Velominati Super Prestige

Velominati Super Prestige: Men’s Olympic Road Race 2012

Grewal, legally doped to the gills, takes the win ahead of Canadian Steve Bauer.

You can all wave “goodbye” to your Post GT Depression Syndrome, because the Men’s Olympic Road Race is only three days yonder. I don’t typically give two shits about this particular event; while contested by national teams, unlike the Worlds it appears as just another one-day race on a calendar filled with events that carry much more historical and nostalgic significance. What’s worse, it seems the brilliance has faded from the flame of Olympic Spirit – after all, what is an international sports rivalry without the associated political Boggie Dance of Political Superiority? Merckx, I miss the Cold War.

But this time is different. Contested in London over a route that may or may not favor the squat little speed demon Mark Cavendish, the Cycling world has been abuzz about whether his presence on Team Sky alongside Pippi Longstockings implies his impending doom or his certain success – because everyone knows those are the only two possibilities. Be that as it may, the route boasts to be lumpy enough for breakaways or small field sprints, which makes this particular Velominatus, for once, really excited to see what happens. Oh, and as a special request to the riders, if we could keep everyone off the juice this time round, that would be peaches and creame.

With that, check the start list and pretend like that is going to help you make your predictions. Then look at the route and do the same before making a wild guess and hoping you come up good. One-Day VSP rules apply; get your picks in by the time the countdown timer goes to zero and pray for daylight.

Good luck.

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381 Replies to “Velominati Super Prestige: Men’s Olympic Road Race 2012”

  3. VSP PICKS:

    1. Mark Cavendish
    2. Peter Sagan
    3. ANdre Greipel
    4. Tom Boonen
    5. Edvald Boasson Hagen

  4. i have no idea what i’m doing.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Sagan
    2. Boonen
    3. Gerrans
    4. Cav
    5. Ryder

  6. Cheering for cav.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. cavendish
    2. sagan
    3. goss
    4. greipel
    5. gilbert

  7. Box Hill is going to be a ball buster. Maybe not the first time, but it’s going to really hurt by the ninth go round.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Cav
    2. Sagan
    3. Gilbert
    4. Hesjedal
    5. Boonen

  9. I would love to see Cav win it.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Cavendish
    2. Greipel
    3. Sagan
    4. Gilbert
    5. Boonen

  10. I toyed with the idea of having Boonen for gold but his recent injury makes him a bit of an unknown. I think he’ll have a good go though.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Cavendish
    2. Sagan
    3. Greipel
    4. Boonen
    5. Boom!

  11. I should be picking all cav all the time. But Sagan just seems to be a better choice. Watch the stage 20 finish and see him close on cav in the last 200m. Had he been set up right, maybe a different result.

    And the women’s VSP is up when? I’m told all participating 205 countries aresending female athletes, and Olympic first.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Sagan
    2. Boonen
    3. Goss
    4. Greipel
    5. Bosen Hagen

  12. Just couldn’t find a spot for Moldavia’s number 1 rider.

    Is this going to be Vino’s last race? Would love to see him win. Know I will see him in a break.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Goss
    2. Sagan
    3. EBH
    4. Boonen
    5. Chavanel

  15. I’m a newly-minted Wiggo fan, but I’m still hoping Spartacus blows him away in the TT.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. The Manx Missile
    2. Hansel & Greipel
    3. Billions and Billions
    4. Goss
    5. Boonen

  19. Tough decision should I be patriotic and pick Americans to win or some British guys who have been on a hot streak lately.

    Looking at the start list it could end up being a real crap shot.

    Maybe I’ll just go with the Olympic Tourminator to Gump his way across the finish line

  20. Nibali, Gilbert, Sagan, & Chavanel get away, which scares the shit out of the main bunch, but British firepower reins them back in for a bunch sprint.

