Velominati Super Prestige: Tour de France 2012, Stage 16

Stage 16

Which bold rider has this stage circled in their tour bible? Wednesday July 18th, Stage 16, 197 km. The day after a the final rest day. A climbing day with two HC climbs followed by two Category 1 climbs and a serious descent toward the finish. The Aubisque, Tourmalet, Aspin and Peyresourde: you better be a fearless climber and a good descender, but a better climber. This is not a stage for Sagan or FrÃ¤nkie Schleck (sorry Frank). If Wiggo was going to have a bad day, this would be a special one to have it on. And this follows a rest day? Could the weather finally make a difference? Will the mad tacker return? Will climbers just try to survive this stage to perform on the fearsome Stage 17? More questions than answers in the Velominati Super-Bunker.

All VSP bettors better give an extra shake of the monkey bones before casting them down. Study them well. There is much at stake: Fizik R3s for the winner, 2 pair of DeFeet socks for first loser. The rules are the same as for the first single stage VSP. Points are awarded for correct place only. Delgado might have enjoyed this stage but don’t be like him.

Gianni

Gianni has left the building.

Next Zoo Hill Time Trial: Triple Dip into the Pain Pool »

Previous « Cogal Report: The Three Reservoir Ride Cogal

View Comments

niksch says:

Jul 18 2012 at 8:51 pm

@Harminator

Versio is obviously little Tommy V. (The cunning linguist)

I don't think you should compare @versio with Tommy V. Tommy is not as nearly effervescent or eloquent.
Marcus says:

Jul 18 2012 at 8:58 pm

@frank

@brett

@frank

I couldn't care less if Cadel won or not, but I like to see some exciting racing, or at least not knowing the result two weeks from Paris.

I still can't get my head around Porte and fucking Rogers being able to climb like that. Not right.

yeah, that's why it took you three weeks and two new apartments to clear the stench you left after he won last year.

As I recall - Brett is an Anti-Cadelite from way back. In fact, funnily enough, his legendary post of Sep 13 2009, "There's a couple of Roos loose in the Top paddock..." just appeared below in my random articles.
RedRanger says:

Jul 18 2012 at 9:15 pm

Tommy V seems to be a darn good team player.

Pierre Rolland (Europcar) gets a push from Thomas Voeckler after flatting during stage 14 of the Tour de France
frank says:

Jul 18 2012 at 9:16 pm

@Marcus

That's right. And "Guilt By Association". but the patriotic lil' koont stepped right in line when he finally made good. And who can blame him? It was a great win.

Just poking fun for fun's sake.
niksch says:

Jul 18 2012 at 9:19 pm

@RedRanger

Makes me regret even more that I picked him 5th in the 16 Stage.
brett says:

Jul 18 2012 at 10:40 pm

@minion

@brett

If it's a slower, cleaner race, surely the naturally talented bike riders are going to emerge? Not that the rest of the peloton are slouches, but Porte's had a star over his head for a while, and Rogers? No question about his pedigree. Seems like an odd target to pick when half the Astana team have been done at least once for actually cheating

http://www.cyclinginquisition.com/2012/06/victories-disappointments-and-how-epo.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doping_in_cycling

I'm not questioning their pedigree, but when has Fuckin Rogers ever ridden like that in the mountains? He's a dodgy fucker, remember when Millar got done and Fuckin Rogers inherited the TT World title? Wouldn't you think he'd be a bit pissed that a doper took his moment of glory from him? Not a peep.

And when did we ever see an 'Astana Train'?

@Marcus

As I recall - Brett is an Anti-Cadelite from way back. In fact, funnily enough, his legendary post of Sep 13 2009, "There's a couple of Roos loose in the Top paddock..." just appeared below in my random articles.

I've followed Cadel's career from a barely-teen who was kicking ass on the mtb. I tipped him to win the Tour before he won the mtb World Cup for the first time. I screamed my lungs out supporting him when he rode the junior Worlds in 95 in Germany, and yes I criticised him when he was acting like a twat. I'm no anti-Cadelite or a fanboy, but I respect his magnificent career and was sad to see him suffer like that last night.
Mikael Liddy says:

Jul 18 2012 at 11:07 pm

@brett

@minion

@brett

If it's a slower, cleaner race, surely the naturally talented bike riders are going to emerge? Not that the rest of the peloton are slouches, but Porte's had a star over his head for a while, and Rogers? No question about his pedigree. Seems like an odd target to pick when half the Astana team have been done at least once for actually cheating

http://www.cyclinginquisition.com/2012/06/victories-disappointments-and-how-epo.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doping_in_cycling

I'm not questioning their pedigree, but when has Fuckin Rogers ever ridden like that in the mountains? He's a dodgy fucker, remember when Millar got done and Fuckin Rogers inherited the TT World title? Wouldn't you think he'd be a bit pissed that a doper took his moment of glory from him? Not a peep.

What, a rider schooled in the T-Mobile brand of preparation? He was probably doing fucking cartwheels that he wasn't caught!
Dr C says:

Jul 18 2012 at 11:14 pm

@Chris

@Dr C

Don't know what happened really. Legs felt weak and useless until the last quarter. I've ridden the course a bunch of times but always as part of a longer ride trading pulls with my sensei and I don't think I've ever done such a short ride so judging my speed was tricky. The HR suggests I got it about right but I've a nagging sense that I could have gone harder. What's the bets I go pop just after the halfway point next time as I try too hard?

sounds like you should go Tommy V, ride with out the gadgets, and rely on your V-meter next time?

@Chris

@Dr C

"Kids have trashed the house" so when the wife got home the TV room was spotless and you hadn't scorched the wall outside and set the curtain alight when you pulled the BBQ up to the window?

yep, standard scenario
Dr C says:

Jul 18 2012 at 11:24 pm

@Mikael Liddy

@brett

@frank

I couldn't care less if Cadel won or not, but I like to see some exciting racing, or at least not knowing the result two weeks from Paris.

I still can't get my head around Porte and fucking Rogers being able to climb like that. Not right.

Richie can climb, don't forget he wore pink & won the best young rider at the 2010 Giro.

What I wanna know is since when can EBH lead a pack over a couple of HC climbs?

Surely the fact they are so far down on GC shows how the sky lead outs buried themselves to a predesigned plan and then blew up - it is not as if they rode with Wiggo and Froome to the finish line....

Maybe we can blame Wiggo and Froome for making the tour boring, as neither of them have cracked under attack - that said, as a fan, waiting for them not to be able o respond has been pretty anxiety provoking - WIggo looked completed shagged at interview last night
Mikael Liddy says:

Jul 18 2012 at 11:40 pm

@Dr C yeah that's probably fair enough, the other thing is that the pack's pace over the first two climbs last night was nothing to write home about, when they're only just putting Stuey in trouble 3/4 up the second one you know things have been gentle.

I don't think it's their lack of 'cracking' that's been the issue, more so the seeming lack of ambition to attack (from Wiggo anyway, we all know what happened when the Froome Dog was let off the leash). As Marcus said, it's smart tactical racing when they know that Wiggo doesn't need to attack when he can decimate the field in the TT, but it doesn't lend itself to an entertaining contest for anyone but a Wiggo fan.