatever happens, it’s set to be an exciting Tour.
VSP PICKS:
1. Christ Froome
2. Alberto Contador
3. Richie Porte
4. Cadel Evans
5. Dan Martin
VSP PICKS:
1. Chris Froome
2. Alberto Contador
3. Richie Porte
4. Teejay van Garderen
5. Thibaut Pinot
VSP PICKS:
1. contador
2. froome
3. porte
4. valverde
5. rodriguez
VSP PICKS:
1. Evans
2. Froome
3. Contador
4. Porte
5. Martin
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Hesjedal
3. Evans
4. J Rodrigues
5. Porte
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Joaquim Rodriguez
3. Nairo Quintana
4. Thomas De Gent
5. Porte
VSP PICKS:
1. froome
2. J Rodriguez
3. Porte
4. Contador
5. Evans
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Contador
3. Rodriguez
4. Evans
5. Quintana
VSP PICKS:
1. Chris Froome
2. Alberto Contador
3. Cadel Evans
4. Tejay Van Garderen
5. Pierre Rolland
Just marker really, making sure I don’t DG the big show…
VSP PICKS:
1. Conty
2. Froome
3. Purito
4. Cuddles
5. Porte
VSP PICKS:
1. Chris Froome
2. Tejay Van Garderen
3. Richie Porte
4. Joaquim Rodriguez
5. Alejandro Valverde
Well, here goes nothing… Got no idea really.
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Porte
3. Contador
4. Mollema
5. J-Rod
VSP PICKS:
1. Christopher Froome
2. Alberto Contador
3. Vincenzo Nibali
4. Tejay Van Garderen
5. Richie Porte
VSP PICKS:
1. Evans
2. Froome
3. Contador
4. Teejay
5. Nairo Quinatana
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome, Chris
2. Contador, Alberto
3. Porte, Richie
4. Rodriguez, Joaquim
5. Valverde, Alejandro
VSP PICKS:
1. Chris Froome
2. Alberto Contador
3. Richie Porte
4. Alejandro Valverde
5. Cadel Evans
VSP PICKS:
1. Chris Froome
2. Alberto Contador
3. Richie Porte
4. Dan Martin
5. Joaquim Rodriguez
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Evans
3. Contador
4. Van Garderen
5. Porte
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Contador
3. Evans
4. Tejay van Garderen
5. Richie Porte
I really wanted to be bold and make interesting, left-field picks….but in the end I can’t get past the recent form of Port, the second coming of Evans and the possibility that Clenbutador has resumed his traditional pre-tour carnivorous diet.
VSP PICKS:
1. Christopher Froome
2. Richie Port
3. Alberto Contador
4. Cadel Evans
5. Joaquim Rodriguez
@V-inden
You could have forecast that Marianne Vos would replace the remaining Schleck and win outright on a Raleigh Chopper for the spotty Trek team?
Anyone seen the horrid paint schemes that Jens & Andy will be aboard????
Seriously, WHAT.THE.FUCK?
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.539802932751115.1073741861.149819558416123&type=3
Explains why Faboo isn’t playing
VSP PICKS:
1. Alberto Contador
2. Chris Froome
3. Peter Sagan
4. Mark Cavendish
5. Robert Gesink
@Alex
Bugger, thank you! Edited
VSP PICKS:
1. Chris Froome
2. Contador
3. Van Garderen
4. Cuddles
5. Nibali
@Mikael Liddy add orange and it would be historically awesomness. Gulf style.
@Mikael Liddy horrendous !!! Ugly is an understatement.
One wonders who does these evil things. My daughter could design a better paint scheme, she’s 5.
The Tour documentary on NBC Sports is pretty sweet
@Mikael Liddy
Radiocrack must have momentarily though they were Astana.
VSP PICKS:
1. Alberto Contador
2. Tejay Van Garderen
3. Christopher Froome
4. Nairo Quintana
5. Ryder Hesjedal
VSP PICKS:
1. Alberto Contador
2. Christopher Froome
3. Christopher Froome
4. Nairo Quintana
5. Ryder Hesjedal
Image the tour for this to unfold!
VSP PICKS:
1. Cadel Evans
2. Ritchie Port
3. Andy Schleck
4. Tejay van Garderen
5. Nairo Quintana
@Lewis H
*imagine*
@Tartan1749
Pretty sure we Aussies will be getting that on Friday night, looking forward to it.
VSP PICKS:
1. Chris Froome
2. Alberto Contador
3. Richie Porte
4. Joaquim Rodriguez
5. Cadel Evans
VSP PICKS:
1. Chris Froome
2. J Rod
3. Peter Sagan
4. TJ Van G
5. Alberto Contador
@Mikael Liddy They will stick out like dogs balls, which although ugly, will get them notice on the boob tube by us numpties, which is probably what the sponsors want. Think what you want of Vini Fantini, but the flouro yellow is marketing gold in the blur of the peleton. Cue vomit inducing flouro paint jobs for all the teams…
VSP PICKS:
1. Chris Froome
2. Contador
3. Van Garderen
4. Cuddles
5. Nibali
@Tartan1749
This!
The GT40 remains the only truly great American race car.
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Porte
3. Contador
4. Van Garderen
5. Quintana
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Contador
3. Porte
4. Vangarderen
5. Andy Shleck
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Porte
3. Rodriguez
4. Contador
5. Van Garderen
Fairly predictable let’s hope it’s not another dull race.
@Beers
Oh no doubt, same as the bright red/orange paint job Specialized did at last year’s olympics.
@Tartan1749
There’s a long way to go from those Treks to this…
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Contador
3. Rodriquez
4. Porte
5. Evans
@Mikael Liddy
Oddly, I don’t mind them.
I do ride a pink bike though, so there is that….