Velominati Super Prestige: Ronde van Vlaanderen 2014
This needs no introduction. The Spring Classics are truly upon us. The course has been modified yet again, it is tougher? The riders make the race and the 2014 Ronde van Vlaanderen is loaded with racers who could win or make the Velominati VSP placings. Just to pick the winner will not be nearly as easy as it has been recently. There are small clouds hanging over Boonen and Cancellara, neither have had a dominant run up to this race, nor has Sagan. Boonen’s team is extremely strong, other teams would kill to have Quick Step’s plan B and plan C.
As always, the Ronde and Roubaix sort out who is the strongest. The final burn up Oude Kwaremont and the Paterburg will hopefully kill any chance for a sprint finish, but if it comes down to a sprint, it shall be awesome. As always, we shall be praying for rain on the Koppenberg and maybe a quick view of a friend drinking a Malteni on the Kwaremont. Here is a provisional start list. So do your Belgian beer shopping, make sure your counter-top frite deep fryer won’t burn down your home and then and only then, contemplate your VSP picks. If you Delgado this you may be cut off for the rest of 2014, because you suck.
The points from the Men’s RVV count towards the overall prizes plus the winner of this event also gets to post for the rest of the year in the Lion of Flanders badge. So review the VSP Scoring Guidelines and get your picks in by the time the countdown clock goes to zero at midnight PDT on Sunday the 30th. If you think we mapped one of your picks wrong, use the dispute system and we’ll review it. Also remember to be precise enough in your description so we know which rider you mean; in other words, if you enter “Martin”, we will use our discretion (read: wild guess) to decide if you mean Tony or Dan – and that choice will not be negotiable once the the countdown clock goes to zero, so be sure to give yourself enough time.
Don’t forget we’ve got three major prizes for the season-long VSP:
- First place overall wins a Veloforma Strada iR Velominati Edition frame in addition to the customary VSP winner’s VVorkshop Apron
- Second place overall wins a set of hand built CR Wheelworks Arenberg wheelset in a custom Velominati paint scheme laced to orange Chris King hubs. (CR Wheelworks is Café Roubaix’s new wheel goods brand.)
- Third place overall wins a full Velominati V-Kit with accompanying custom orange Bont Vaypor+ road shoes.
Good luck, have fun with it, and don’t lose your Rule #43 spirit.
[vsp_results id=”29425″/]
VSP PICKS:
1. Boonen Tom
2. Cancellara Fabian
3. Van Avermaet Greg
4. Vanmarcke Sep
5. Roelandts Jurgen
VSP PICKS:
1. Cancellara
2. Boonen
3. Sagan
4. Van Marke
5. Terpstra
VSP PICKS:
1. Cancellara
2. Sagan
3. Vanmarcke
4. Terpstra
5. Thomas
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Spartacus
3. She’s Legal in Amsterdam
4. Roelandts
5. Terpstra
VSP PICKS:
1. Boonen
2. Cancellara
3. Sagan
4. Vanmarcke
5. Terpstra
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Cancellara
3. Vanmarcke
4. Boonen
5. Devolder
VSP PICKS:
1. Z. Stybar
2. P. Sagan
3. F. Cancellara
4. T. Boonen
5. G. VanAvermaet
Three times winner for Cancellara.
VSP PICKS:
1. Fabien Cancellara
2. Peter Sagan
3. Sep Vanmarcke
4. Geraint Thomas
5. Niki Terpstra
Three times winner for Cancellara.
VSP PICKS:
1. Cancellara
2. Boonen
3. VanAvermaet
4. Vanmarcke
5. Terpstra
Heart says Tommeke, brain says fucking thumb!
VSP PICKS:
1. Fabien Cancellara
2. Peter Sagan
3. Tommeke Boonen
4. Sep Van Marke
5. Greg Van Avermaet
VSP PICKS:
1. Faboo
2. Boonen
3. Vanmarcke
4. Sagan
5. Van Avermaet
VSP PICKS:
1. Fabulous Fabu
2. Sagan
3. John-Boy Degenkolb
4. Roelandts
5. Kristoff
VSP PICKS:
1. Niki Terpstra
2. Peter Sagan
3. Fabian Cancellara
4. Sep Vanmarcke
5. Guillaume Van Keirsbulck
Terpstra the only one who can stay with Cancellara, Sagan takes the bunch sprint from the rest
VSP PICKS:
1. Cancellara
2. Terpstra
3. Sagan
4. Van Avermaet
5. Kristoff
VSP PICKS:
1. Faboo
2. Boonen
3. Terpstra
4. Stybar
5. Sagar
VSP PICKS:
1. Fabian Cancellara
2. Tom Boonen
3. Geraint Thomas
4. Peter Sagan
5. Greg Van Avermaet
Cant wait to see this
VSP PICKS:
1. faboo
2. devolder
3. boonen
4. sagan
5. stybar
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Boonen
3. Cancellara
4. Geraint Thomas
5. Sep Vanmarcke
VSP PICKS:
1. CANCELLARA, Fabian
2. SAGAN, Peter
3. VAN AVERMAET, Greg
4. KEUKELEIRE, Jens
5. VAN KEIRSBULCK, Guillaume
Watch a Wanty rider win, just to prove a point…
VSP PICKS:
1. John Degenkolb
2. Fabian Cancellara
3. Peter Sagan
4. Tim Declerq
5. Sep Vanmarcke
Second guess m’self
VSP PICKS:
1. Fabien Cancellara
2. Peter Sagan
3. Tommeke Boonen
4. Sep Van Marke
5. John Degenkolb
Top 3 get away up the Paterberg, and Sagan rolls them on the line. Kristoff wins bunch sprint for 4th. OPQS come away empty-handed, but Tom will smash everyone at Roubaix next weekend.
