Velominati Super Prestige

Velominati Super Prestige: Paris-Roubaix 2012

VELOMINATI HItS THE COBBLES OF CAPPELLE EN PÉVÉLLE. PHOTO: JESSE WILLEMS

We rode the Pavé of Roubaix in the dry, and any comforting feelings we might have been carrying about with us that suggested we had somehow prepared for them were summarily vaporized as we hit the first secteur. Riding together in a group, unable to reach for the brakes or the shifters, we all were hit with the same realization: these aren’t like the stones we have at home. Not if you live anywhere other than along the cobbled roads of Northern France. Not if you live in England. Not if you live in the Netherlands. Not even if you live in Belgium. And we won’t even talk about the rest of the world.

The Trouée of Arenberg is a sacred place. Arriving there, you feel the need to pray out of respect. Riding there, you feel the need to pray out of a sense of self preservation. There is no smooth path through these particularly rough cobbles. That was in the dry; if the race is wet as predicted by the weathermen (whom I assume are as bad at being right as they are in the States), then there isn’t a bag big enough to hold all the prayers the riders are going to need to get through these. And the Trouée is not the hardest or roughest secteur, by a considerable margin; that honor goes to Mons-en-Pévéle or Carrfoure de l’Arbre.

Keep an eye on the weather report as the race comes nearer, as wet roads will turn this race into one of attrition. Cancellara has broken his collarbone; Boonen, Pozzato, and Ballan are on form. But this is a long race, and details such as those matter little when a race contains over fifty kilometers of cobbles. Is it another year for the breakaway, or will the favorites close it down as they approach the finale? I don’t know, but watch the countdown timer and get your picks in by Sunday morning at 5am Pacific. Winner of this VSP event will earn the right to comment all year with the pavé commenting badge. We will also forgo the usual Symbol Pack prize awarded to a Monument and award the winner a copy of the local newspaper the day after the race.

Bon chance.

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507 Replies to “Velominati Super Prestige: Paris-Roubaix 2012”

  1. @Steampunk

    Going on a flyer. I’m still thinking that 2012 is the year an Italian finally gets around to winning a Monument.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Pozzato
    2. Boonen
    3. Hushovd
    4. Leukemans
    5. Ballan

    Not a bad thought in my opinion, the guy is definitely hungry enough. But I am still sticking with Tommeke. He knows that with Sparty gone this will be his best chance for years to come.

  2. Breschel out haussler in.

    Thor still wins.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. God of Thunder!!
    2. Pozzato
    3. Ballan
    4. Boonen
    5. Haussler

  3. I enjoy hearing the Sporza announcers say “Sep Vanmarcke” so much that I’ve caught myself saying it under my breath while out on long rides. Ah!

    Oh no, Boonen won’t be on Golden Tickets but Zipp carbon instead? The horror! And those crank arms, rings, and seatpost…maybe more functional but damn, not so hot in the looks department. His Merckx bike was awesome last year, as were the cross-style Campa rings.

    Friday night in Belgium – what are the Velominati up to? Hitting the town or in bed resting their legs for Sunday?

    Oh, and I didn’t realize until just now that Boonen raced, and raced hard, at Scheldeprijs on Wednesday. MADNESS! Wins the Ronde on Sunday and “feels off,” then races two days later, then has P-R on Sunday. That level of fitness & ability to recover is staggering.

  4. @ChrisO

    @eightzero

    At the risk of typing yet more unbridled repetitive bithcing, I sure wish there was an alternative to getting video coverage of cycling races out of Europe. Sure, NBCSports nee Versus has it on cable, but it is uber expensive. I’d gladly pay a reasonable fee to download the race coverage in iTunes, or get a hulu/ boxee box or whatever is needed to get the race coverage. There are online streams apparently, but it is choppy coverage, poor quality and rather spotty.

    What do you regard as a reasonable fee ? For about 6 of your Yankee dollars per month you can subscribe to Eurosport.

    You would also need to have a European IP address which can be done with a VPN – apparently there are free ones although I pay for mine, as I use it for other things.

