Velominati Super Prestige

Velominati Super Prestige: Milan-Sanremo 2013

Eddy Planckert photo:cor vos
Eddy Planckert and Marc Sergeant photo:cor vos

Finally, we have Milan-Sanremo. I hope pedale.forcetta is ready to shoot some pictures, especially black and white because it will be cold and possibly wet. Throw in a little wind and a race of this distance will weed out the less hardy. Recently, but not too recently, this race would be won out of a decent size field sprint. And yet, besides Fabs winning in 2008 it does come down to a sprint finish of some size. That race was setting up for a field sprint when Cancellara bolted and no one could catch him. The solo charge to the finish just doesn’t seem to work here. It is such an interesting race because the finish is unlike any of the other monuments. Moreno Argentin lost the race because he was not as good as descender as Kelly. Getting down the Cipressa and Poggio well is not easy. The descents are tight narrow Italian roads, hairpin turns, madness. Fabs and Sagan are two excellent descenders and Sagan has a killer sprint. NIbali just won Terreno. Thor has recovered. Boonen is back with Cavendish, on the same team! Gilbert is wearing the rainbow jersey. Andy Schleck has pre-dropped out. God Damnit, if you are going to get up at some weird hour of the night to watch a race this year, this is it people.

An American has never won one of cycling’s monuments and Sunday’s race does not seem to be where it is going to happen. Tyler Farrar would have to latch onto a special train and surely Cancellara will not be towing people to the line this year. The odds of Australian riders winning the last two editions were very long but it demonstrates how exciting and unpredictable this race is.

Here is the incomplete start list, it will be updated when available. No Delgados, no whining, the betting window is now open. Get you picks in before the countdown timer goes to zero at midnight Pacific Time. The winner of this event is awarded the MSR comment badge for the remainder of the season.

Here is a little video from last year, interesting more for the behind the scenes action and the amount of bleeped out cursing.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHAKie2XiU0[/youtube]

[vsp_results id=”22700″/]

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461 Replies to “Velominati Super Prestige: Milan-Sanremo 2013”

  7. VSP PICKS:

    1. sags
    2. chavendouche
    3. hush
    4. jurgen rolaids
    5. nibs

  10. Straight-up sprint finish, weather-permitting. I think Renshaw blows it at the last minute and crashes the field behind the top 7 or so riders. Merckx be merciful if I’m right.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Cav
    2. Greipel
    3. Sagan
    4. Goss
    5. Boonen

  11. Someone put Hausler in. Fuck me there’s going for an outsider and then there’s just plain silly.

  12. Bit of a crap shoot. Mick Rogers for the smokey. It will be wet and hard, Nibbles to desend like a madman and have enough gap to hold off  the rest marking each other.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Niballi
    2. Boonen
    3. Cancellara
    4. Sagan
    5. Mick Rogers

  13. VSP PICKS:

    1. Mark Cavendish
    2. Peter Sagan
    3. Fabien Cancellara
    4. Vincenzo Nibali
    5. Filippo Pozzato

  14. VSP PICKS:

    1. peter sagan
    2. thor ushovd
    3. philippe gilbert
    4. moreno moser
    5. mark cavendish

  15. @Daccordi Rider

    Someone put Hausler in. Fuck me there’s going for an outsider and then there’s just plain silly.

    You wanna pick Haussler don’t you? The H.

  16. @unversio

    @Daccordi Rider

    Someone put Hausler in. Fuck me there’s going for an outsider and then there’s just plain silly.

    You wanna pick Haussler don’t you? The H.

    I’m of the opinion we should hand him back to Germany.

  18. @Daccordi Rider

    Someone put Hausler in. Fuck me there’s going for an outsider and then there’s just plain silly.

    It’s not like he hasn’t been close before…

  19. VSP PICKS:

    1. Sagan
    2. Cancellara
    3. Thor
    4. Nibali
    5. Boassen Hagen

  21. @Mikael Liddy True. But Cobo won a Vuelta and I suspect he won’t feature in the tipping this year.
    Henrich hasn’t been any good at anything except falling off and whining for a while now.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Niballi
    2. Boonen
    3. Cancellara
    4. Sagan
    5. Mick Rogers

  22. @Daccordi Rider from memory he did a pretty good line of 2nd place finishes last year at the Tour of Cali when Mr Sagan was having his fun, but yeah can’t remember him gracing the top step since his Tour stage win

  23. VSP PICKS:

    1. Cav
    2. Sagan
    3. Greippel
    4. G. Thomas
    5. Pozzato

  24. VSP PICKS:

    1. P Sagan
    2. F Pozzato
    3. F Cancellara
    4. M Santabrogrio
    5. M Goss

  27. Everyone is saying that this race will be impossible to predict but I beg to differ. I think of the three options: a breakaway, a select group, or mass gallop, the mass gallop is straight out this year. Between the weather, the wind (likely a gusty but not disturbingly strong cross wind, most likely felt at the coast), and the likely pace up the climbs, there is simply no way Cav, Ciolek, Greipel, etc make it to the finish first.

