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″/]

Related Posts

Velominati Super Prestige: Men’s World Championship Road Race 2017

Sep 21 2017

Velominati Super Prestige: Women’s World Championship Road Race 2017

Sep 21 2017

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

  1. @starclimber

    @moondance

    Before I settled on my ‘what have turned out to be shitty picks’, I had Terpstra and Chava as well as Goss and Boonen, but more annoyingly, I had Cav to win it, not Phone-in. Oh. Well. Time to get on the road. Local weather, 5°C, Sunny, Wind: WNW 28 gust 52 km/h. Perfect.

    Bollocks!…Nibbles has quit.

  4. Man, some of these dudes are pedaling squares.  Going to be some seriously sore knees tonight.  Have to break out the Stannard K-B-K post race video.

  5. Seems to be confirmed – on TV commentary and text.

    Sky is looking ominous – they don’t usually ride on the front like that if they don’t have a solid plan.

  7. @frank

     

    But fuck. Everyone knows this weather is the shit that writes itself into legend. How can you not want to be a part of that?

    He is a part of that: “The weather that year was so bad that four time P-R winner Tom Boonen had quit.”

  8. Again: “Four time P-R winner”. Or do we only respect riders who retired long ago here?

  10. And don’t tell me the greats never climbed off their bikes when they weren’t feeling good.

  11. @ChrisO

    Seems to be confirmed – on TV commentary and text.

    Sky is looking ominous – they don’t usually ride on the front like that if they don’t have a solid plan.

    Go Boss Hog! and GT may even make an appearance..

  12. @Blah

    And don’t tell me the greats never climbed off their bikes when they weren’t feeling good.

    Well, all that might be true but he sure is a pussy today!

  14. And is Farrar the biggest crash magnet in the pack or what. Man if I were a pro I would give him a wide berth. They may not always be his fault, but he is a dark cloud…

  16. @Buck Rogers

    @Blah

    And don’t tell me the greats never climbed off their bikes when they weren’t feeling good.

    Well, all that might be true but he sure is a pussy today!

    …

  17. #MSR is a top trending tag on twitter… so much for cycling being “devastated”…

    Some funny posts:

    “The weather at Milan San Remo is so bad Andy Schleck had to quit watching. ” 

    “Jens Voigt is not racing because conditions were “not quite tough enough”

    “Tom Boonen stop your crying, African rider has probably never ridden in that sort of weather” 

    “That crash of two Sky riders just ruined my teacher salary in Rapha clothing.” 

  20. What a group out front!!! Sagan, Canc, Phil Gil, Degenkolb?, Pozzato, etc…

  21. @King Clydesdale

    What a group out front!!! Sagan, Canc, Phil Gil, Degenkolb?, Pozzato, etc…

    Awesome!  Whomever has the biggest kahunas on the descent should pull this off (as long as they do not crash and die!)

  22. @LA Dave

    #MSR is a top trending tag on twitter… so much for cycling being “devastated”…

    Some funny posts:

    “The weather at Milan San Remo is so bad Andy Schleck had to quit watching. ”

    “Jens Voigt is not racing because conditions were “not quite tough enough”

    “Tom Boonen stop your crying, African rider has probably never ridden in that sort of weather”

    “That crash of two Sky riders just ruined my teacher salary in Rapha clothing.”

    These are awesome!  Too funny!!!

    1. 3km – Paolini has joined the leaders so we have six in front: Chavanel, Stannard, Sagan, Cancellara, Ciolek and Paolini.

  31. @Russ

    1. 3km – Paolini has joined the leaders so we have six in front: Chavanel, Stannard, Sagan, Cancellara, Ciolek and Paolini.

    Two in there are getting a free ride to the line…

  35. @LA Dave

    Another wheel suck win.

    Bit harsh – he had to get there. Sagam went from 200m out when he didn’t need to – he was too cocky.

  37. @Deakus

    @Russ

    1. 3km – Paolini has joined the leaders so we have six in front: Chavanel, Stannard, Sagan, Cancellara, Ciolek and Paolini.

    Two in there are getting a free ride to the line…

    Quote from cycling news “The German sprinter, he’s won Milan-San Remo. What an incredible ride.”…I am not sure incredible is the right word, he was towed most of it…but thems the breaks I suppose…at least it neutralises some of the VSP a little..Every cloud….etc….

  39. Ciolek had the win the second he topped the Poggio with that group.

  40. Wow, what a finish. Officially love Sagan now; he really did the work and rode like a winner. Fabs rode a bit like a wet napkin, though, didn’t he? Surprised he didn’t make a last KM move.

    I can’t imagine anyone picked Ciolek, so the points have to be based on Sagan and Fabs.

    Congrats to El Gato for a nice win; you get to post with the MSR Winner’s badge all year. Cheers.

