The 2012 Velominati Super Prestige kicks off in proper form this season with the debut of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad as part of the series. I’m tempted to stubbornly refer to this race as Het Volk, but I’ll toe the line and refer to the race by its bewildering new(ish) name.
This is a tricky race to predict because the big races in April are a funny distance away; they are close enough that riders wanting to do well there should be in good enough form to be competitive now, but far enough off that a win here could indicate a rider hitting their peak too soon.
In fact, the latter seems to be the case: riders who show brilliance here rarely shine in April when the Monuments of Vlaanderen and Roubaix are contested. De Vlaeminck, Museeuw, Van Petegem, Vandenbroucke – all champions of the Cobbled Classics and all men who never succeeded to win Het Volk/Het Nieuwsblad in the same year as either of the big cobbled classics; in fact, a cursory study of past results lists reveals only Merckx and Ballerini as being able to pull this particular double.
This timing makes Het Nieuwsblad a particularly difficult race to predict; in addition to the wily nature of any cobbled classic, the big names may not quite have the eye of the tiger while riders with an outside chance at victory in April may be focusing their early season on glory in this minor classic which covers many of the sacred roads as de Ronde.
With that we kick off the first event of the 2012 VSP; up for grabs is the personalized Velominati Shop Apron to the contestent who wins the season-long competition. Check the Main VSP page for scoring guidelines and rules. As a sidebar, we’ve also made lots of changes to the VSP engine; despite my usual nonchalant approach to production-testing, I’ve actually done my best to test the system this time around. There are, however, too many scenarios to be sure I covered them all, so I strongly encourage you to enter your picks early, knowing that you can make changes all the way up until the VSP closes. If you notice something behaving strangely, please let us know and we’ll have time to resolve the issue or let you know precisely why you’re crazy.
Picks close at 5am Pacific time on Saturday, and since last year’s VSP taught us that our readership sucks at time zone calculations (I’m looking at you, Bretto), we’ve introduced a countdown clock which should make even the most bone-headed of contestants aware of how much time they’ve got left to enter their losing picks (now I’m looking at you, Ron).
Good luck, and stand by for the VVomen’s Het Nieuwsblad VSP, scheduled to go live tomorrow.
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@Buck Rogers
Well, fuck me gently with a chainsaw: BR's showing some sympathy for my neo-Victorian sensibilities!
You're right about the numbers. Maybe we should create a series of VSP teams and collect aggregate points...
@Steampunk
Bloody HELL (sorry)! Now THAT is an awesome idea!!! How cool is that? Pair up some older folks that have been around for a bit with some newbies and have teams!!! We should have thought of that one a month ago! could still have individual standings but also team standings. Wow, cool idea.
@Steampunk
Also, loving the "Heathers" reference!
People are obviously showing up here more and more because of my increased involvement. Obviously.
I'm happy with my performance, although my strategy for the women's race was flawed. Rather, it was non-existent.
@all
Make sure you check your pick mappings to ensure (a) that they were mapped correctly, and (b) that you got your correct points. If there's a problem, just hit the little "dispute" like next to the incorrectly mapped/scored pick. Your assistance will help us improve the model and auto-mapping system, which dramatically reduces our workload on the backend.
Thanks.
Very happy for Sep! Nice win, lad. And yep, Boonen showed some incredible class. That was just awesome - Boonen did his best, couldn't pull it off, and congratulated the better man on the day. I think I might pay attention to more sports if they had such class. (nah...I probably wouldn't!)
So who was cramping today? Boonen or Sep? And I was only able to catch the last 17 km, sorry out riding my own bike. When did the definitive break go? I'm sure that hill of cobbles has a special name.
And who the heck crashed trying to get the inside lane on Boonen?
I also watched the post-race coverage on Sporza. Wow, if I could head to the local pub and watch that I'd be in heaven. (don't have a t.v.) Highlights, analysis, actual talking from the PROS, not just lame cliches. I need to move!
This VSP is off to a solid start!
Uh, found the highlight of that crash - Lars Boom? What the heck was he trying to do? Exchange some paint or did he just run out of road?
I even got Boonen at the right place! Well, I hope for a top 50 in this years VSP GC as well as at least one top 10, and this isn't a bad start at all.
@Ron
too bad you don't speak Dutch/Flemish...
Boonen started a rush on Taaienberg (that hill of cobbles has indeed a special name), where Boom fell while he tried to do the same. (The road there narrows a bit down, he went off, tried to get on road again, but the mud decided differently)Vanmarcke was the only one who could manage to follow immediatly. a bit later, Flecha, Hayman, Vanmarcke, Breschel, Hushovd and Devenyns closed the gap. then Hushovd and Breschel got dropped in the Paddestraat (in my opinion, one of the thoughest cobbles in Flanders if you do it in this direction). from that point on, Vanmarcke was the stronger rider (compared to Flecha, Boonen and the rest of course). Boonen was very good, but he was like wrenching and shuffling on his saddle, stretching his legs and so - normally he doesn't. Vanmarcke tried again on Lange Munte, but failed. the last 17k you saw on internet...
Whod'a thunk that picking five guys called 'Marten' wouldn't work?
That's my throwaway round, now it's serious business...