Velominati Super Prestige: Milano-Sanremo 2015

Pedro Delgado. The patron saint of the VSP

Le Primavera has arrived. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 2015 Velominati Super Prestige. It’s been a long quiet winter of very little cycling news, little racing and barely a scandal. This Sunday marks the real beginning of the season for us cycling fanatics.

The true beauty of MSR, that despite its length, only on the descent of the Poggio and the run in to Sanremo does the race really show itself. No one is going to solo away in the last forty kms. No one is going to drop everybody on the Poggio and ride away to arrive a minute ahead on the Via Roma. The descent off the Poggio is its own race. And it’s the reason inept descenders like Frank Schleck are not pulling on the shoe covers this Sunday. Getting down to the Via Roma at the front requires some bravado. It will be a sprint of some fashion; maybe one, maybe two, maybe twenty. One is going to have to watch 290 kms of racing to understand the last three.

There is talk of rain on the coast. Rain is not required for Milano-Sanremo. It is for Paris-Roubaix. Here is a provisional start list. Be specific about your picks, just entering Chavanel can get you in a spot of bother your whining will not get you out of. And the betting window closes when the countdown timer goes to zero so refresh your page to know for sure. Or better yet, get your picks in early, like your taxes.

This 2015 Milano-Sanremo will be a good one. It is a very open field with many viable winners. Getting on the Big Board early won’t be easy this Sunday. Whatever OCD ritual you need to do to get good picks in, do it correctly, many times, then one more time for good luck.

The VSP is a race. It bestows some bragging rights on those that do well. Feel free to mock others picks, just acknowledge it when they drop you like a sack of nails. If you are supreme, omniscient and your god is a cruel (they all are) yet fair god you may win a Velominati oven mitt. But if you are supreme (supremely lucky) over the whole VSP season, then dear reader, you are going to win something special. These are the prizes for the overall 2015 season. Due to the fact that we are unable to recognize the passage of time in a meaningful way, we have yet to complete the prize list, but here is a teaser:

First place– Something big and awesome, to be determined.

Second Place– A Café Roubaix/Velominati wheel-set, Chris King hubs, hand built by professional wheelsmith and Velominatus Dan Richter.

Third Place– A Velominati kit: jersey, bibs, and cap.

The VSP generator has been rebuilt with new o-rings, auxiliary pull-start and tube amplifiers. The specifics of the VSP can be found on its slightly out of date page. Let’s do this.

[vsp_results id=”32514″/]

Gianni

Gianni has left the building.

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View Comments

The Grande Fondue says:

Mar 23 2015 at 1:30 am

@Daccordi Rider

You think he was changing gears? I doubt it, and there's no way he was changing to the big ring in the middle of a sprint last time.

I think the new FSA chainrings aren't stiff enough. They also look shit.
RobSandy says:

Mar 23 2015 at 2:17 am

Bugger. Missed it!
tessar says:

Mar 23 2015 at 2:53 am

@The Grande Fondue

@Daccordi Rider

You think he was changing gears? I doubt it, and there’s no way he was changing to the big ring in the middle of a sprint last time.

I think the new FSA chainrings aren’t stiff enough. They also look shit.

He said it fell to the outside (and that Tom Boonen had similar incidents), which means either his mechanic is so shit he fucked up a Di2 derailleur install, or he was actually in a very hard gear.

I had this happen on a regular basis, in the end I nailed it down to a bent tooth on a chainring (yep, you guessed it - FSA) and, more importantly, bad chainline. It would drop in the harder gears, and in the 52-11, the angle was so bad the chain went off even backpedalling. I nearly castrated myself when the chain fell and jammed in a sprint. In the end, some combination of new chain, chainrings and a spacer at the crank stopped it from reappearing, but I'm still apprehensive about using the 11. I also wrecked the wheel last week, so I'm hoping the replacement will be better in that regard, with a more inward freehub.
Ron says:

Mar 23 2015 at 4:14 am

Rode out of town to meet a friend, then did a road ride, then got to his place in time to see the final 25 km. Couldn't get the volume to work, so we had to call it ourselves. Still want to rewatch Farrar spiking his helmet.

