Velominati Super Prestige: Route de France Féminine 2013
Once again the metal grate is rolling up in front of the VSP lotto window. It’s bettin’ time. The Route de France is an eight day women’s stage race consisting of a prologue and seven road stages. The route stays away from any serious mountains so daily victories could go to sprinters or those willing to drive a breakaway. To make it interesting, Marianne Vos is not racing. Last year’s winner was @eightzero’s favorite Evelyn Stevens (a serious Rule #27 violator), an all around power house, neither a pure sprinter or pure climber, a Phyllis Gilbert, if you will.
Women are fighting for better wages everywhere and cycling is no different. But at least they seem to be having more fun and racing their brains out too. I don’t believe they have podium boys, but they should. In this race they have their own singer (!?). Here is the start list. We at Velominati are interested in promoting women’s racing in our own half-assed way so we offer up this petition to promote a women’s Tour de France.
This race begins on Saturday so do your research and don’t Delgado. These women’s race points are worth just as much as the men’s points in the quest for overall VSP general classification victory.
[vsp_results id=”24617″/]
@xyxax
Woops, right you are…
@Disputers
I’m sorry to say that if you put in a misspelling of “Johansson” without further indication of which you meant, your disputes are being denied.
Sorry, but you have to be clear enough for us to know who you mean; its a Piti Principle violation to be vague and then pick the one who has points. We’ve been warning about this for a few events now and at this point, the line in the sand has been drawn.
@frank
…which is to say that if I’d meant to pick someone other than Emma Johansson, I should just keep my yap shut at this point?
@Steampunk
Back in second place are you?
I think what Frank meant is that if we picked David Johansen, then he can’t be expected to know if we meant Buster Poindexter or the New York Dolls.
But to be extra careful, you should probably go with the yap thing.
@xyxax, @Steampunk
I mean that if you put in “Johanson” and not Johansen or Johansson, and failed to add a “C” or “E” or anything else telling us which ambiguity you had shaped in your mind while mistyping, then you are shit out of luck.
@xyxax
I’m not that good at the yap thing. Is there something I can take for that, doc?
@Steampunk
Pythons?
@Steampunk
I’m taking this as an admission of guilt & would ask the keepers demote the good professor…I’ve no qualms about how I step up the podium.
@frank
We should be grateful that you think our knowledge of women’s cycling extends beyond Emma Johanssen(sic) and marianne Vos!
Bronzini FTW, again. No change in the overall.
https://twitter.com/LaRoutedeFrance
And Ashleigh Moolman did not start today’s stage. Fiddlesticks.
@Mikael Liddy
Dude! Principle of Silence applies here. Just hold your line. (Hmm: I can see how the Rules almost implicitly endorse Omerta…)
4 in a row for Bronzini.
Wow. Too bad she doesn’t TT well or she would be like Vos.
@xyxax
Yeah, I saw this morning that she had broken her hand or a finger. And was my first thought full of concern for her? Nope, it was “Dammit, there goes my VSP!” I’m a mean girl.
@Sauterelle
Yes you are – and there’s not even any fabulous prizes at stake! If it’s any consolation, I felt the same way when some of my Tour picks fell short. No “Gosh, I’m sorry they had a bad day/crashed/whatever, but dammit – they’re busting my VSP!”
@Sauterelle
@wiscot
I ain’t no better. And there are whispers in the peleton that VSP-pressure is leading to a new era of doping. Or finishing grand tours on a broken pelvis.
My thoughts are with Ashleigh’s digit.
@xyxax
You can’t correct for injuries, but surely I’m not the only one who’s been sending over bags of frozen “ketchup” just to pad my chances?
@Steampunk
So that was you?!
And in tomorrow’s news, WADA will announce the launching of Operation Curly Fries, reportedly linking top pros to an hirsute Professor of Toxicity at a major Canadian university. Details, as well as the professor, remain sketchy.
The Woman with the Hammer, Georgia Bronzini, takes her fifth stage in a row.
No change in the overall.
@xyxax
Wow. Just wow.
Wtf kinds of stage race has a time trial and 5 sprint stages. Please tell me there is some climbing tomorrow.
@razmaspaz
I don’t think the stages are pancake-flat, but it doesn’t look like the have to climb mountains at any stage. However, it’s hard to find course info. Even their official wesbite doesn’t show stage elevations. If the promoter wants fans to take more than a casual interest in their race, they have to do better than this.
http://www.velonation.com provides good race reports soon after the finish. Stage 5 looked like a consolation win for Bronzini after she worked all day to help Villumsen gain 2s to take the lead off Johansson, but couldn’t do it.
5 wins out of 5 stages, but still not leading the race must confuse the crap out of some people…
@razmaspaz
Here, here! The petition says, “…over the same distances, on the same days, with modifications in start/finish times…” How about a double ascent of Alpe d’Huez after 108 kms or am I being mean?
@erik
There’s got to be a trivia question in there, right? Name the last pro cyclist who won 5 consecutive stages of a “grand tour”. Fuck if I know.
@razmaspaz
@Bianchi Denti
You can check out a preview of the last stages here: http://velofocus.com/2013/preview-route-de-france-stage-4-to-7/
The description of the last stage encapsulates the organizers’ thinking. I’d like to know the thoughts of the participants but I can’t help but feel that at a time when women’s cycling needs extra support to keep growing (or stop shrinking), this is a bit of weak tea.
So the plan is Bronzini again tomorrow and then everything’s up for grabs on Saturday. Weak tea indeed.
Stage 6…Bronzini, Armitstead, Peters, I believe.
plus the other 43 in the bunch
@freddy Thanks for helping us keep on top of this. I’m excited to see tomorrows stage results…wish I could watch it!
@frank Oh, hi Frank. Nice to know I’m not the only one staying awake for the finale. Twitter feed seems to be the only way to track “live.” I wonder if Bronzini is going to go for a solo break–she needs 31 seconds to take the GC.
Villumsen’s in a solo break with about a 4 min lead. Looking god to win the overall.
VILLUMSEN Linda Melanie
JOHANSSON Emma 5:52.
@xyxax
you idiot. Had Guderzo fourth. And no one cares anyway.
Did not see that coming. Uber solo break.
@erik
Fuck i had johansson and stevens the wrong way round!
@xyxax
Is this the final GC?
@Buck Rogers
Yes.
@Steampunk
Nice! Just back from a week of leave at the in-laws without Internet. At least I got one place right and another in the top 5! I’ll take it.
@Buck Rogers
Does not compute. But I guess “at the in-laws” is the closest I’ve ever been to a war zone…
Congrats to Canuck Karol-ann Canuel who came in an impressive 5th today and 15th in the GC! Steamy was rooting for her.
Bugger! I should have backed the Kiwi! Still I had the first 4 but only Guderzo in the right place.
Final classification – Congrats to Denti for taking a clean win.
@frank
Thanks. And a kiwi race winner too!
Howdy! This post could not be written any better!
Reading this post reminds me of my previous room mate!
He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this article to
him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!