    I would gladly pay $6 yankee for just a download of Paris-Roubaix, particularly if it was an HD feed with no commercials. My interest is purely in click – then – watch. I’m an Apple user, so I rather expect things to just work without dorking around with the usual PC tech hassles. Last year I got an iPad app for the Tour, and it actually worked fairly well. I think it was like $15 yankee, but the AirSharing feature was dorked up until about stage 12. I’m hoping that will be all sorted out this year. I remember watching the last stage on my iPad while sitting on the portch enjoying a beer. It sure would be cool to have this for the classics.

  6. @Azzurri Tim

    Going patriotic with number 5.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Tornado Tom
    2. Pozzato
    3. Flecha
    4. Ballan
    5. Roulston

    Dammit! When I checked CN’s startlist from yesterday I couldn’t see Roly or Sergent on the start list. Now I can pick 4 kiwis the rest of my carefully considered selections can go to hell.

    Also hence Steampunk making the cut. He’s so funny, picking an Italian,

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Jack Bauer
    2. Roly
    3. Hendy
    4. Sergent
    5. Steampunk

  7. @eightzero

    cycling.tv $80 a year..ish. Quality feed, live. Hook up a tv or blue ray with googleTV and you have as many inches wide of HD live racing as you want..

    Or just watch it on your comp.

  9. .

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Boonen
    2. ballan
    3. Chavanel, Sylvain
    4. Pozzato
    5. gatto

  11. @paolo

    @eightzero

    cycling.tv $80 a year..ish. Quality feed, live. Hook up a tv or blue ray with googleTV and you have as many inches wide of HD live racing as you want..

    Or just watch it on your comp.

    OK. I will defer to the velominati opinion: is it worth the $80? Good feed? Replay is good? Value received??

  12. Not getting too creative with this one.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Tom Boonen
    2. Fillipo Pozzato
    3. Allesandro Ballan
    4. Juan Antonio Flecha
    5. Thor Hushovd

  13. Go Tommeke!

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Tom Boonen
    2. Filippo Pozzato
    3. Juan Antonio Flecha
    4. Luca Paolini
    5. John Degenkolb

  14. @eightzero

    @paolo

    @eightzero

    cycling.tv $80 a year..ish. Quality feed, live. Hook up a tv or blue ray with googleTV and you have as many inches wide of HD live racing as you want..

    Or just watch it on your comp.

    OK. I will defer to the velominati opinion: is it worth the $80? Good feed? Replay is good? Value received??

    Ok so just two weeks ago I got a sony blu ray with google tv wifi so I have the tv hooked up to the net and I was using sporzza or whatever and eursport but I just signed up for cycling.tv. So far its quality feed, in english, all sorts of features and pre race and after shows. Go check out the web site. I think the first hour of PR is on free..bloody early though mate. I guess it depends on what $80 is to you and if it could be better spent..not being facetious I realise the way the economy is the $80 could be a deal breaker.

    I’m looking forward now to being able to watch live ski racing all next winter too although I will have to pay. One way or another we get nickle and dimed out of every friggin penny..such is life.

  23. I wanted to put Hincapie in there because it is his last P-R but I don’t think that he can realistically get into the top 5, let alone make the podium. Still, I would love to see him get the win…

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Boonen
    2. Ballan
    3. Sagan
    4. Pozzato
    5. Hushovd

  24. A little tentative to post my picks. Not because I think they are good or bad, but because I almost don’t want to tie myself to any riders for this race. Part of me wants to watch this race completely unfettered and purely enjoy the beauty of this race as it unfolds without rooting one way or another…

    The thought of VSP glory is too much to pass up however, so here they are. No matter who wins it is going to be a fantastic race to watch. Good luck to all the riders, and a great time to our Velominati Keepers flying the flag high above those angry cobbles.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Boonen
    2. Ballan
    3. Sagan
    4. Pozzato
    5. Thor

  25. @Jay
    Nice Picks Jay…either great minds think alike and we share victory, or we go down in flames together…

  27. 1

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Boonen
    2. Pozzato
    3. Hushovd
    4. Flecha
    5. Van Summeren

  28. VSP PICKS:

    1. Boonen
    2. Pozzato
    3. Hushovd
    4. O’Gridy
    5. Vanmarke

  30. Damnit netram you beat me to it by like 30 second!! No P Sagan.

    Hows the weather in the flatland Net? It’s gonna be hot and sunny here all weekend..I’m off to take advantage of it! Spring has sprung!

