Velominati Super Prestige: Men’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

Tarmac in bad state - Isn't that why we're here?

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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464 Replies to “Velominati Super Prestige: Men’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad”

  1. Just winging it…

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Lars Boom
    2. Bjorn Leukemans
    3. Thor Hushovd
    4. Juan Antonio Flecha
    5. Phillip Gilbert

  2. Do over. thanks for the heads-up Marko. Saw the article just after my post.

    Out: Boasson Hagen

    In: Hushovd

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Hushovd
    2. Haussler
    3. Langeveld
    4. Leukemans
    5. Phinney

  3. VSP PICKS:

    1. Thor Hushovd
    2. John Degenkolb
    3. Baden Cooke
    4. G Ciolek
    5. Will Clarke

  4. VSP PICKS:

    1. Edvald Boasson Hagen
    2. Tom Boonen
    3. Philippe Gilbert
    4. Sebastiaan Langeveld
    5. Juan Antonio Flecha

  5. Reposting to disambiguate.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Jan Anton vander Pijl
    2. Leukemans
    3. Paolini
    4. Vanmarcke
    5. Quasimodo Quinziato

  6. Just worked it out from everyone else’s picks…

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Gilbert
    2. Cooke
    3. Boonen
    4. Flecha
    5. Devolder

  7. I bet against Philbert a few too many times last year. Won’t do that again this year. I don’t think he’ll win, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see him in the mix at the end.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Boom Boom
    2. Leukemans
    3. Hoste
    4. Paulini
    5. Gilbert

  8. This is such a hard one to predict. There’s got to be a small group at the end so to cover the bases you have to include those that can go the distance. Flecha has the pedigree and the support (of his team and me!) to do it and the others are all proven performers.

    I don’t think the real big guns are going to be on parade this weekend, they have bigger fish to fry.

  9. It’s a little bit funny..this feeling inside….

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Philipe Gilbert
    2. Marco Marcato
    3. Lars Boom
    4. Maarten Neyens
    5. Tom Boonan

  10. Amended.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Philippe Gilbert
    2. Tom Boonen
    3. Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni
    4. Lars Boom
    5. Thor Hushovd

  11. Sorry if this has been covered, but do we know if this will be watchable online in the U.S.? And at what time?

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Hushovd
    2. Langeveld
    3. Flecha
    4. Leif Hoste
    5. Lars Boom

  12. @Ron

    Steephill usually has links to live feeds. Feed quality often leaves something to be desired, but it’s still better than watching The Today Show.

  13. Tomeke, Tomeke, Tomeke. He is back and ready to party.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Tomeke
    2. Hausseler
    3. Gilbert
    4. Flecha
    5. Thomas de Gendt

  14. VSP PICKS:

    1. gilbert
    2. boonen
    3. Thor Hushovd
    4. Haussler
    5. Thomas de Gendt

  15. VSP PICKS:

    1. Gilbert
    2. Navardauskas
    3. Boonen
    4. Paolini
    5. Will Clarke

  16. VSP PICKS:

    1. Jan Anton vander Pijl
    2. van avermaet
    3. Paolini
    4. Vanmarcke
    5. Quasimodo Quinziato

  17. Instant karma:

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Tom Boonen
    2. Matti Breschel
    3. Juan Antonio Flecha
    4. Greg Van Avermaet
    5. John Degenkolb

  18. Keep getting sand in my panties over these picks…
    No doubt live to regret leaving Giblets out…

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Thor Hushovd
    2. John Degenkolb
    3. Tom Boonen
    4. G Ciolek
    5. Baden Cooke

  19. VSP PICKS:

    1. Tornado Tommeke
    2. Gil-Bear, Phileep
    3. Flecha, Juan Antonio
    4. Van Avermaet, Greg
    5. Thor the Hammer Hushovd

  20. @mouse
    You will

    Bloomin heck, I hope you have got this automated Fronk, coz there seem to be about 8000 VSParticipants…..

  21. @Dr C

    Bloomin heck, I hope you have got this automated Fronk, coz there seem to be about 8000 VSParticipants…..

    +1 with the good doctor.
    how can i watch this race?

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