Impressed by Paolini and Kristoff. Very nice moves by Degenkolb. Also...Cancellara? I never, ever saw him and he turned up 7th. Wow, he's always in the mix.
wiscot says:

Mar 23 2015 at 5:10 am

@tessar

@The Grande Fondue

@Daccordi Rider

You think he was changing gears? I doubt it, and there’s no way he was changing to the big ring in the middle of a sprint last time.

I think the new FSA chainrings aren’t stiff enough. They also look shit.

He said it fell to the outside (and that Tom Boonen had similar incidents), which means either his mechanic is so shit he fucked up a Di2 derailleur install, or he was actually in a very hard gear.

I had this happen on a regular basis, in the end I nailed it down to a bent tooth on a chainring (yep, you guessed it – FSA) and, more importantly, bad chainline. It would drop in the harder gears, and in the 52-11, the angle was so bad the chain went off even backpedalling. I nearly castrated myself when the chain fell and jammed in a sprint. In the end, some combination of new chain, chainrings and a spacer at the crank stopped it from reappearing, but I’m still apprehensive about using the 11. I also wrecked the wheel last week, so I’m hoping the replacement will be better in that regard, with a more inward freehub.

Yeah, Etixx need to get this fixed asap. It's getting embarrassing. It's got to be equipment rather than mechanic.

Pity Etixx didn't at least place, then we would have been spared the three baseball caps on the podium. They always get that part right these days even if their chains don't stay on.
Steampunk says:

Mar 23 2015 at 5:22 am

@Ron

Is that Cancellara's worst finish in a Monument since 2007?
KW says:

Mar 23 2015 at 6:06 am

@frank

Haven’t seen any photos yet to know if Kristoff kept his helmet on straight or not.

Nope.
Nate says:

Mar 23 2015 at 1:34 pm

@Steampunk

@Ron

Is that Cancellara’s worst finish in a Monument since 2007?

I think it ends a streak of 7-8 consecutive podium finishes in monuments.
piwakawaka says:

Mar 23 2015 at 2:56 pm

@Ron

Rode out of town to meet a friend, then did a road ride, then got to his place in time to see the final 25 km. Couldn’t get the volume to work, so we had to call it ourselves. Still want to rewatch Farrar spiking his helmet.

Impressed by Paolini and Kristoff. Very nice moves by Degenkolb. Also…Cancellara? I never, ever saw him and he turned up 7th. Wow, he’s always in the mix.

Ciolek not Farrar. Great footage of Gilbert hitting the padding in that crash at Cyclocosm HTRWW.
Daccordi Rider says:

Mar 23 2015 at 3:02 pm

@tessar

@The Grande Fondue

@Daccordi Rider

You think he was changing gears? I doubt it, and there’s no way he was changing to the big ring in the middle of a sprint last time.

I think the new FSA chainrings aren’t stiff enough. They also look shit.

He said it fell to the outside (and that Tom Boonen had similar incidents), which means either his mechanic is so shit he fucked up a Di2 derailleur install, or he was actually in a very hard gear.

I had this happen on a regular basis, in the end I nailed it down to a bent tooth on a chainring (yep, you guessed it – FSA) and, more importantly, bad chainline. It would drop in the harder gears, and in the 52-11, the angle was so bad the chain went off even backpedalling. I nearly castrated myself when the chain fell and jammed in a sprint. In the end, some combination of new chain, chainrings and a spacer at the crank stopped it from reappearing, but I’m still apprehensive about using the 11. I also wrecked the wheel last week, so I’m hoping the replacement will be better in that regard, with a more inward freehub.

Thanks for the info, mine was based on supposition and wild guess work. So he was shifting into the big ring I would guess and it over shifted? Moral of the story, keep your gear happy, don't mix rice with pasta etc. Every test I've ever seen wonders why people use proprietary chainrings instead of the correct branded stuff as it never runs as well. I know Cav has sponsor obligations but....