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Van Marcke
3. Cancellara
4. Kristoff
5. Degenkolb
Hours of watching MSR and the early season Belgian racing and I’m not sure I’ve got a clue about anyone’s form but the one thing I do know is that the Katusha kit is truly fucking awful. It’s a good thing they don’t have a women’s team “does my bum look big in this?”
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Thomas
3. Degenkolb
4. Cancellara
5. Wiggo
VSP PICKS:
1. Tommeke
2. Gee
3. Van Avermaet
4. faboo
5. Sagan
VSP PICKS:
1. Boonen
2. Cancellara
3. Van Avermaet
4. Vanmarcke
5. Stybar
VSP PICKS:
1. Cancellara, Fabian
2. Sagan, Peter
3. Vanmarcke, Sep
4. Boonen, Tom
5. Van Avermaet, Greg
VSP PICKS:
1. Boonen
2. Cancellara
3. Sagan
4. Degenkolb
5. Stybar
Sounds like a pretty f’ing awesome law firm: Sagen, Boonen, Cancellara and Boom. Stybar, fantastic though he may be, unfortunately just gets lumped into the et. al.
VSP PICKS:
1. P. SAGAN
2. T. BOONEN
3. F. CANCELLARA
4. L. BOOM
5. Z. STYBAR
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Spartacus
3. Boonen
4. Vanmarcke
5. Thomas
VSP PICKS:
1. Cancellara
2. Terpstra
3. Sagan
4. Vanmarcke
5. Boonen
VSP PICKS:
1. P. Sagan
2. Z. Stybar
3. Thor
4. Faboo
5. Van Avermaet
Mighty Spartacus has to win something soon…
VSP PICKS:
1. Cancellara
2. Vanmarcke
3. Sagan
4. Demare
5. Kristoff
I’d love to see Cancellara win, but…
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Cancellara
3. Kristoff
4. Boonen
5. Vanmarcke
VSP PICKS:
1. Cancellera
2. Boonen
3. Sagan
4. Van Avermaet
5. Vanmarcke
common sense tells me that
VSP PICKS:
1. wiggins
2. tomboo
3. stijn
4. zdenek
5. kristoff
VSP PICKS:
1. Cancellara
2. Chavanel
3. Sagan
4. Boonen
5. Phinley
Anyone know why Kwiatkowski isn’t in OPQS’ team? Keeping him for the Ardennes?
VSP PICKS:
1. Fabian Cancellara
2. Peter Sagan
3. Tom Boonen
4. Jurgen Roelandts
5. Jack Bauer
Can’t wait
VSP PICKS:
1. cancellara
2. boonen
3. degenkolb
4. sagan
5. van marke
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Boonen
3. Sparticus
4. Sep Vanmarcke
5. Stybar
VSP PICKS:
1. Fabian Cancellara
2. Peter Sagan
3. Zdenek Stybar
4. Sylvain Chavanel
5. Sep Vanmarcke
Bring on the pave…
VSP PICKS:
1. Sep Vanmarcke
2. Jurgen Roelandts
3. Peter Sagan
4. John Degenkolb
5. Tom Boonen
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Boonen
3. Thomas
4. Degenkolb
5. Phinney
Eschewing the top two faves in favour of a couple of their loyal comrades & plumping for the Belgian national champ to take it out…
VSP PICKS:
1. Devolder
2. Terpstra
3. Bum Pinch
4. All the way with GVA
5. Roelandts
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Vanmarcke
3. Cancellara
4. Kristoff
5. Degenkolb
@Rhodri You in little Rhody? If so, wicked awesome.
VSP PICKS:
1. P. SAGAN
2. T. BOONEN
3. F. CANCELLARA
4. L. BOOM
5. Z. STYBAR
Not that I’m ever any good at this, but there are simply too many mainstream candidates to even start this. I’m salivating already for Sunday…
VSP PICKS:
1. F. Cancellara
2. P. Sagan
3. T. Boonen
4. S. Vanmarcke
5. G. Thomas
@Steampunk
Excuse me? Is this a different Steampunk to the bloke who picked the original Haleakala time to within half a minute & wore the yellow jersey in the same season?