Velominati Super Prestige: Paris-Nice 2012

The master of Paris-Nice: Sean Kelly

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.

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

Next Asheville, North Carolina Mini-Cogal »

Previous « Velominati Super Prestige: Strade Bianche 2012

View Comments

Netraam says:

Mar 7 2012 at 12:55 am

@Mikael Liddy
FrÃ¤nk has actually never been a national champion ITT.
Mikael Liddy says:

Mar 7 2012 at 3:06 am

@Netraam
It would appear you're correct, admittedly I came up with that based on a half baked recollection of him in the national colours in a Tour TT a couple of years back...
Fausto says:

Mar 7 2012 at 3:30 am

Taylor (not Tyler) Phinney has borrowed Grimplette's sick note and has not taken the start this morning. It seems that a number of riders have the squits and have dropped out. Not amongst them is Kaisen who has gone home with a sniffle.

Sickly bunch aren't they?!
Netraam says:

Mar 7 2012 at 3:35 am

@Mikael Liddy
To be honest, I did research yesterday and found out that in the last 10 years only Benoit Joachim, Poos, Kim Kirchen and Andy Schleck have been luxembourg time trial champions. 3/4 are now retired.
Mikael Liddy says:

Mar 7 2012 at 3:42 am

@Fausto
Yeah Adam Hansen has bailed from Lotto Belisol with Bronchitis according to his twitter feed as well.
Fausto says:

Mar 7 2012 at 4:26 am

@Mikael Liddy

@Fausto
Yeah Adam Hansen has bailed from Lotto Belisol with Bronchitis according to his twitter feed as well.

Bronchitis? Pffft. Wouldn't have stopped the Black Knight.
Jeff in PetroMetro says:

Mar 7 2012 at 4:37 am

How the fuck am I supposed to watch P-N AND T-A at the same time while trying to ride OUTSIDE and get ready for work? Nevermind I want to catch up on all the goings on at Velominati. And I don't have a "smart" phone. I have a dim phone. Other phones call my phone names and steal its lunch money. Sometimes it drools on itself. I can't watch Eurosport on it. And I can't cruise around Velominati on it.
Mikael Liddy says:

Mar 7 2012 at 5:04 am

@Jeff in PetroMetro
You know the drill, treat it like you've just joined the site & tell the boss your productivity is about to take a dive but instead of the normal 50% drop, I'd say giving him the heads up on a 75-80% reduction might be more accurate.
Jeff in PetroMetro says:

Mar 7 2012 at 5:24 am

@Mikael Liddy

@Jeff in PetroMetroYou know the drill, treat it like you've just joined the site & tell the boss your productivity is about to take a dive but instead of the normal 50% drop, I'd say giving him the heads up on a 75-80% reduction might be more accurate.

I'm calling in disinterested. Or pre-occupied. Honesty is the best policy.
King Clydesdale says:

Mar 7 2012 at 5:40 am

Sickness continues to take riders out of the race:

Phinney, Bakelants, Posthuma, Hansen, Kaisen not starting today.