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″/]
Unfreakingbelievable!!! Faboo is an absolute beast!
@Buck Rogers Fabian!!! Wow.
NOOOO WAYYYY! Obviously NEVER thought that he could win the sprint!!!
Brilliant race. Wow.
My heart was pounding in that finish.
Cancellara from the front, Van Avermaert, Vammarcke, Vandenbergh, Kristoff.
What a great race.
vanmarcke has a lot of potential but needs some more time at a Swiss finishing school.
What a race! I really had my money on Vanmarke but he needs to realize that you can’t make mistakes and win against Fabs – let alone ride like an idiot.
Awesome win by @VirenqueForever with our Keepers Tour mate @Skip taking a strong second with @JCM rounding out the podium.
That was incredible! Finally I can leave the TV to pee and eat
Phenomenal! I honestly didn’t think he could win the sprint but you can’t ask for a better person to win this race. So psyched!
That was so exciting it took me 15 minutes to realize that the Muur was missing. Flanders Classics, please bring back the Muur.
@frank
awesome race, this one staying on DVR Forever!
Fabooooo!
That was fucking epic. And I appear to have consumed 3 litres of Leffe.
Chapeau to Devolder, hit the deck a few times and just kept getting up.
So how do you celebrate winning your 3rd Ronde? Like this http://cyclocosm.tumblr.com/post/81887723182/no-bottle-opener-no-problem
@el gato
Any time you start asking yourself if it’s acceptable to carry your laptop into the toilet with you, you know you’re watching a good bike race.
@Mikael Liddy
That settles the Post-Ride Recovery Ale debate.
I think I know how VanAvermat feels… congrats @VirenqueForever!
Yikes, Sep looks gutted as Fabian swills a whole beer. Talk about the glory and the pain.
Also, Greg VA. Man, that guy has to be tired of coming up just a bit short. He’s always there, he towed the huge fucker for many K’s, and then he comes in second. Fuck.
Finally I manage to pick a winner! Great race; I just can’t help backing Faboo for these – the man’a a machine!
@ChrisO
Agreed! I think that I am finally coming around to actually not disliking Sparty. Pure class and leading from the front. Still love Tommeke the most but I guess that they are not mutually exclusive.
Amazing. And Sep now with two podiums. Guy is for REAL (if there was ever any question).
Wow broke my sequence of getting 1 point and not by getting 0 points either! Looking forward to watching the race later from all the comments. Was out doing something of a 5 & 9 ride, mud, gravel, potholes, rain, wind AND some cobbles – well if only 300 metres. The sun was not exactly shining up this climb today. The Hovis Boy would have had some very wet bread…..
3 in top 5, again. Not one in the right position. Again.
But maybe now others will start believing Kristoff is the real deal.
@frank
Fabs, slam the top off, chug a beeve after winning that race. He is pure badass. How Quick Step messed that up, it’s hard to believe. And Van Avermat could have won it if he hadn’t ridden 30kms by himself. Still, Fabian has some nerves of steel.
I feel for Johan–one of my favourite riders: http://www.sporza.be/cm/sporza/videozone/sporten/v-wielrennen/RondeVanVlaanderen/MV_140406_RVV_Vansummeren_reax
@freddy The woman that was stuck is in critical condition. Heavy anguish on Johan’s face during that interview.
@Gianni
Brains and braun wins over braun and no brains – what a race – that has to be one of the best ever – gotto get my slot back in that tree on the Kwaaremont for 2015!
That was fucking brutal. No let up and no real indication of the winner until the death. Epic.
Good to see the Malteni flag out there even if there wasn’t a V-Flag.
Ugh. At least I did well in the women’s race.
@Dr C
Hell yeah!
@Mikael Liddy Sep looks shattered he can’t get his bottle open. Or for third place?
@sthilzy I’m thinking missing out on a beer is the straw that broke the camel’s back…
Faboo shakes his legs ~300m to go after surge and his head does not look anywhere else except straight at the finish line. Class finish!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm5l6juQIcA
@Ron
Agreed. GvA is my new favourite rider. The guy just will not give up! The wins will come eventually.
[ thoughts coming across the line ] “Hey… it’s all about having fun! Enjoy!!”
@Mikael Liddy
Ha, that is an A-class joke. I like that!
A fuckin’ gutter for Sep, but yes, the deprivation from lacking the Italio-Suisse’s creativity in opening the suds, that was the real crusher.
@Bianchi Denti
I like that positive attitude. Right, this is very true. At this level, these guys are all so good at everydarnthing. It really is the tiniest differences, like maturity. You learn from why you lost, then you smash it again next year.
Greg has the chance to do great things if he can harness these defeats for future goals.
Officially 98 abandoned from 200 starters. Are we sure this wasn’t heavyweight boxing?
Spectacular finish. I was jumping and screaming like a school girl. And of course had to go work some excitement out on the bike. Every bump in the road I dreamt of the cobbles and the men that gave it their all today. Chapeau to those who rode today and thoughts go out to those injured. Here is to a speedy recovery.
“I’m really looking forward to a Primus”
Experience won out, that was a complete performance, a classic display of time and space by a great athlete, it doesn’t matter what the sport the truly great almost seem to be able to bend time to their will and create the perfect finish while those around them wonder what the f*ck just happened.
A sideshow from such a belter of a race, is the discovery of new things
Sofa jumping brought to us by this wonderous nectar – tried a few different ones, but the Dubbel of Brutges Zot was the daddy yesterday, and laid waste to us in no uncertain fashion – feeling a bit shoddy this morning after a few of these demolished us – what a great fucking day!
http://beerplanet.eu/includes/show_beer.php?pic=../catalog/images/beers-1/104200205-BRUGSE-ZOT-DUBBEL-beer.jpg
at the third time of asking…..
Greg V-an Avermaet ! Man, he emptied the locker. I never expected the win for him, after hurting himself for so long, but he deserves a great deal of respect for that ride.
As for next weekend in P-R. I can’t wait !!!
I’m wondering if people will stop insisting that Fabs must go solo in order to win? He’s clearly shown that he can hold his own in the sprints. Doesn’t hurt when he can clearly outsmart the competition.
@Geraint
Might have to put Devolder into my picks for next week, he’ll want it for sure – provided this gets better… https://twitter.com/NicoMattan/status/452915126455517184/photo/1
A really incredible race! Cancellara out smarted them and then out muscled them to the finish. What an effort!
You want tough. Stijn devolder, three crashes, still finishes.
@Ron
Italio-Suisse creativity? Pshaw, we learned how to open a beer without an opener in freshman orientation at U of W – Madison.
@VirenqueForever
The man sporting the flandrian lion icon wants to borrow my picks? As flattered as I am, you really don’t need any help from me, fella!
Devolder was well in the mix in the previous three races, particularly Gent-Wevelgem, he looks to be marked out as a danger man as he seems to get a reaction when he attacks, and yesterday just proved he’s hard as nails too. He’s surely due another win soon.