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.
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I signed up to the Eurosport stream for £3.99 a month, I figured if Sean Kelly has the ability to crash this site on a whim I want to know when it's gonna happen. It also means I might not go to work today, which will delay my ability to put a deposit on the Look 586 in the LBS.
BTW the stream is great and I can just about understand what Mr Kelly is saying, which is an improvement on the guys over on Sporza.
@Dr C
Sprained his neck.
@Dr C
If only I was. Apparently he did up-chuck on the bus on the way in this morning according to the P-N news feed. Bless.
I seem to remember Cav posting comments about throwing up during Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne - didn't seem to slow him down much though.
L'equipe article on Andy here.
@King Clydesdale
You don't need to be able to read french to pick up on the whining in that. I like the way that L'equipe follows up on the general lack of Rule V by pointing out that he was at the back and doing shit.
Do you think he really is ill or his domestiques said "Andy, give it up mate, you're too much hard work?"
A note from his Mum. Nice.
I'm not the greatest Andy Schleck fan but he sure cops more than his fair share of vitriol around here. He's still young, still learning. Obviously he's a serious talent but self doubt can be crippling. He seems to have a serious case of the yips with his TT since TdF 2011. Check his records - although he lost the MJ on that ride it was comparable to his best Tour TT result. He just got beaten. In 2010 he lost 4 minutes to AC in the final TT. It can take years for talented guys to work out a way to win. He will.
Re: Der Hoggz photo/graphic. Although Andy's bars are lower (both seem to have a similar saddle to bar drop) the difference seems to be attitude. Wiggo is really attacking the course, Andy has a death grip, hoping he doesn't mess up.
@harminator
Don't get me wrong, I quite like him and think he'll come good. it's the fact that he can be so good that gets peoples backs up when he isn't.
@Chris
Yep. We want to like him but he needs to give us a bit more to work with....
@harminator
Speaking as one who doesn't particularly want to like them/him, I'm very happy with what they're giving us...
One of the big factors that changed me from neutral to dislike is that they chose to be ornamental features in a vanity team. Not only does that suck but it rarely works... they are reaping what they hath sown.
Uh Oh. Look who's trying to do a Michael Jordan:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/cipollini-wants-to-ride-giro-ditalia-as-lead-out-man-for-guardini
Think he still has it?