Velominati Super Prestige

Velominati Super Prestige: Tour de France 2012, Stage 11

During the 1969 Tour de France, Felice Gimondi and Ray Poulidor were fined for taking a ride from a lorry up the Tourmalet. What about Merkcx? Well, he was towing the lorry.

Its an old joke, but like any good joke, it stays funny no matter how many times you hear it. I bet it’s even funnier if you know what a lorry is. I knew a girl named Lori once – wasn’t funny at all – though she would give a ride to anyone who asked, so I’m assuming that’s the joke.

Merckx decimated the 1969 Tour in a way we haven’t seen in ages. On July 15 of that year, The Prophet started the day with an almost unassailable lead of somewhere around 8 minutes. Not enough, obviously. So it was, then, that his rivals’ tails wagged at the sight of him flustering with his gears near the top of the Tourmalet. A mechanical, obviously, sure to cost him loads of time. In fact, he was just moving Sur La Plaque into my personal favorite gear for climbing – the 53×17. They wouldn’t see him again that day and four hours later, his solo effort would net him another 8 minutes’ lead.

If anyone at this Tour de France wants to beat Bradley Wiggins, they’re going to have to set aside the in-vogue last-mountain attack or start putting a lot more stock in poisn’d entrails, eyes of newt, and wool of bat. Unless their strategic plan involves deliberately crashing the entirety of Team Sky or having them all come down with a synchronized sniffle, they’re going to have to start riding their bikes hard from a lot farther out than the 5km banner.

Stage 11 is the test, even though Stage 10 is also a test and may already prove me right or wrong (it will be one of those, I’m sure of it). But Stage 11 sees the finish to La Toussuire where Floyd Landis cracked and lost a mountain of time before regaining it the next day and subsequently testing positive for beer-induced testosterone. Its not a very steep climb, but its hard enough to suck if you blow up. It won’t be hard enough to drop an in-form Wiggins, so Nibali and/or Evans will have to hit the road a lot sooner than the last climb if they’re going to start making inroads. And if my boy Fränkie Schleck wants a chance at the win, he should probably start the stage today.

It’s time to ride with the breath of a cannibal.

You know the drill: get your picks in by the time the countdown clock goes to zero for a chance to win a pair of fizik R3 road shoes and two pair of DeFeet socks.

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308 Replies to “Velominati Super Prestige: Tour de France 2012, Stage 11”

  1. @minion

    Yeah! Screw Froome for this stage, Hoogerland’s got The V points to smash this one to bits.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Hoogerland
    2. Nibbles
    3. Cuddles
    4. Wiggo
    5. Basso

    Christopher Froome, Sky Pro Cycling, 20 pts for Individual Climber

  3. Doesn’t anyone think it will just be a bunch of unknown names with a pack of favorites behind?

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Fredrik Kessiakoff
    2. Evans
    3. Froome
    4. Pierre Rolland
    5. Wiggins

  4. Doesn’t anyone think it will just be a bunch of unknown names with a pack of favorites behind?

  5. VSP PICKS:

    1. Rui Costa
    2. Janes Brajkovic
    3. Jurgen Van Den Broeck
    4. Vincenzo Nibali
    5. Denis Menchov

  6. VSP PICKS:

    1. Rui Costa
    2. Janez Brajkovic
    3. Jurgen Van Den Broeck
    4. Vincenzo Nibali
    5. Denis Menchov

  7. Hmm, couldn’t comment when I posted picks, not that I have much to say. Climber’s day, should be a good one. Hopeyo see a newface one the podium.

    What about Jens today? F-ing hard man, I love that guy!

  8. @Erk

    Doesn’t anyone think it will just be a bunch of unknown names with a pack of favorites behind?

    Like Kessiakoff and Pinot?? Devenyns and Casar??

  9. VSP PICKS:

    1. Wiggans
    2. Van Den Broeck
    3. Nibali
    4. Froome
    5. Evans

  10. V

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Wiggans
    2. Van Den Broeck
    3. Nibali
    4. Hoogerland
    5. Evans

  11. Giving Garmin some love after they’ve had an absolute shit tour up to now. Really hope Marttin can pull this off and that Wiggo gets dropped on the descent.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Dan Martin
    2. Rolland
    3. Nibali
    4. Evans
    5. Wiggo

  14. @Erk

    Doesn’t anyone think it will just be a bunch of unknown names with a pack of favorites behind?

    Yes, that’s what makes these extra hard. Or Nibbles goes for a long one and takes the stage and the jersey. Or not. Or he does.

  15. A repeat of Stage 8. Sky runs the Yeates playbook: turn the screws, and one by one they pop. Cuddles loses most his team way down the mountain, Froome sits his wheel, and kicks his ass to the line while Wiggo enjoys the color yellow. Couple minutes later the also rans show up with the Elvis Death Mask.