    Final Race Results

    1. CIOLEK Gerald
    2. SAGAN Peter
    3. CANCELLARA Fabian
    4. CHAVANEL Sylvain
    5. PAOLINI Luca
    Final VSP Results

    1. el gato (10 points)
    2. Jhortua (9 points)
    3. 936adl (9 points)
    4. forza_village (9 points)
    5. Mikael Liddy (8 points)
    6. m_demartino (8 points)
    7. Anjin-san (8 points)
    8. Rigid (7 points)
    9. the Engine (6 points)
    10. Russ (6 points)
    11. Bianchi Denti (6 points)
    12. paolo (6 points)
    13. R00tdown (6 points)
    14. mbarston (6 points)
    15. matthew langley (6 points)
    16. DrewG (6 points)
    17. Cyclops (6 points)
    18. scaler911 (6 points)
    19. sgt (6 points)
    20. dancollins (6 points)
    21. chrismurphy92 (6 points)
    22. sprider (6 points)
    23. snoov (6 points)
    24. Dan_R (6 points)
    25. ramenvelo (6 points)
    26. Tartan1749 (6 points)
    27. Nate (5 points)
    28. pink (5 points)
    29. razmaspaz (5 points)
    30. freddy (5 points)
    31. torrefie (5 points)
    32. The Grande Fondue (5 points)
    33. Wingnut (5 points)
    34. Buck Rogers (5 points)
    35. Daccordi Rider (5 points)
    36. oneninefiveninesix (5 points)
    37. Vernwitha_V (5 points)
    38. piwakawaka (5 points)
    39. LA Dave (5 points)
    40. Adrian (5 points)
    41. wiscot (5 points)
    42. trenchfoot (5 points)
    43. Alex (5 points)
    44. ralph (5 points)
    45. Nosyt (5 points)
    46. VeloVita (5 points)
    47. Anais Ninja (5 points)
    48. Lukas (5 points)
    49. The Oracle (5 points)
    50. starclimber (5 points)
    51. SimonH (5 points)
    52. Facetious_Jesus (5 points)
    53. bkwentz (5 points)
    54. G’phant (5 points)
    55. taon24 (4 points)
    56. roberto (4 points)
    57. leadout (3 points)
    58. Souleur (3 points)
    59. imakecircles (3 points)
    60. pakrat (3 points)
    61. Skinnyphat (2 points)
    62. moondance (2 points)
    63. Gerard (2 points)
    64. JP (2 points)
    65. Sauterelle (2 points)
    66. napolinige (2 points)
    67. CanuckChuck (2 points)
    68. AndyH (2 points)
    69. TOM.NELS2120 (2 points)
    70. Dr C (2 points)
    71. Benny (2 points)
    72. roger (2 points)
    73. RedRanger (2 points)
    74. jurgen (2 points)
    75. Blah (2 points)
    76. graham d.m. (2 points)
    77. unjoursans (2 points)
    78. Gino (2 points)
    79. Tobin (2 points)
    80. Simon (2 points)
    81. skagitteam (2 points)
    82. Heihachi (2 points)
    83. Barracuda (2 points)
    84. brett (2 points)
    85. Chica (2 points)
    86. motor city (2 points)
    87. anotherdownunder (2 points)
    88. Jamin (2 points)
    89. bugleboy21 (2 points)
    90. Deakus (2 points)
    91. Two Ball Billy (2 points)
    92. seemunkee (2 points)
    93. Bat Chainpuller (2 points)
    94. Bat Chainpuller (2 points)
    95. urunomad (2 points)
    96. Dinan (2 points)
    97. Krishnan (2 points)
    98. asyax (2 points)
    99. eenies (2 points)
    100. PeakInTwoYears (2 points)
    101. sgraha (2 points)
    102. la plaque (2 points)
    103. typevii (2 points)
    104. Skip (2 points)
    105. frank (2 points)
    106. jeyrod (2 points)
    107. simonsaunders (2 points)
    108. BaltoSteve (2 points)
    109. San Tonio (2 points)
    110. Markp (2 points)
    111. quanyeomans (2 points)
    112. blue (2 points)
    113. Alex (2 points)
    114. il ciclista medio (2 points)
    115. DaRCrider (2 points)
    116. tony macaroni (2 points)
    117. Ron (2 points)
    118. Jay (2 points)
    119. Noel (2 points)
    120. Geordi (2 points)
    121. unversio (1 points)
    122. Erik (1 points)
    123. eightzero (1 points)
    124. Al__S (1 points)
    125. Marko (1 points)
    126. JohnB (1 points)
    127. sthilzy (1 points)
    128. Giles (1 points)
    129. Velomihottie (1 points)
    130. strathlubnaig (1 points)
    131. V-olcano (1 points)
    132. Gervais (1 points)
    133. mouse (1 points)
    134. King Clydesdale (1 points)
    135. Oldschooly (1 points)
    136. HeinrichHauslersHairstyle (1 points)
    137. Franklin (1 points)
    138. VirenqueForever (1 points)
    139. Patrick (1 points)
    140. Steampunk (1 points)
    141. stickyjumper (1 points)
    142. Fausto (1 points)
    143. Duende (1 points)
    144. Kyle (1 points)
    145. Don Amedo (1 points)
    146. Graham (1 points)
    147. Chris (1 points)
    148. mcsqueak (1 points)
    149. Harminator (1 points)
    150. ChrisO (1 points)
    151. girl (1 points)
    152. Gianni (1 points)
    153. xyxax (1 points)
    154. marketplace (0 points)
    155. ped (0 points)

  41. @Deakus

    @Russ

    1. 3km – Paolini has joined the leaders so we have six in front: Chavanel, Stannard, Sagan, Cancellara, Ciolek and Paolini.

