Velominati Super Prestige: Paris-Nice 2012
It’s right around this time of year when the little voice in my head that spurs me on in cold, wet, Rule #9 conditions starts getting overpowered by all my other personalities who at this stage are gathering stones and crowbars and getting ready to enforce their will on him regarding their preference for riding in nice, warm, sunny conditions. I feel bad for the little guy, too, since he helps me a lot in a climate like the Pacific Northwest; but truth be told, my fingers still haven’t regained their feeling from last week’s ride and I admit it would be nice to arrive home after a ride triumphant and warm instead of frozen and soaked like a wet rat.
It appears I’m not the only one ready for some warmer weather, and Paris-Nice traditionally holds a place of honor as “The Race to the Sun” for its timing is such that the race often starts in the French interior with rain (and possibly snow), and arrives on the sunny Cote d’Azur in Nice in balmy conditions.
With that we start our first stage race of the season, along with an opportunity to expose more bugs and logical faults in the VSP software. But never mind that; the same basic rules apply as do with one-day races, expect the stakes are a bit higher with 10 points for first place, 8 for second, 7 for third, 5 for fourth, and 3 for fifth plus two bonus points per rider in the top five regardless of the rider’s placing. Should the race be exciting enough to merit its inclusion, The Keepers may elect to include a bonus round on the VSP for one of the stages along the way. Watch this space for news in that arena.
Check the start list and watch the countdown timer as picks close at 5am Pacific on Sunday; up for grabs is the personalized Velominati Shop Apron to the contestent who wins the season-long competition. Check the Main VSP page for scoring guidelines and rules. Seeing as this is the first stage race, I strongly encourage you to enter your picks early, knowing that you can make changes all the way up until the VSP closes. If you notice something behaving strangely, please let us know and we’ll have time to resolve the issue.
Good luck.
When I saw the final time for Westra I immediately had my doubts that Wiggins would keep the yellow. What an effort.
@King Clydesdale
Same. They both flew up that climb. Was Wiggo ever off of his extensions, not including start and finish?
Nice morning of racing! PN then T-A. Nibbles is looking good this early in the season.
A nice morning out in the Mendips with mates, and then come home to find Wiggo’s won it and Valverde has hung on to 3rd. Happy days!
Thank You Wiggo finally some decent points in the VSP, too bad about Levi crashing yesterday really would’ve liked him to podium and get me more points.
Westra set a real good pace, congrats to Wiggins for being even faster.
Absolutely bloody fantastic result for Wiggo!
Can’t wait to watch it in 45 mins. Just got in from second ride this weekend and it was an absolutely beautiful day here. Sunshine all day and temps around 12C. 90km yesterday with 940m ascent and today was 60km with under 100m. Don’t get many days like this in the middle of summer so I’m totally stoked that I was able to take advantage of it. Hope you all had a great weekend too!
Great Job by Wiggins love it when the overall winner wins the last stage as well. Westra showed strong as well, hope to see more from him this season.
I will never again doubt Wiggo.
Was Wiggo running an old-school Biopace ring? Is what’s old new again?
I’m watching the replay on Eurosport and they’re speaking Italian, so I couldn’t catch what they were saying while zoomed in on it.
Of course, I could have done a quick Google search…
Osymetric
Bloody Wiggo eh? Whoda thunk it? A lot of you actually, but Zac edges the win from a seven man chasing pack.
[vsp_results id=”14724″/]
It’s close at the top still, with Ankush and Zac sharing the leader’s jersey. Watch out, I’ve moved onto 3…
[vsp_gc/]
I’m moving in the right direction!
3rd in P-N and 4th overall?? This is better than Strava!
Was out cycling this morning so missed the Paris-Nice & Tirreno-Adriatico racin’! Just watched T-A…LOVE seeing them ride up the switchbacks with all the snow on the ground.
In that club-style leader jersey, Horner looks like a weekend warrior. I like him, but jeez, he couldn’t look more plain. Plain bike, plain kit, bland bland bland. Oh well, I still hope he can pull off the overall win.
Looks like I got shat out of the back of the pack on the first climb. I’ll claim a Schleck and return to win LBL and the Tour.
@all
Seems there’s a bug in the VSP GC Calculations. Its been noted and we’re looking into it; please stand by.
Jens. Fucking. Voigt.
@Dr C
@Dr C, I was thinking about you as I watched ol’ Levi do down again and again this weekend. What a shitty turn of fate.
On the flipside, Way to go, Ender! He single handedly vaulted me up about 25 places in the standings and keeps my glimmer of hope alive for a VSP podium finish.
