Velominati Super Prestige: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Women 2013
Finally, some cold nasty Belgian one day racing. Oman, Qatar, does anyone brag about winning those stage races? Yes, they might but really, it’s a tune up for the real season which finally begins this Saturday. Will racing in China or Oman grow the sport? Will there be a new wave of inspired young racers from these countries. Does professional racing require geographic or historical context? Yes, I believe it does. There are many historically significant European races that have ceased to be while in October the professional peloton flies to China to race in the smog. What is the point? The money spent getting everything to China would be better spent supporting the smaller historic races and making sure they include women’s categories.
This Saturday’s forecast calls for zero percent chance of precicitation and near freezing temperatures. I wouldn’t want to ride in those conditions but I do like to see professionals race in them. And if it’s a little wet too, excellent. They can all test out their embrocation layering and neoprene gloves. Early season Belgian races should be cold and wet. It’s the Belgian brand.
The women’s provisional start list is here. The names of many teams have changed, a few big hitters are gone but it is just as large as the men’s field, 248 riders! Granted, many will get shelled on the first cobbled berg but that’s all in the game. If you want to call yourself a professional, you have to survive cold (and wet) races like this.
Let the betting begin. Velominati is an equal opportunity betting parlor. For points awarded, the women’s races hold as much value as the men’s.
[vsp_results id=”22127″/]
VSP PICKS:
1. Loes Gunnewijk
2. Gracie Elvin
3. Charlotte Becker
4. Shelley Olds
5. Chloe Hosking
VSP PICKS:
1. Lucinda Brand
2. Elizabeth Armitstead
3. Marijn De Vries
4. Evelien Debboudt
5. Lensy Debboudt
VSP PICKS:
1. Gunnewijk
2. Kuchinskaya
3. Brand
4. Becker
5. Becker
Doh! Not Becker twice, that’d be amazing…..maybe Vos will pull that off someday. Here’s corrected.
VSP PICKS:
1. Gunnewijk
2. Kuchinskaya
3. Brand
4. Becker
5. Armitstead
I got this here folks, you can all go home.
VSP PICKS:
1. Ina!
2. Becker
3. Liz Armistead
4. Lucinda Brand
5. Evelien Debboudt
VSP PICKS:
1. Armistead
2. Gunnewijk
3. Teutenberg
4. Borghini
5. Marijn De Vries
VSP PICKS:
1. Borghini
2. Armistead
3. Gunnewijk
4. De Vries
5. Becker
VSP PICKS:
1. Armistead
2. Borghini
3. Wild
4. Ev Stevens
5. Hausler
VSP PICKS:
1. Gunnewijk
2. Johansson
3. Armitstead
4. Teutenberg
5. Hosking
VSP PICKS:
1. Armitstead
2. Teutenberg
3. De Vries
4. Johansson
5. Olds
“Endura Lady Force” is a cool team name. And she’s not racing here, but check out the mad skills on Siri Minge from HiTec.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ybFvomdhW2Y
VSP PICKS:
1. Kirsten Wild
2. Emma Johansson
3. Annemiek van Vleuten
4. Marijn De Vries
5. Chloe Hosking
VSP PICKS:
1. armistead
2. emma johansson
3. borghini
4. teutenberg
5. gunnewijk
VSP PICKS:
1. E. Johansson
2. A. van Vleuten
3. K. Wild
4. C. Hosking
5. T. Worrack
…and no comment on anyone else that might be in the race.
VSP PICKS:
1. Olds
2. De Baat
3. Wilcoxson
4. Bookwalter
5. De Vocht
VSP PICKS:
1. Brand
2. Stevens
3. Armitstead
4. Gunnewijk
5. Teutenberg
VSP PICKS:
1. Armistead
2. Gunnewijk
3. Emma Johansson
4. A. van Vleuten
5. Worrack
I sneezed on the line up sheet and the gods spoke to me! Great to see such a full line up of the ladies and as well as the normal compliement of Belgians and Dutch you could hardly stab a pin in the sheet without hitting a Brit so I am sticking two in my top 5!…..Now there’s optimism but I am think our dire summer and cold wet winter this year will have given them the training and gumption to pull through!
VSP PICKS:
1. armistead
2. emma johansson
3. gunnewijk
4. borghini
5. danni king
VSP PICKS:
1. Loes Gunnewijk
2. Ellen van Dijk
3. Trixi Worrack
4. Emma Worrack
5. Elisa Longo Borghini
VSP PICKS:
1. Kuchinskaya
2. Armitstead
3. Johannson
4. Gunnewijk
5. Teutenberg
VSP PICKS:
1. Ina Teutenberg
2. Elizabeth Armistead
3. Evelyn Stevens
4. Elisa Longo Borghini
5. Lucy Garner
Well – why not?
