Velominati Super Prestige: Milano Sanremo 2014

Merckx takes his first of seven MSRs.

Het Volk (it will always be Het Volk to me) and now the Strade Bianche may well mark the sentimental beginning to the season, but those are specialized, pre-season races that appeal mostly to riders who are preparing for bigger objectives later in the year, such as the Cobbled or Ardennes Classics. Same goes for Tirreno Adriatico and Paris-Nice; there are preparatory events – none of the marquee names have these events in their programme as primary objectives.

The season doesn’t really start until Milano Sanremo, the first Monument and the first race of the year that any Pro would proudly define their career by winning, and so that’s where we start the fifth installment of the Velominati Super Prestige. Last year saw our biggest turnout yet, with sponsors kicking in some serious prizes for the Tour de France VSP. This year we’ve built on that momentum to offer three major prizes for the season-long VSP:

First place overall wins a Veloforma Strada iR Velominati Edition frame in addition to the customary VSP winner’s VVorkshop Apron
Second place overall wins a set of hand built CR Wheelworks Arenberg wheelset in a custom Velominati paint scheme laced to orange Chris King hubs. (CR Wheelworks is Café Roubaix’s new wheel goods brand.)
Third place overall wins a full Velominati V-Kit with accompanying custom orange Bont Vaypor+ road shoes.

So, without further ado, check the start list, review the VSP Scoring Guidelines and get your picks in by the time the countdown clock goes to zero at midnight PDT on Sunday the 24th. If you think we mapped one of your picks wrong, use the dispute system and we’ll review it. Also remember to be precise enough in your description so we know which rider you mean; in other words, if you enter “Martin”, we will use our discretion (read: wild guess) to decide if you mean Tony or Dan – and that choice will not be negotiable once the the countdown clock goes to zero, so be sure to give yourself enough time.

Good luck, and don’t let these awesome prizes ruin your Rule #43 spirit.

[vsp_results id=”29200″/]

[dmalbum path=”/velominati.com/content/Photo Galleries/frank@velominati.com/VSP Prizes/”/]

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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View Comments

Mikael Liddy says:

Mar 23 2014 at 7:27 am

@Marko speak for yourself, I've got a couple of cold weather specialists in there in Heinrich & Eddy Boss along with two of last year's podium in Sagz & Faboo.
Marko says:

Mar 23 2014 at 7:37 am

@Mikael Liddy Word, I was referring to OPQ exclusion, you know, Belgians and all. But yes, those are some good Rule 9 riders. I too have Degenkolb and Van Avermat who aren't afraid of the wind and rain. Can't think of how well Billions and Billions goes when it's wet though.
Nate says:

Mar 23 2014 at 7:41 am

any real action yet? Haven't been able to get a feed loaded.
Minnesota Expat says:

Mar 23 2014 at 7:51 am

@paolo

heads up mofos bien tv has hi lights on Monday

Alright, this isn't working. I'm trying to follow the race from text updates on Cyclingnews.com on one screen and Google Maps on another screen. Bein TV is running highlights Monday night? Didn't they broadcast 2-3 hours live last year?!
scaler911 says:

Mar 23 2014 at 7:53 am

@Minnesota Expat

@paolo

heads up mofos bien tv has hi lights on Monday

Alright, this isn't working. I'm trying to follow the race from text updates on Cyclingnews.com on one screen and Google Maps on another screen. Bein TV is running highlights Monday night? Didn't they broadcast 2-3 hours live last year?!

http://www.sportlemon.tv/20131025/vv526a3905a529d4.11605989-670321.html (try this)
Mikael Liddy says:

Mar 23 2014 at 7:55 am

@Nate

any real action yet? Haven't been able to get a feed loaded.

break 5 mins up with 40k to go.

http://www.cyclingfans.com is your friend.
Mikael Liddy says:

Mar 23 2014 at 7:56 am

@Marko

@Mikael Liddy Word, I was referring to OPQ exclusion, you know, Belgians and all. But yes, those are some good Rule #9 riders. I too have Degenkolb and Van Avermat who aren't afraid of the wind and rain. Can't think of how well Billions and Billions goes when it's wet though.

Sagz would've won last year if he wasn't so dumb in chasing down every single move, so maybe it just stops him thinking.
TommyTubolare says:

Mar 23 2014 at 7:59 am

@Nate

Nothing yet. All about to happen. Lots of links to try for MSN so hopefully one works.

http://www.procyclinglive.com/livestream/

http://www.steephill.tv/classics/milan-san-remo/
Nate says:

Mar 23 2014 at 8:04 am

Thanks lads. Problem is new hardware on my end. Should have it sorted by the time they hit e cipressa.
Minnesota Expat says:

Mar 23 2014 at 8:17 am

@scaler911

http://www.sportlemon.tv/20131025/vv526a3905a529d4.11605989-670321.html (try this)

Got it. Tanks! Norton Utilities is going crazy, warning me about Russian hackers and Bulgarian malware, but I can deal with that later, this is the final 30k of MSR!