@Tobin
There is a picture of a man who has lost all strength in his body due to blood sugar and oxygen levels near zero, pouring on the V – what a monster he is – probably the most disappointing sight of the year so far, the look on his face when he realised he still can’t sprint for shit!
@The Oracle
Good point – he ran into another cyclist too!
Look out Levi ….
@frank
Retracted. There is nothing wrong with the VSP GC Calculation – some of you are seeing odd results because you’re entering your picks under two distinct email addresses. Let us know if you’re missing points, what email address you prefer of the various you’ve been using, and in the future please take care to use the same email address for this.
Cheers.
Yes, congratulations indeed to Marty Feldman for winning Paris-Nice. He’s really never looked better. (Except when he was crushed in almost every race last year.
Oh, and Levi, why don’t you GET OUT FROM BEHIND EVERYONE ELSE FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE? MAYBE YOU’D SEE THE ROAD AHEAD…
(And while I’m at it, screw cav.)
-Bianchi Bob
Know by name: “Bo Hamburger” born 1970 Denmark Team TVM 1991, to Team Casino-C’est Votre Équipe 1997. Must, must acknowledge this guy in Tour history for his name alone.
@Vin’cenza
His place in history in already safe, as the first rider ever to test positive for EPO when the test first came out.
@Vin’cenza, @Oli
Good name, but not enough chromosomes, apparently.
@Bianchi_Bob
Quite an entrance. Good work. Welcome.
hmmm, shocker of a race to Delgado. That’s kicked me way down in the overall GC, thinking a bumper sticker might be my best chance this year.
@Oli
“Bo Hamburger” — Lexicon ?? Come on Bo !!
@Oli
Cool fact! Thanks Oli!
Paris-Nice is in the books, but the Tirreno-Adriatico is still goin’ on…Nibali & Kreuzinger now on the course, with Horner to come. What a great week+ of racing with these two!
Do I have to revoke my citizenship as an American because I care more about the looming Milan-Sanremo than the “amateur” college basketball tournament? Office pool?! Pffft, I have the VSP going on people!
I hope my fellow Sicilian can pull off the overall win. Go Nibbles!
Spartacus won the TT!
Nibbles take the whole thing!
Damn! Sorry to see Horner lose it on the last day. It would have been fantastic if Jens and Chris had both scored wins this week – validation for the old guys! Even so, I’m thinking that Nibali is going to be huge in future years. Amazing to see how “ordinary” Di Luca is now that he’s not juicing – really puts his past performances in question.
@wiscot
Conflicted! Love Nibbles, but would have loved to seen Horner take it! Glad to see him back at top form in any case.
What makes you think he’s not juicing?
@Vin’cenza
EP-Bo Hamburger?
Tour of California team list is out…
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/amgen-tour-of-california-announces-16-invited-teams
No invite for the Kazak’s, not a great success.
@frank
Yes, perfecto !!
@RedRanger
Is he the ultimate brick layer of the V? Average speed of 52.64kph over 9.3km. When he is at the front of a group (aka his past monument wins and this year’s Strade Bianche), he’ll ride the wheels off anyone, bar none. As the old CN quote a friend forwarded goes:
“Yet it’s still hard to be critical of a rider who was essentially riding as a one-man team. The CN staff joked about letting him ride the TTT at this year’s Tour de France by himself this July. We stopped laughing once we realised he could actually win.” – Cyclingnews after Cancellara’s 2011 2nd and 3rd placings at Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders respectively.
@frank
Or maybe just EP-Bo Burger?
@Tartan1749
If Tomeke or anyone gives him a bike length, it’s game over (although I am still upset over the 2010 P-R where Sparty made his move while Tomeke was at the back and then no one, NO ONE, was willing to work with Boonen to try to bring him back. They all stated that they were riding for second. Still say that was the biggest nancy moment of the year).
@Buck Rogers
EP-Bo
Was it just me or did Kreuziger look really bad on his bike? I mean, he just couldn’t sit still in the saddle.
Reminds me of the other time I saw that, which was ALSO Astana: Contador on the 2010 TDF.
A short research brought me to this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sYUfzHzYaU
Is this bullshit or has Kreuziger lost his touch?
Quite simply put: Before 2008 Kreuziger was great in Time Trials. That video is from halfway 2010. Kreuziger is mentioned as one of the cyclists who adapted this style. This style sucks when you need to ride a Time Trial.
Or does someone know a reason why this should be a better style?