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.
@ChrisO
Didn’t Tommee do ok as a junior TTer? most (ex)Sprinters/Rouleurs seem to turn out (a little better than) ok prologues..
@Chris
So if Fränk starts right after Andy he would ride straight up to him and they could do the best TT in the history of cycling?
@Netraam
I wouldn’t go so far as to say that but they might be less shite. Andy would still have the problem of being aero whilst looking at Frank. For a marked improvement they might want to try this:
It is rumoured that they’re petitioning the ASO and UCI to run the tour and all other events in a sports hall on these set up with a comfort gearing – no dangerous descents, not nasty time trials on big gears and all the fraternal symbiosis they need:
Andy Schleck just got dropped. Peloton is now in 3 pieces, with Andy in the last one.
Wiggins, Leipheimer and Van Garderen are of the front with Olivier Kaisen and 8 yet unnamed others.
No wait, 26 others, not 8 others.
I don’t even know what to trust anymore, if only I could see it live right now.
Looks windy, they’re being blown around a bit. Not hanging around though.
@Chris
That wind is ugly. Watching guys in the middle of the pack getting blown around. Those guys on the upwind side must have a death grip on the bars.
Martin in the back, LLS in the back, Mollema not in the front… Valverde and Wiggins are in front and from what I’ve heard Taaramae as well.
@Bill
Every time someone has a drink I expect them to lose it and bring the bunch down.
I wouldn’t want to be the Lotto guy chasing back on after getting his gillet stuck in his back wheel. Is that the cycling equivalent of throwing in the towel? The Garmin pair looked like they were struggling to get back on as well.
Nope, Taaramae is in the back as well, just as F. Schleck, Cunego and Menchov.
Cunego has a mechanical, out for GC.
I know some of ya have discussed the biathlon in the past as a cool sport. Just heard on Eurosport that the World Championships are tomorrow, sounded as if they’d be broadcast on Eurosport. Hope those of you interested can tune in!
Wow! No lack of excitement on this stage. hoping that the front bunch stays clear and Tomeke or
Phinney can take te stage!
@Chris
Yep, the comments made about Boonen having to be careful feeding with only one hand on the bar were quite telling.
@Ron
Awesome news! Thanks for the heads-up! I will try to find it.
Boonen, Chavanel, Leipheimer, Maes, Monfort, Wiggins, Thomas, Valverde, Rojas, Gavazzi, Kiserlovski, Westra, Ravard, Van Garderen, Jeannesson, Klier, Vanmarcke, Maaskant, Phinney, Spilak, Vicioso and Degenkolb.
The head of the race. Wiggins, Valverde, Van Garderen, Monfort and Leipheimer are my new favourites…
Spilak dropped, but back now.
Love how the Mavic neutral service car tucks in close in front of Spilak to assist him forward. Not a bad bit of work from his team car either.
Wasn’t Tomeke 11th or something yesterday? Man, he looks like he might be in a position to actually place pretty well overall if this break finishes with a 2+ minutes advantage, not to mention Wiggo, Levi, Chavenal (knew i should have picked him) and Valverde.
Twiggo looks really solid man. Wow.
4 of my picks in the front group but I was really pulling for Taaramae, who didn’t make the group.
Dekenkolb wins the sprint today? Boonen? Vanmarcke?
Everyone’s talking about Wiggins, but I think Leipheimer looks stronger, especially with the uphill time trial to finish the race. Much like the on in the USA Pro to Vail that favored Leipheimer and Van Garderen.
@King Clydesdale
Phinney, Vicioso, Ravard, Rojas… Heck, even Valverde, Westra and Wiggins have a chance!
Boonen 1, Degenkolb 2, Rojas 3.
Or Rojas 2 and Degenkolb 3.
TOMEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKKEKEKEKEK!!! Yesssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@Buck Rogers
Tell us how you really feel Buck! Great finish today!!
@Buck Rogers
The call of the Blue Crested Belgian Finch.
Boonen is just always fantastic, hes wrecking so far this season.
Concerning yesterdays TT, I noticed a lot of tri-spoked wheels, I thought those weren’t allowed, or is that just in road races?
1. Bradley Wiggins 4u33m32s
2. Levi Leipheimer
3. Tom Boonen
4. Tejay van Garderen
5. Sylvain Chavanel
6. Maxime Montfort
7. Taylor Phinney
8. Lieuwe Westra
9. Geraint Thomas
10. José Joaquin Rojas
GC for now.
@Mikael Liddy
Someone posted up an article a while back about the Schlecks having the flexibility of a (dry) noodle, comparing them too Spartacus who is basically a ballerina comparatively.
@Tobin
Yeah, so psyched with the result today although for the VSP I am pretty much ruined! Just have Wiggo for 2nd and Valverde for 5th left in the running.
@Buck Rogers
I am not too much better. I have Wiggo in the 2 spot, Valverdez in 3, and Eggtimer in 4…I was kinda shocked at Martin’s TT. I thought he would be amped to take a run at Wiggo after he beat him in their last race together.
