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

Barracuda says:

Mar 23 2014 at 6:00 pm

Great race, great ride, Fab's warming up nicely for the coming events. Ill take top 10 in a solid start to trying to snatch some 50mm wheels off of @Dan_R.

Sagan the dissappointment for me. Says the Monday expert.
anthony says:

Mar 23 2014 at 7:52 pm

@frank The Specialized looks ok from the front but the profile is kinda silly looking to me, way to long in the back and wierd angular shapes. That Poc helmet is the worst though.
G'rilla says:

Mar 23 2014 at 9:10 pm

Stybar finishes 7th! Solid.
Nate says:

Mar 23 2014 at 9:37 pm

@frank

@Nate

So much like last year, I did not here the announcers mention the eventual winner until the last 50 meters. Great race.

I really feel he should be relegated to the back of the group for (a) riding in that kit and (b) failing to keep his lid on straight.

It is so unsightly it makes it hard to enjoy seeing the finish line photos.

Nibbles is one of my favorites, were it not for his similarly shit kit. I really like how he rides, the only rider willing to gamble on long moves. Who gives a shit that they don't work? He's giving it the berries and gambling.

That helmet was tilted because it has an embedded microchip with an algorithm that is supposed to automatically compensate for crosswinds. I'm told the algorithm was developed by a Dutch computer engineer who raced kermesses when he was younger.
Nate says:

Mar 23 2014 at 9:38 pm

@G'rilla You cyclocrossers stick together don't you?
The Grande Fondue says:

Mar 24 2014 at 12:55 am

Q: What's this: 1,1,2,3,2,2,3,1,1,2?

A: Cancellara's position in the last 10 monuments he has finished.

(via his Twitter).
Deakus says:

Mar 24 2014 at 2:18 am

@frank

@Nate

So much like last year, I did not here the announcers mention the eventual winner until the last 50 meters. Great race.

I really feel he should be relegated to the back of the group for (a) riding in that kit and (b) failing to keep his lid on straight.

It is so unsightly it makes it hard to enjoy seeing the finish line photos.

Nibbles is one of my favorites, were it not for his similarly shit kit. I really like how he rides, the only rider willing to gamble on long moves. Who gives a shit that they don't work? He's giving it the berries and gambling.

Er....Dirty Bertie is not frightened of the occasionally demonstration of how the sherbert have not affected the size of his berries....he has already been at it this year. I am looking forward to some fireworks this year.
Deakus says:

Mar 24 2014 at 2:20 am

@Nate

@frank

@Nate

So much like last year, I did not here the announcers mention the eventual winner until the last 50 meters. Great race.

I really feel he should be relegated to the back of the group for (a) riding in that kit and (b) failing to keep his lid on straight.

It is so unsightly it makes it hard to enjoy seeing the finish line photos.

Nibbles is one of my favorites, were it not for his similarly shit kit. I really like how he rides, the only rider willing to gamble on long moves. Who gives a shit that they don't work? He's giving it the berries and gambling.

That helmet was tilted because it has an embedded microchip with an algorithm that is supposed to automatically compensate for crosswinds. I'm told the algorithm was developed by a Dutch computer engineer who raced kermesses when he was younger.

Bravo!
Dr C says:

Mar 24 2014 at 5:01 am

Wat is wrong with Tomeke? Was he not meant to ride MSR?
Island Bike says:

Mar 24 2014 at 5:23 am

Yow! What a race! Loving Nibbles, just knew he would try to blow things up but when Luca Paolini didn't jump with him I started thinking that Kristoff was strong and they were holding their cards. Got another race win with my knack for picking the 5th place guy, thanks Cav! Early season VSP form, a little better understanding of the ladies race scene and a great prize package should be enough motivation for me to get my picks in on time this year! Cheers to the V crew for running this contest, way better than filling out an NCAA bracket!