Velominati Super Prestige: Milano-Sanremo 2016
Milan Sanremo. I know we’ve been watching the men and women crush the cobbles already, and that’s the spiritual beginning of the season, but La Primavera is the longest Classic of them all, and the first race of the season that will be a genuine target for all the gunslingers. Which makes this the symbolic start to the season and, typically, the first event of our annual Velominati Super Prestige.
Please don’t call it a fantasy cycling game; the VSP is based on the old season-long Super Prestige (and later the World Cup) which awarded points to riders for how they finished in the qualifying races. The points were tallied and whomever held the most points at the end of the season was declared the winner, was showered in champagne, got epic bragging rights, and presumably got the girl. During the year, the leader earned the right to wear the white leader’s jersey with verticalized rainbow stripes.
Our series is based on the same principle, where you select the riders you think will be in the top five, in order of finishing. Points are awarded for getting your picks right, and bonus points are on offer for getting close. The leader of the event gets a little white jersey as their posting badge, and those who win the events for the Monuments and Grand Tours get to post with a commemorative badge for the ensuing year.
For the last several years, we’ve also been offering some crazy prizes; a custom road frame to the winner, hand built wheels to the runner-up, and a full v-kit to the runner-up-runner. This year, we’re delighted to announce that our friend Dan Richter of Café Roubaix will be offering up another of our collaboration Velominati-CR Wheelworks wheelsets. The V-Kit is the same as last year, with the addition of the possibility to choose the new VLVV design should you so choose.
The big news is that Don Walker of Don Walker Cycles and the head honcho of the North American Handmade Bicycle Show is going to be offering one of his hand-built, custom road frames. I was introduced to Don through @Haldy, who owns something like five of his bikes. There is no denying it when you meet a fellow Velominatus: instant friendship. I had him build me a track bike for The Improbable Hour on Festum Prophetae, and now we’re flirting about my first custom road frame because my other bikes just seem so impersonal now.
Don is the quintessential small frame builder; he only take 6 customer orders per year so you won’t be rolling up to the local group ride only to find four other riders on the same steed. The rest of his bikes are for his team and for the therapy of working with his hands. Working with him on the bike design is an incredible experience; delving into riding style and position and fine-tuning every detail of the build. And then it quickly devolves into shit-talking and teasing. I am so excited to share this experience with the lucky winner.
With that, start prognosticating on your picks and check the scoring guidelines. I know some of you are doing some intense analysis, and recall that last season we had a tie which we had to break by going back to see which of the two were entering their picks in earlier on average. Also don’t Delgado it; we have been known to have the odd timing glitch and even though that’s not your fault, I’m still not going to manually enter your picks because you waited around and the window closed earlier than you thought it would. The kids probably have an emoji for that.
Good luck, and may the V be with you. VLVV.
Café Roubaix's CR Wheelworks Arenbergs
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Yes, that was embarrassing. Let’s chalk it up to riding this morning at 5am. This is what one does with three kids and sleep in short supply. I got ahead of myself. I’m going to try and refile my picks and hope that the Velominati gods are forgiving. That said, my fantasy for Paris-Roubaix holds!
@Wietse Verbrugghe
This has to be one of the better typos I’ve seen in a long time. Sounds like it would fit right in with Talking Heads song lyrics.
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It’d be a whole lot easier to pick a top ten for this one. I’d add in Thomas, GVA, EBH, Stybar, &
Gaviria as 6-10. :)
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I’ll give this a bash and see if I can actually keep up with it this year.
G to pursuit away being just too strong for Tim,Spartacus to power away from a chasing group and Matthews to pip Sagan for best of the rest(so poor old Peter is sort of second again).
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@Luis Muñoz
It seems only 1 place choice for VSP is available…
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Should be a good one. So many contenders riding well.
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@Buck Rogers
Speaking of them…Just realized what Byrne is likely singing about in “Swamp.” As a U.S. historian with training in nuclear history and a trip to Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the 50th anniversary…can’t believe I never picked up on the “pika pika”…pikadon, A-bomb explosion. Amazing when you can sing along to a song for years and not even realize.
I feel like a bit of a traitor not picking G now, especially as so many others have…but I don’t think it’s the race for him, and I don’t think he’ll be gunning for it.
Prove me wrong, G, prove me wrong…
@Wietse Verbrugghe
Ahh, the novelty will soon wear off when you realize that however much fun entering is, the inevitable anti-climax when you have not performed as well as hoped hits home and you realize that you will put yourself through the same agonies time and time again until October.
That being said, your selections are sound.
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What’s interesting is that no-one is giving Cav a chance. In previous years he’s always been listed as a contender. Maybe this year, with no pressure, he’ll surprise? He was going pretty well in Qatar.
At last, it worked :)
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@wiscot
Yup, him and Tommeke are ghosts on the lists. I do not see either of them showing in the top ten but who knows what will happen after nearly 300 k’s in the legs.
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@Buck Rogers
Yup, they both have other objectives this year, but they’re champions with a shit load of experience in this race and that has to count for something.
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This is turning into a comedy of errors. Don’t know why these picks didn’t show up with the mea culpa.
Should be a good one. Very early in the season, but there are many riding well and some that haven’t shown yet. Either way, let’s start the season proper shall we?
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Here goes nothing
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I want Sagan to win, but I don’t have my hopes up.
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@Teocalli
Kristoff-er Cross?
@RobSandy
I can see that my picks saved to the database (they show up in the form fields for me), but they’re still not showing up on my original post.
I’m Sagan, Van Avermaet, Cancellara, Matthews, Kristoff.
I hear the thinking that Sagan won’t get it for various reasons, but… I like the guy, and want him to win, so I’m pickin’ him. You gotta want it if your breakaway’s going to stick.
For 300….
@LawnCzar
I like Sagan a lot too. I read somewhere he’s had 70 – 70! – second places in his career. Obviously some were solid 2nds, but some were oh-so-close. He descends like a mad Kelly on speed so maybe he’ll do a Kelly and hit the Poggio descent hard. My heart (and my picks say Faboo, but the head says Sagan wants it badly and as we saw in Richmond, if he wants it, he has the ability.
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Still not sure this worked!
Spartacus, Sagan, Gallopin, Kristoff, GVA
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@DeKerr
Fucking “Enter” key
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@Ron
What’s a pikadon? I’ve never heard of that.
@Gianni
for instance https://1945neveragain.wordpress.com/pikadon/
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@Lebowski Achiever
PM me with browser details, please. And load up a civilized browser like Google Chrome if you’re not having luck.
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These should be in the database already, but submitting again now that I’m seeing picks show up in the comments like they’re supposed to.
Fingers crossed eh?
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@litvi
er… OK. So that didn’t work.
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No Paolini, no protection for Kristoff…he binds up in the final 150m
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What’s the process of changing selections once you have entered? Is it as simple as just changing the field and then reposting?
@Quadzilla
Yup.
Jumping into the fracas with my first post ever.
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