Velominati Super Prestige: Men’s La Fleche Wallonne 2016
Don’t these race organizers understand how confusing it is when races are held mid-week? It means we have to have to manage against unrealistic expectations like realizing what day of the week it is and then do the sums on how much lead time we want to give on the VSP.
Which is obviously too much to expect. Of me, anyway. I have a lot of big deals cooking, you see. Its very complicated and important. I could tell you about it but you probably wouldn’t be able to handle it all.
So. That leaves us with about 20 hours for VSP picks entry. Sorry about that. Hopefully you’ve already been prognosticating on the start list and have your game together already. If not, I hope you do well under pressure. Don’t forget there are awesome prizes on offer: Don Walker is giving away a free custom steel frame, Café Roubaix is giving away a carbon wheelset, and we are giving away a free V-Kit.
Good luck!
[vsp_results id=”41707″/]
@Buck Rogers
I can imaging sitting and staring at that for all of 0.75 Sec before reaching for the Stanley Knife.
I’m just learning now (as race is underway) that Henao was pulled by Sky over biological passport irregularities. FFS! If possible, I want to substitute Alaphilippe for Henao.
@chuckp
With the posts immediately above any generosity for being asleep is out!
I am handicapped by 5-6 hour time zone difference and a busy morning at work!
Ahem…
In case it’s not on your calendar, today is Dutch American Friendship day. What is that? Well it goes back to 1782 when John Adams was the US President and when he paid a formal visit to The Hague. Our first embassy in the Netherlands opened on this day and it’s been apple pie and stroopwafels ever since.
Any coincidence a Dutch holiday falls on 4/20…
Watching stream on Rai Sport 1. Love the Italian announcers!
@Ron
I recently discovered the proper way to treat/eat a Stroopwafel is to use it as a lid for your coffee (or tea) to warm and soften it before eating. We were gutted to crack the lid to our Stroopwafel jar recently so replacement on the list when we go to Eroica Limburg.
SERIOUSLY?!?! Henao removed from Fleche? Dammit I picked him to win!
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/uci-opens-biological-passport-case-against-sergio-henao/
Cummings not in my picks at all but I love his late attacks and ITT finisheds to races. Here’s to hoping that he can pull off the upset!
1 – Valverde
2 – Alaphilippe
3 – Martin
Don’t know about 4 and 5.
@Buck Rogers
Him and Wellens both. Fabulous finish. But I thought Wellens might have timed that late flyer to perfection…
4 – Poels
5 – Gasparatto
Sorry about the pixelation.
Oh do fuck off!
Crikey 3 out of 5 and 2 in the correct places. I may have peaked.
Double delgado. Awesome. How much notice did we get?
@Teocalli
Blimey! You and me both! Although I’m sure I won’t be allowed my plea to sub Alaphilippe for Henao upon learning about Henao’s w/d (although my plea was with like 40-50km to go so well before the race was decided), I could potentially have 4 out of 5 with 2 in the correct places.
@chuckp
I don’t think a dispute that it’s a palindrome will work…………….
Shit. 2 out of 5 and they’re in the wrong places. That f*cker Valverde sure knows how to climb the Huy. Danny Boy shot his bolt a bit early and Jules just didn’t have it.
Those hills in the last 15k are just horrendously steep.
@wiscot
Yup, if fuck’in Danny-Boy could have held on to 2nd I would be sitting pretty nice. Oh well, LBL should be super!
@Teocalli
Yeah, while I am not on “The Committee” that makes the calls on VSP disputes, I have never seen anyone allowed to swap a rider out once the race has started, for any reason.
Might just be a case of a broken wheel on the Hem section while in the break, i.e. shit-out-of-luck.
@Buck Rogers
had martin not blown himself to bits on the last stretch of the huy, i’d be sitting pretty too…vavlerde! i had him pegged for the two slot
I don’t get Etixx. I really don’t. Is there any other team that consistently gets to implement their strategy perfectly only to shit the bed at the finish line? It looked to me as though the set-up guy was the stronger of the two. We’ll never know, but it seems as though Alaphilippe setting up Martin might have yielded the better result. I’m not complaining: I had Valverde first and Martin third. But they always seem to get to do what they want and still not win (I know this is one of the biggest and winningest teams, but still…).
@Buck Rogers
I don’t expect an exception will be made. Just making my case. I literally found out about Henao when I got to work this morning (0800 EDT in USA). I don’t know when the announcement was made, but obviously sometime between when I went to sleep last night and when I got to work this morning. Yes, shit out of luck. Just sucks that eleventh hour circumstances having nothing to do with the race itself eliminates a pick. But I am happy with 3 out of 5 with 2 in the correct place.
@Steampunk
Not only that, but they chased with Jungels in the break. If break was going to be caught (and it would’ve been), they should’ve let another team do the work.
