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.

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wiscot says:

Mar 6 2012 at 8:46 am

@harminator

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.

Sorry, I don;'t buy the "he's young and learning" line. Here's his palmares for five seasons as a professional: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Schleck
By year five of a pro career, you're a seasoned pro, not someone still learning his craft. Despite flashes of brilliance, he needs to get it together consistently IMHO.

In contrast, in FOUR seasons, Bernard Hinault won two Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Ghent-Wevelgem, two GP des Nations, two Tours de France, two Dauphine-Libere, one Vuelta and one world championship.

Maybe an unfair comparison, but Andy needs to unleash the talent he undoubtedly has, instead of looking over his shoulder to see if Frank's there.
snoov says:

Mar 6 2012 at 8:53 am

Is anyone else shocked to see that le Grimpette was the Luxembourg National TT champion? Can't have been any competition.
RedRanger says:

Mar 6 2012 at 8:57 am

@snoov

Is anyone else shocked to see that le Grimpette was the Luxembourg National TT champion? Can't have been any competition.

I wish they wouldn't even compete in those competition.
Cyclops says:

Mar 6 2012 at 8:59 am

I'm so over the Schleckwagen. He's skinny so he goes uphill fast. No shit? All skinny people go uphill fast. But does he have "talent"? He can't shift, he can't descend, he can't TT, he can't beat Gilbert when it's two against one, he sucks. But of course he gets paid to ride his bike and he gets flown all over the world to do so and I don't so I guess in reality I suck.
snoov says:

Mar 6 2012 at 9:03 am

@Cyclops
His shoulders are also very narrow which in my opinion reduces his ability to look fantastic.
Ron says:

Mar 6 2012 at 9:24 am

@LA Dave

@Ron

@LA Dave

@Gerard

Good showing by Phinney keeping TJVG out of trouble, good to see him up front after his injuries last season - lets see if the young 'uns can keep it up.

Awesome showing by Wiggo and Geraint, and good to see Tommeke back on form...

Great points about Geraint and Phinney. I'm really excited to see what Tyler has for the Classics. He did a lot of training and racing in Belgium as part of the USA development team and knows those roads well.

Wait, Tyler or Taylor? I'm confused.

Oh yeah, you know Tyler Phinney? i was a big fan of his dad Darvis back in the 80"²s. He was one of my favorite american racers along with Craig Lemond and Randy Hampsten!

Haha.. I stand corrected... left off a very important "a". Surprised it doesn't happen more when I post from my iphone.

Couldn't agree more about Boonen, he's looking about the best he's been this early in the season in a few years.

I really was confused, Dave. Wasn't just fuckin' with ya so glad you took it in stride & made a joke out of it - woah, Craig LeMan & Randy Hampsten? Those sound awesome. Nice work!
wiscot says:

Mar 6 2012 at 9:29 am

@snoov

@wiscot
As a fellow Scot I understand you perfectly.
You mean Flemish though don't you!

Aye, Flemish, that's whit ah meant tae say, no Dutch. My mishtake (as Sir Sean might say . . . .)
Steampunk says:

Mar 6 2012 at 9:30 am

@Cyclops
Me too. I'm coming to terms with the fact that my real cycling season takes a hiatus at the end of April, and resumes in the fall. That's when the real riders play. Or at least the ones I tend to admire more...
scaler911 says:

Mar 6 2012 at 9:34 am

@xyxax

@Dr C
Sprained his neck.

Ha! Nipple Lube!
Lepidopterist says:

Mar 6 2012 at 10:44 am

@Chris
Too right. What could go wrong ? Another good idea is storing your own blood in your fridge, thats so got to be worth a try......oh wait a minute.