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.

View Comments

  • @Dr C

    @Nate



    @The OracleWell, I have Modfather/Eggtimer, and I'm sticking with it!


    Oops....

    @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


    Jens. Fucking. Voigingt.

    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!

  • @frank

    @all
    Seems there's a bug in the VSP GC Calculations. Its been noted and we're looking into it; please stand by.

    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.

  • 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.

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