What’s interesting is that the course yesterday was dry until the last two riders, Wiggins and Martin. Wiggins said he slipped on the start ramp and was cautious for the whole course and didn’t push it on the corners, I imagine he’d have been faster if it had been dry. Martin has been a little ill IIRC but he’s a lot heavier than Wiggins but I’m not sure if that would give him more grip in the wet or less. What do you all think?
@DerHoggz
Case in point….
@Tobin
Great pic! It makes you realise just what a fantastic position Wiggo takes up on the bike.
@Tobin
I’d buy that if the bar drawn over Schleck used the same points as Wiggo. Wiggo’s linefrom hip to crown of the shoulder to bridge of the nose. Schleck’s is over shoulder blade, out the top of the head, giving the appearance of a more open position than is true.
But that’s quibbling. The results speak for themselves.
@Bill
You guys are looking in the wrong place. The proof lies in the guns.
@Marko
Wiggins doesn’t have much bigger guns, but they look so much more muscled.
Also the line is drawn fromm hip to shoulder primarily I think, and it just shows that Wiggo’s nose is at the same level while Andy’s clearly isn’t.
Is it me or should Andy lower his steer and raise his saddle? A lot?
Whew! Four of my guys (Wiggo, Wee Phinney, Levi and Valverde) made the split today. I was hoping Martin was bluffing when he said he wasn’t on form, but I guess that’s really the case. Good to see Tommeke in form and win today. He really seems to have his mojo back. With Faboo’s ride on Saturday, the spring classics are going to be awesome.
@snoov
Quick guess would be that more mass at the same angle would produce more force in the vector parallel to the ground, so much easier to over come frictional force in that direction. There would be more force directed down as well, but the force to the side matters more if I am thinking right.
@Bill
The whole thing is probably oversimplified. Wiggo looks to have a steeper angle from saddle contact to BB, allowing for a much flatter back than Schleck’s (is that Andy?) which has more curvature. Probably comes down to lack of flexibility.
@Netraam
I’d agree that Wiggins probably has more muscle and less fat which gives him much more definition and of course speed. His gun look quite a bit bigger to me.
What a disappointing showing by Martin so far. Yesterday could be explained by the rain, but today? He’s got a vet like Levi on the team and should have been on his wheel. I could understand a mistake like that from Rein, but Martin should know better.
On the other hand great job by TJVG so far. Maybe this will be a bit of a coming out party for him?
Glad to see Boonen looking so good this early as well. So pumped for the classics, this spring is going to be amazing.
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…
@Tobin
Well, the picture shows the concept, although executed poorly. The line for Wiggins goes through his eyes, while Andy’s goes ABOVE his ear. It also shows that low is not always better (a discussion that has been brought up here many times). Andy looks as if he’s on a cruiser riding rails to trails in comparison.
Interesting that Wiggins has a less aero helmet – while I’m sure it not, at least visually it looks so.
Also, given the above, it’s plainly obvious that Wiggins’ Q-Ring is the real driving factor between their performance. Conceptually the Q-Ring makes sense, but it seems odd. Maybe the wind tunnel has shown that Wiggins can keep a more steady consistent position for longer with an ovoid ring vs a standard circular one.
Everyone bitching the lines aren’t drawn correctly, could it perhaps be that the lines are meant to cross through the hips and shoulders? That the line also passes Wiggins’ nose might be saying something about the position.
If the lines go through the hips and shoulders, they say something about the position of the body. Everyone here is talking about how the lines don’t meet up at the mouths, but that’s besides the point.
I don’t even know if I’m making sense here.
@Gerard
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.
Hmm, I’m pretty far from France but we had sustained 15-30mph wind today with gusts of 40-50. I thought it was bad heading out, until I turned back. I can never help but wondering what the cagers are thinking. “Gosh, that dude in Lycra is pedaling really hard to be going to damn slowly. What’s his problem?”
Yeah, Martin is making a lot of us look pretty bad with our picks. Ugh, I had Ralph Wiggum slotted at #1 before an early morning switch. Oh well, I’m going to learn my lesson and make picks for the remained of the VSP and then leave well enough alone.
Either way, waking up for the third day in a row and watching bike racing is pretty damn awesome. Italy, France, France. Nice scenery, just a wee better than Oman!
@LA Dave
Wait, Tyler or Taylor? I’m confused.
And I’m very happy to see Boonen doing so well again. Just was reading about how he can’t race well without radios and it cost him in Omloop. Ehh. I’m still learning a whole bunch about bike racing, but jeez, the guy is doing a pretty good job from how I see things. Off to a very strong start & at their level any sort of consistent winning impresses the heck out of me. There are so many things that can go wrong every day out there. Such as the dude who got his jacket caught in his RD today. Phew, glad to see he stayed upright!
Was watching Paris-Nice on a certain provider, when I came across this:
What the fucking fuck?