    Or not. But maybe. Unless something else happens. Meh, why watch anymore? After all, ain’t this just like figure skating by now? Or those other bullshit sports that requires someone to “like” what you did to win?

    Oh, I’m gonna catch hell from you bastards on that one, won’t I?

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Froome
    2. Cuddles
    3. Wiggo
    4. Menchov
    5. KneeBallee

  17. Another Europcar day but this time Rolland. I think VdB looks hungry , ready and like he’ll try again.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Rolland
    2. Nibali
    3. Van Den Broeck
    4. Evans
    5. Wiggins

  18. Sky showed today that they’re willing to let guys over 10 minutes down on GC go, so I’m selecting a bunch of guys who can climb from teams lacking a GC threat to the Wigster, with Voelckler thrown in since he’s made it clear he’s gonna do everything he can to defend the maillot a pois rouge.

    C’mon, daddy needs a new pair o’ shoes!

    VSP PICKS:

    1. KIRYIENKA Vasili
    2. SÖRENSEN Chris Anker
    3. MARTIN Daniel
    4. VOECKLER Thomas
    5. VANDEVELDE Christian

  20. I had imagined a kind of Voeckler/Scarponi/Voigt kind of break for this; glad I waited until after today’s stage. Break goes. Martin shoots for dotty jumper to redeem Garmin’s Tour; Chris Anker Sørensen has much the same ambitions. Jeremy Roy has been conspicuous in his absence in breakaways this year; not today. Is it just me or has Vacansoleil been dismal in animating this year’s race? They were everywhere last year and during the Giro. Nibali tries. Van Den Broeck goes for broeck, but doesn’t pick up more than a handful of seconds. Cadel leads the main group in.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Daniel Martin
    2. Chris Anker Sørensen
    3. Jeremy Roy
    4. Jurgen Van Den Broeck
    5. Cadel Evans

  23. Betting on a boring, predictable stage. Now, either way I’ll be happy.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Froomles
    2. Cuddles
    3. Nibbles
    4. Wiggles
    5. Rollandles

  24. Froome on podium nudging nibbles off the box

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Wiggins
    2. Evans
    3. Froome
    4. Nibali
    5. Sanchez

  26. I suspect this is completely wrong and it will end with a selection of favourites – hopefully Cuddles and Nibbles – but might as well go for some outliers.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Vanendert
    2. Rolland
    3. Hoogerland
    4. LL Sanchez
    5. Peraud

  28. @eightzero

    Or not. But maybe. Unless something else happens. Meh, why watch anymore? After all, ain’t this just like figure skating by now? Or those other bullshit sports that requires someone to “like” what you did to win?
    Oh, I’m gonna catch hell from you bastards on that one, won’t I?

    Nope, got that exact feeling after last night. This has a Big Mig style victory written all over it. Doesn’t cheapen the effort, cos you’ve still won the Tour fercrissakes, but it’s not gonna inspire reverence.

    As Frank said in the main article, someone needs to throw a Cappuccino style hail mary but I can’t see Cuddles or Nibbles making it stick and that kinda depresses me.

  29. Who the fuck knows?

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Nibbles
    2. Cadel
    3. Wiggo
    4. Tommy V
    5. Scarponi

  34. @Bianchi Denti

    Death Row. What a brother know!

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Rolland
    2. Basso (how low can you go)
    3. Evans
    4. Wiggins
    5. Nibali

    that sunds tough, and then I apply your Kiwi voice to it and it sounds like squeaks.

  35. Here goes nothing.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. de costa
    2. evans
    3. nibali
    4. froome
    5. wiggum

  36. Frankie-boy has proven he can get away on an uphill finish before, and he’s going to do it tomorrow. Up, up, and away, and the rest of the boys willonto make the inroads they need to to overthrow thehairpiece.

    Either that, or something else happens.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Grimpelder
    2. Jvdb
    3. Rolland
    4. Evans
    5. Nibbles

  38. Daddy needs some new shoes!

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Nibali
    2. Wiggo
    3. Schleck wtf not?
    4. Froome
    5. Evans

  39. Let’s see fireworks, dammit!!!

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Gesink
    2. Nibali
    3. Cadel
    4. Froom
    5. Wiggins

  44. @frank

    @Bianchi Denti

    Death Row. What a brother know!

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Rolland
    2. Basso (how low can you go)
    3. Evans
    4. Wiggins
    5. Nibali

    that sunds tough, and then I apply your Kiwi voice to it and it sounds like squeaks.

    Go fick yersilf Frink!

  46. Maybe I should have picked Jensie to win. He is the damn beast from the east. But no, Europcar scores a second win in a row. Or not.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. P. Rolland
    2. Jurgen Van den Broeck
    3. Nibbles
    4. Pinot
    5. D. Fofonov

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