  31. Can’t look past Boonen at all really, i’m hoping that Gallopin can pull something off now freed from the honour of being shackled to poor old spartacus.

    Also all those who have picked P Sagan, i’m 90% certain he isn’t starting. There is a Sagan on Liquigas’s start list but he is J Sagan, could be talking out of my backside of course

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Boonen
    2. Pozzato
    3. Gallopin
    4. Chavanel
    5. Paolini

  32. @paolo
    It’s changing: it looked great this morning, then it started to drizzle and it’s still doing that. My parents have mentioned brief hail downtown, but only for a couple of seconds. Looks like Roubaix will be one big mystery.

    @Sam
    You’re right, Juraj Sagan is riding.

  33. I’m not going out on any limbs here.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Boonen
    2. Pozzato
    3. Hushovd
    4. Van Summeren
    5. Flecha

  34. VSP PICKS:

    1. BENNATI Daniele (ITA1980)
    2. WESTRA
    3. PAOLINI
    4. BOASSON HAGEN
    5. EISEL

  35. I’d like a report out the Velominati who will be watching the race tomorrow. I’m abuzz just watching old videos and counting down the hours until 6:00 tomorrow morning. And I’ll be watching on a small computer monitor. I think I’d blow a gasket if I was going to be at the roadside.

    I will make it sometime soon. I must be in Europe sometime for these 3-4 weeks of racing.

    I guess they’ve done is a lot, but it would be awesome to get a peek into the mind & soul of the racers. Nervous? Excited? Eager? Antsy? Out riding & staying relaxed?

    One thing I really like about cycling is that you can mark it on the calendar & then just count down the days to the races. You know it’s coming, you can’t stop it, you had better be ready. Or else. Hell is coming, it’s imminent.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Boonen
    2. Pozzato
    3. Thor
    4. Flecha
    5. Ballan

  39. VSP PICKS:

    1. 186 IGLINSKIY Maxim
    2. 1 VAN SUMMEREN Johan
    3. 15 TERPSTRA Niki
    4. 33 HINCAPIE George
    5. 53 BOASSON HAGEN Edvald

  45. can’t really think of anyone beating boonen in his current form.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. boonen
    2. vanmarke
    3. ballan
    4. tommeke
    5. pozzato

  46. VSP PICKS:

    1. Vansummeren
    2. Boonen
    3. Pozzato
    4. Hushovd
    5. Chavanel

  47. @motor city

    can’t really think of anyone beating boonen in his current form.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. boonen
    2. vanmarke
    3. ballan
    4. tommeke
    5. pozzato

    March 17 Tom Boonen ranked 38 until recently ranking 1 on April 1. We will see whether he has peaked.

  49. @paolo

    @Netraam

    @JC BelgiumI haven’t seen it yet. I wanted to, but we only have one television and 6 other people who don’t like cycling. I’m glad I can still watch the Sundays.

    There are 6 people in Europe who don’t like cycling??? wtf!

    There are over 6 people in Europe who don’t like cycling; douchebags who honk their horn if you are riding on the car lane in stead of Belgium’s crappy bike paths, and rather serve you as roadkill to Hannibal Lecter… but hey, 6 in one house?? time to move!

    Pozzato is a beast, Ballan gets his tail wind (probably), Hushovd is always ready for P-R, Flecha just wants to have fun, Vansummeren’s tactics are easy: ‘I will ride as fast as possible’…

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Pozzato Pippo
    2. Ballan Alessandro
    3. Hushovd Thor
    4. Flecha Juan Antonio
    5. Vansummeren Johan

  50. VSP PICKS:

    1. Ballan
    2. Tommeke
    3. Vansummeren
    4. Boss-Hog
    5. Pozzatto

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