@chuckp
No chance! You can’t even swap out for free during a GT if a rider crashes out, let alone if a rider gets pulled for dodgy biological data in a midweek classic. Mind you, having the option to make switches with 10k to go would be fun but will not happen as a) frank won’t allow it and b) it would crash the site.
Damn, those European roads looks so smooth! Unlike the friggin farm tracks and shitty roads here in WI . . .
@wiscot
Shit – define European or maybe Brexit is so that UK roads can be excluded from that category.
@wiscot
When a team pulls a rider after the VSP picks have closed but before the race has started is a completely different circumstance than crashing out or changing picks mid-race because something happened to your rider during the race. Unique circumstance. Don’t know that it’s ever happened before. And we’re not all in the local (or even close to local) time zone to be able to know/do something about it (if that’s a possibility).
I know @frank won’t allow it.
Strangely, it appears that VSP was open this morning even after the race had started. I almost got a Henau swap in under the wire, but it closed on me. But that was well into the race, (if not the broadcast.)
In any case, I’m happy to have 3 in the top five, and third exact.
@John Irvine
That’s the Keeper’s stealth test for breaches of the Petit Principle.
I make my VSP picks and go bed early to make sure I’m rested for this evening’s team ride… first thing I see this morning is that Henao is out. Crap.
(shrug)
That’s bike racing.
@chuckp
I know! The tone of my comment would have been much easier to convey if emoticons were allowed!
@wiscot
And I know I shouldn’t complain. I got #1 and #5 right plus picked Dan Martin to be in the top 5.
@chuckp
That was weird, too. Although, I’m perfectly willing to accept that Jungels would probably have finished third if that trio had stayed away. His job was to soften, but it was strange nevertheless.
@Teocalli
I wish, but I’m on the road for work. The VMH did take a peak and it’s all wrapped up and bound with orange Jaegher tape. I want a roll of that tape!
Almost as fun, is pulling the trigger on a big component order for the build. Nice big fat tax return landed in the bank account yesterday, time for some shopping tonight!
Odd Christian Eiking (FDJ) came in 124th place at La Fleche Wallone
@Steampunk
The break was never going to stay away. Red meat for the hounds. They might have gotten caught later had Etixx not chased, but they were going to get caught. Movistar played it right. Izaguirre in the break and just sitting in, and they let other teams take up the chase. Jungels never had a chance. He got spit out the back almost immediately after the peloton swallowed them up. So why Etixx wasted energy is beyond me. It’s like Etixx just finds ways to not win.
Oh no, it did “delgado” and now I am too late :-)
Purito looked pretty good until he didn’t. I presume he just sat up once he realized the gig was up. As exciting as it is to watch them tear up the Mur de Huy, the last couple of years have been a little anti-climactic. Valverde gets to the front and everyone more or less just follows him up. Kudos to Martin for trying to animate, but I miss Gilbert and his fireworks.
@Steampunk I wonder if he pulled the pin when he saw how easy his “mate” was doing, given their history I don’t think he’d be all that keen to be seen to assist Malmerde in any way unless he was a real chance at the win himself.
@chuckp
The race rolled out at 11:40 CEST; VSP picks closed at 13:00 CEST. Obviously it sucks for those on the US west coast, but those with an eye on the news sites would have known about Henao before picks closed.
Just sayin’.
Hmm – my picks aren’t loading – I picked Martin for third – but it must have mapped Tony instead of Dan, which would be on me for not being specific enough.
@mulebeatsdrums
1300 CEST is 0700 my time (EDT). For those of us who have real jobs, at that hour I’m getting ready to go to go to work (and taking my daughter to school) not checking anything on my computer. I don’t know when the news broke about Henao, but likely while I was asleep. So I’m just sayin’ too.
@frank Shouldn’t I have 10 points? 7 for picking Valverde to win. 2 for Gasparatto in 5th. Plus 1 for picking Martin to be in the top 5.
@chuckp
I don’t like the insinuation that I don’t have a “real job” (I do), but having read back my original post, it is extremely arsey in tone, which was not at all my intention. Apologies for any offence caused. I was just pointing out that the news was public prior to picks closing.
@mulebeatsdrums
We’re all good. If I offended you, apologies. In the end, it is what it is. Not life or death.
@chuckp
I’m guessing, like me you just put “Martin” in as your selection. As there were two Martins racing it probably mapped Guillame instead of Dan.
Sooo….do you think Paris-Roubaix sucked all the V out of western Europe?
@Harminator
I think La Fleche is traditionally a bit of a lull – you know, just something to keep the guns turning over between Paris-Roubaix and L-B-L. Personally I like to think of La Fleche as the “Ginger Stepchild of the Classics”… But then again I think of a lot of things…
I predict that there will be V a plenty at Liége, at Bastogne, at Liége again and all the little places in between, though.