    Two in there are getting a free ride to the line…

    ya you’ve got that right, they all need to work for this one.

  42. @Deakus

    @Deakus

    @Russ

    1. 3km – Paolini has joined the leaders so we have six in front: Chavanel, Stannard, Sagan, Cancellara, Ciolek and Paolini.

    Two in there are getting a free ride to the line…

    Quote from cycling news “The German sprinter, he’s won Milan-San Remo. What an incredible ride.”…I am not sure incredible is the right word, he was towed most of it…but thems the breaks I suppose…at least it neutralises some of the VSP a little..Every cloud….etc….

    Yeah, nit a fan of his but at least he stuck around for the ride.  Nibbles, Goss, Boonen, etc saw the finish from a warm team bus.

  43. @Frank – That may be a new record for getting the results up! Chapeau!

    Also a great effort from MiniPhinney to come in 7th.  Give the kid some more experience and he’ll do big things.

  44. Wow and how about Taylor Phinney coming up on that group at the end there’s no quit in that guy.

    This is from the cyclingnews ticker –

    “The BMC rider coming back  was key there because all the riders in the lead group looked over their shoulders and then opened up the sprint. Ciolek kept his head though and waited behind Sagan.”

  45. @Sauterelle

    @ChrisO

    @Dinan

    @Deakus

    Quote from Boonen, I think someone needs to have a word with him about Rule #5 he has done untold damage to the Belgian reputation! “I think my decision says enough.This is partly a precaution, but also a statement to the organization. They knew long enough that there was so much snow on the road. What happens now is the fault of the organization’s own fault. Have you ever wanted to bicycle through the snow ridden? There are nicer things than this. I’m completely frozen.”

    I’m not at all a fan of the whining but I can see his point. Those conditions look like pure shit. I’d be worried to ride in that as well. Yes, that statement violates Rule #5 but I have slid out numerous times in conditions like that on a solo ride. Add the competition and speed in there? No thank you…

    -Dinan

    That’s an explanation of why you don’t get paid millions of euros to ride a bike, not an explanation of why someone who is paid millions is not riding his bike.

    +1

    I wasn’t attempting to explain anything for Boonen. I was merely commenting on the conditions as they appear to me and how I would choose having to ride in those conditions. Road riding in those conditions is suicidal here in the mountains a far as I’m concerned. On snowy days, I just grab the mountain bike and head for Pisgah Forest and ride there. To each his or her own.

    -Dinan

  47. @Skip

    @Frank – That may be a new record for getting the results up! Chapeau!

    Also a great effort from MiniPhinney to come in 7th. Give the kid some more experience and he’ll do big things.

    Second that. One huge benefit of being a stupid old codger is that life often becomes a cornucopia of opportunities to learn. I didn’t even enter the VSP this time, but I couldn’t help noticing that the participants were using all kinds of creative – and funny – nicknames for their riders/picks, so the input for this event would seem to be all over the place – and yet, mere minutes after the race result goes live, the result of the VSP is on-line. Respect, first and foremost – but also utter bafflement: How the hell do you do that?? (I’m imagining that you process all the creative entries (manually? algorithm?) so that all the picks are present in a standardised spreadsheet of sorts, which is then held up, as it were, to the race results – but that would be a lot of work, surely? (Perhaps it’s not as complicated as that? But whatever the ‘trick’: Hat, indeed!)

  48. HUGE ride from Stannard. I enjoyed that a lot.

    Boonen should have ridden for the team and supported Cav, he didn’t have to contest the race. Dropping out following the restart would have been a better move if the conditions were still that bad. If he wins PR this will take the shine off of it.

  49. Wow! Lots of Boonen bashing. I thought I’d never see the day.

    1. It’s pretty easy to criticize from the couch.

    2. Boonen’s targeting a pretty important week in the not-so-distant future; MSR was always a long shot.

    3. He’s been hurt and sick this winter. Why risk 2?

    4. He gets paid to race his bike, not risk life and limb.

    5. What help was he going to provide Chavanel?

    6. Getting in the bus today does not dampen any performance at PR. Apples and oranges. Completely.

    7. Damage to the Belgian reputation?? I don’t even know what that means.

    I’m a strong adherent/admirer of Rule V, but there’s a danger we lose sight of its value if we just jabber Rule V at every turn. These are great athletes and hard men (by definition, in having created the opportunity for themselves to be invited to line up at the start of a pro race). If you can’t see that, it’s best to keep your fingers off the keyboard while you sit on the couch…

  50. @frank

    Wow, what a finish. Officially love Sagan now; he really did the work and rode like a winner. Fabs rode a bit like a wet napkin, though, didn’t he? Surprised he didn’t make a last KM move.

    I think Fabs is all out of ideas at this point.  Good enough to be up there, can’t sprint, can’t solo away.  Don’t know what the answer is but he better come up with a suprise for Flanders.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.