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.

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