VSP PICKS:
1. Lizzie Armitstead
2. Katie Colclough
3. Lucy Garner
4. Jo Rowsell
5. Dani King
Bit of a crapshoot but i want armitsead to be up there and for a member of the Honda-Wiggle team to be thereabouts too. Stevens is pretty good too so i’ll tip her for the win.
VSP PICKS:
1. Stevens
2. Armitstead
3. Shnitzmeier
4. Gunnewijk
5. De Vries
VSP PICKS:
1. Armistead
2. Gunnewijk
3. Emma Johansson
4. A. van Vleuten
5. Trixie Worrack
VSP PICKS:
1. Jamie Bookwalter
2. Lucinda Brand
3. Loes Gunnewijk
4. Elizabeth Armitstead
5. Marjolein Claessen
Sorry to be a pedant, but there’s only 190 riders – 23 teams of 8, 1 team of 6. It he race numbers go up to 248 but there are no numbers ending in 9 or 0 handed out.
Aaaaanyway, should be a good one – my picks are skewed towards the ones I think will tough it out in chilly conditions.
VSP PICKS:
1. Armitstead
2. Stevens
3. Gunnewijk
4. Olds
5. De Vries
VSP PICKS:
1. Elena Kuchinskaya
2. Loren Rowney
3. Chloe Hosking
4. Charlotte Becker
5. Elizabeth Armistead
VSP PICKS:
1. Maaike Polspoel
2. Marijn De Vries
3. Shara Gillow
4. Jessy Druyts
5. Chloe Hosking
VSP PICKS:
1. Emma Johansson
2. Lizzie Armitstead
3. Ina Teutenberg
4. Chloe Hosking
5. Evelyn Gekko…er…Stevens
C’mon Lizzie. You can do it. Believe.
VSP PICKS:
1. Armitstead
2. King
3. Borghini
4. Teutenberg
5. De Vries
VSP PICKS:
1. Elizabeth Armistead
2. Charlotte Becker
3. Jamie Bookwalter
4. Ellen van Dijk
5. Annemiek van Vleuten
VSP PICKS:
1. Lizzie Armistead
2. Emma Johannson
3. Kirsten Wild
4. Ina Teutenberg
5. Chloe Hosking
@the Engine
With the Voss Boss bigging up Lizzie so heavily recently I applaud the addition and like you I have a feeling in my waters about Dani King….but the rest….I have to salute your optimism sir!…..The track is most certainly not the cobbles as you well know…..
@Deakus
Well the worst that can possibly happen is that I’m completely wrong. Going with the herd in the VSP may give you mid-table obscurity and allow you to finish in the bunch a couple of minutes after the leaders. Me I’m a suicidal attack from the start man – if it works I’m a hero – if it doesn’t I’ll be happy to get home ahead of the broom wagon as the shadows lengthen…
VSP PICKS:
1. Emma Johanson
2. Ellen Van Djik
3. Trixi Worrack
4. Lizzie Armistead
5. Loes Gunnewijk
VSP PICKS:
1. Armistead
2. Hosking
3. Borghini
4. Johannson
5. Stevens
VSP PICKS:
1. Armistead
2. Johansson
3. Kuchinskaya
4. De Vries
5. Bookwalter
VSP PICKS:
1. Evie Stevens
2. Brand
3. Armistead
4. Marion Rousse
5. Gracie Elvin
There is a nice iPad/iPhone/Android app called Flanders Classics. Has route map, start list, links to news in a language with lots of double vowels.
If there was a prize for most photogenic team, me thinks Wiggle Honda would like take first place…
Picks Version 2.0
VSP PICKS:
1. Loes Gunnewijk
2. Emma Johansson
3. Trixi Worrack
4. Marijn De Vries
5. Ellen van Dijk
VSP PICKS:
1. Armistead
2. Hosking
3. Stevens
4. Gunnewijk
5. Becker
>>
VSP PICKS:
1. Armitstead
2. Gunnewijk
3. De Vries
4. Borghini
5. Olds
VSP PICKS:
1. Armistead
2. Brand
3. Becker
4. Johansson
5. Stevens
VSP PICKS:
1. Johannson
2. Worrack
3. Borghini
4. Gunnewijk
5. Bras
@seemunkee Just found it. Thanks for the heads up.
VSP PICKS:
1. Johannson
2. Worrack
3. Borghini
4. Gunnewijk
5. Bras
@CanuckChuck
Indeed! I am hoping Rochelle Gilmore has a great season!
VSP PICKS:
1. Armistead
2. Johansson
3. Gunnewijk
4. Worrack
5. Bras
@seemunkee
Yes, got that, it’s great!
VSP PICKS:
1. Gunnewijk
2. Vandijk
3. Armistead
4. Johansson
5. Bane of Eightzero’s Existence
VSP PICKS:
1. Evelyn Stevens
2. Eleonora Van Dijk
3. Loes Gunnewijk
4. Iris Slappendel
5. Ina Teutenberg
VSP PICKS:
1. Gunnewijk
2. Johannson
3. Armistead
4. Becker
5. Stevens