    Interesting afterword on the Tour’s final stage. A couple of years ago, Cav told the media that he deliberately sprinted up the right hand side of the finish””the bumpy side””just to show how much faster he was than all the other sprinters in the bunch. No words this year, but have another look at the finish (@ 1:44):

    http://www.cyclingfans.com/node/6024

    VSP PICKS:

    1. M. Cavendish
    2. A. Greipel
    3. J. Degenkolb
    4. M. Goss
    5. E. Viviani

  26. @motor city

    While on the subject of the olympics i’m going to repost this audio slideshow with Tommy Godwin who rode in the 1948 London Games. Some beautiful old photos and a great story of what it was like to be a rider in those days that might interest some of you: http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/audioslideshow/2012/jan/02/1948-london-olympics-cycling-audio-slideshow

    Fantastic. Tommy G’s still in great shape too. Great look at the grassroots of the track scene.

  29. VSP PICKS:

    1. CANCELLARA
    2. SAGAN
    3. BOOM
    4. BOASSON HAGEN
    5. BOONEN

  30. VSP PICKS:

    1. Cavendish
    2. Greipel
    3. Sagan
    4. Boasson Hagen
    5. Boonen

  31. VSP PICKS:

    1. KAL Mirac
    2. LAHSAINI Mouhcine
    3. KHALMURATOV Muradjan
    4. WONG Kam-Po
    5. TAMOURIDIS Ioannis

  33. @Sauterelle

    Haha… you should be laughing if any of those come home.

    Interesting that so many people (Gilbert, Nibali, Matt White etc) are saying they don’t think it will come to a bunch sprint. In which case who are the two or three who will get away…

  34. @ChrisO

    I think Sagan is as good a guess as any – either for the bunch sprint or the break. He could conceivably handle both in the race, by the way; go with the break and then if they’re caught still win the gallop.

    Cav, I think, is going to struggle with that Box Hill after so many laps on it. Boonen is also a good option.

    Buggerme, No clue.

  36. It is disgusting to me that the New York Times publishes an article in the sports section during the Tour that says, “If we’ve learning anything from cycling, it’s that dope tests can be beat” and then goes on to talk about who knows what. It was hard to read the rest of the article after I tore the paper up in a rage.

    But the point is, Frankie Diuretic is likely going to eat a two-year ban while a soccer star gets off with a public warning for the same offense.

  38. @eightzero

    And the women’s VSP is up when? I’m told all participating 205 countries aresending female athletes, and Olympic first.

    Tomorrow; the race is Sunday.

  40. Just back from club circuit race…… my plate was well and truly licked clean before I even got a look at what was on it…..

    Then I watched Steamy’s link to the last stage of the Lap of France – those guys just go stupid fast

    What will Beaker and the Saffer do if the Missile runs out of rocket fuel on Box Hill a la MSR 2012? Will they all sit up and wave to the crowd?? At some point they will have to go for it?

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Sagan
    2. Fast Phil
    3. Cav best of rest
    4. Wiggo if Cav dies on Box Hill
    5. Froomie ditto with Cav

  42. Cavendish for the win, pretenders right behind him, whoever is supporting Cav in the final kilometers for fifth.  Wiggins?  Millar?

    That, or Cav gets dropped and the boy wonder/tourminator takes it.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Cavendish
    2. greipel
    3. sagan
    4. Goss
    5. Wiggins

  43. I’m betting against the sprint.  Someone will get away.

    This gamble all but guarantees a bunch sprint with Cavendish by a mile.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Boasson Hagen
    2. Sagan
    3. Gilbert
    4. Boonen
    5. Chavanel

  45. What are Tyler’s chances of more road rash? Is Cav’s lead out too full of superstars? Is Cuddles ready to take it to the Sky boys? It’s impossible to tell. Le Tour was a nil pointer for me, I have a feeling I may be heading to another doughnut.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Cav
    2. Goss
    3. Andre the Giant
    4. Sagan
    5. Farrar

  46. I know people come up with too many new nicknames for riders for it to be feasible to add them all to the Lexicon, but dammit, you’ve gotta add Beaker to the list, along with that side-by-side comparison with the sideburns drawn in on Beaker.  I’m laughing just thinking about it.  Friggin’ Beaker.

  47. VSP PICKS:

    1. Cav
    2. Eddy the boss
    3. Boonen
    4. Valverde
    5. Farrar

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