    I think the final will be a slightly larger select group then last years 3, with a few more punchy types mixing it up. For the skinny folks Nibali’s form is spot on to last years, and Santambrogio carries form reminicent, if not better then Gatto’s last year, and should be present on the Poggio. The guy is really coming into his own this year, and has gone up the road with Nibali before.

    But I think despite their best efforts, a few of the guys with a fast kick will make it over the top. Sagan and Hushovd have shown their climbing legs are alive and well (T-A stage 6, probably race day of the year, damn have the Italians put on good races this year and last). Pozzato thought he won Maxima-Roma, while sick, and assuming he gets over the climb with help, he will be up there as well.

    Now that I have analyzed this race this far, a break will win from 30 k out or a sprinter hangs tough. But I seriously doubt it. To many well rounded strong men here.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Peter Sagan
    2. Thor Hushovd
    3. Filippo Pozzato
    4. Mauro Santambrogio
    5. Vincenzo Nibali

  30. @Tobin

    @paolo

    @eightzero

    Vos would beat half this field.

    And Evelyn Stevens? How would she do?

    You are the grand poo bah – heyy-oh!

    Ermmm…ok.    I thought Frank holds that title but then what do I know.

  33. Spelling count?  I also can’t roll my R’s .”…..

    VSP PICKS:

    1. P Sagan
    2. F Pozzato
    3. F Cancellara
    4. M Santambrogio
    5. M Goss

  34. Plotting on a couple of strong / wily old dogs to slip away, bunch gallop close behind…

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Pozzato
    2. Cancellara
    3. Cav
    4. Sagan
    5. Goss

  36. @Tobin

    @paolo A little McMahon to your Carson…I haven’t stop laughing about the Stevens crack!

    Sorry mate. I’m English and though I live in the US now Johnny Carson was before my time so I missed the reference.  Gotcha now…..

    I’m just not down with discrimination based on affluence.  The rich need equality too…..sometimes emoticons should be allowed here.

  43. VSP PICKS:

    1. Heinrich – my hero
    2. M-Cav
    3. Sagan
    4. Thor
    5. Head butt Renshaw

  44. There’s an interesting Cancellara interview on Cyclingnews ATM.

    It is evident that Cancellara doesn’t like Sagan, that there is far more friction than admiration between the two after last year’s Tour de France: Cancellara clearly still hasn’t forgiven Sagan for sitting on in the final kilometre of stage one to Seraing and then jumping away and making one of his entertaining victory celebrations.

     
    Also, this bit on Andy Schleck:
     
    “He needs his time to come back. I still believe in him, as does the team. He apologised after being dropped on the descent during the team time trial. I said: ‘No worries, man. Think where you were a few months ago, a few weeks ago, and keep working.’
     
    Who gets dropped on a descent during a TTT? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that before.
     
     

  46. @The Grande Fondue

    Also, this bit on Andy Schleck:
    “He needs his time to come back. I still believe in him, as does the team. He apologised after being dropped on the descent during the team time trial. I said: ‘No worries, man. Think where you were a few months ago, a few weeks ago, and keep working.’
    Who gets dropped on a descent during a TTT? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that before.

    The guy with no confidence in how he’s handling a bike around others…especially a TT bike.

    I’m pretty sure that Andy’s come out saying he was extremely concerned about being back in the peleton during the TDU & didn’t trust his bike handling at all. Don’t forget it was on the TT bike that he had his fall last year that broke his pelvis.

  47. @Mikael Liddy

    @The Grande Fondue

    Also, this bit on Andy Schleck:
    “He needs his time to come back. I still believe in him, as does the team. He apologised after being dropped on the descent during the team time trial. I said: ‘No worries, man. Think where you were a few months ago, a few weeks ago, and keep working.’
    Who gets dropped on a descent during a TTT? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that before.

    The guy with no confidence in how he’s handling a bike around others…especially a TT bike.

    I’m pretty sure that Andy’s come out saying he was extremely concerned about being back in the peleton during the TDU & didn’t trust his bike handling at all. Don’t forget it was on the TT bike that he had his fall last year that broke his pelvis.

    Rule V

  48. Boonen phantoms the 150km before the Poggio, then drops off Chav who solos in. Cav picks up the bunch gallop while tangling with Heiny and they slide across the line and spit in each others face. Gerro forgets to get off Fab’s wheel and blows it.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Chav
    2. Cav
    3. Heiny
    4. Faboo
    5. Gerro

  49. VSP PICKS:

    1. Peter Sagan
    2. Mark Cavendish
    3. Edvald Boasson Hagen
    4. Moreno Moser
    5. Fabian Cancellara

  50. I can’t see past Sagan for this one.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Sagan
    2. EBH
    3. Boonen
    4. Cancellara
    5. Nibbles

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