Velominati Super Prestige: Tour de France 2014

Marcel’s tan lines are crisp

Attention all Velominati. The Tour VSP is going on line and it should be a good one. Sure, between Froomy and Bertie a person could hedge their bets but Moviestar is all in for Valverde, BMC for TeeJay, Astana for the Shark and Garmin is finally committing to a team leader in Talansky. Some other teams (ahem…Trek Factory Racing for one) have resigned themselves to hunting stage wins. The Tour swings through the Yorkshire Dales, everyone but the riders can enjoy some excellent ales. As the Tour continues to Lille, Norther France and Belgium, the quality pints continue. Yes, it’s hot and the VSP generator has beer on its mind.

The route, the sprints, the climbing and even the final time trial should make this a decent Tour. Here is a start list. Everyone will have a vial in their jersey pocket, but don’t worry, it’s legal.

It is still not too late to win the overall 2014 VSP and we have made it worth your while.

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.

Refer to the VSP page for details concerning scoring and rest day swaps. If you want to call yourself Pedro Delgado, you will only have yourself to blame. The VSP banner on the homepage has the countdown clock, refresh your browser and don’t be late. Good luck and good picking.

[vsp_results id=”30275″/]

Gianni

Gianni has left the building.

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View Comments

Erik says:

Jul 24 2014 at 9:20 am

@ChrisO

@wiscot

So does anyone really still think that it would have been a Contador-Froome duel with Nibbles playing bridesmaid? I really don't think Nibali has truly been tested this year and he could have handled any true rival with aplomb. If anything, I think it would have been a Bertie-Nibbles battle. We'll never know, but you can't take anything away from Nibali - he rides like a Merckx or an Hinault. Chapeau!

Malmerde in 4th? Merckx, I hope Peraud does the TT of his life on Saturday to hang onto 3rd.

I think Nibali would have been up there but I also think the lack of competition is making Nibali seem far more dominant than he really is.

We'll see what today was like but looking at comparison of the times, Nibali is not going any faster than Froome and Contador have done on the same climbs.

Based on his performance, Nibali would not be a bridesmaid to a Contador and a Froome. He took this race by the throat from day one. He had time on both of them before they crashed out. And he has been unstoppable since.
freddy says:

Jul 24 2014 at 10:05 am

It was nice having the little yellow jersey badge while it lasted. Congrats to Two Ball Billy. I must admit I feel a little dirty cheering for Malmerde to keep my VSP hopes alive.
ChrisO says:

Jul 24 2014 at 10:14 am

@Erik

https://twitter.com/Scienceofsport/status/492219113096626176/photo/1

Top 3 in watts/kg over time. Almost directly comparable to last year's top 3.

So yes maybe he would still have won but I think Nibali was going for the early time because he knew that in the high mountains and the TT he had to have a buffer over Contador and Froome.

It's a pity - it would have been a really interesting battle and I suspect they would all have worn yellow at some point.
KW says:

Jul 24 2014 at 10:22 am

Lots of speculation going on everywhere.

Simple fact is, it doesn't matter.

If you want to win ANY race, you must finish said race.

Nibali's (presumed) win shouldn't be regarded as diminished because Froome and Contador aren't there, any more than it should because Merckx, Hinault, LeMond, etc. aren't in the race.

Froome and Contador had their shot, and they couldn't stay in. That's the way racing goes. I, for one, am having a great time watching Nibali crush the race out of pride.
Dave R says:

Jul 24 2014 at 11:40 am

Regarding the what could have been speculation, +1 to KW. The guys on The Telegraph / Velonews Cycling Podcast were discussing this the other day, and Andy Hood offered the following line he said was translated from the Belgians: "If my uncle had tits, she'd be my aunt." KW's point, said with panache.
wiscot says:

Jul 24 2014 at 12:20 pm

I like to think that had I been racing in the Tour this year, Nibbles would have been eating my dust. However, work commitments keep me in Wisconsin so we'll never know. (Well, we do actually, but we can all dream a little, can't we?)
frank says:

Jul 24 2014 at 12:33 pm

@wiscot

@razmaspaz

@frank

@erik

So, Horner finally attacks and Nibali goes with him? Why? Horner is not a threat. You've got an ample cushion. Nibali is fascinating. This could doom Horner's move because the other GC contenders will not want to let Nibs get up the road.

Do you think maybe it has something to do with a certain Vuelta?

Pride and wanting to win impÃ©riale.

I know there is a lot of coulda', shoulda', woulda' surrounding the might have been leaders of this year's tour, but I can't help drawing comparisons between Nibali attacking for the sheer honor of it, and Contador's dominant stamp on the Giro in '11. Nibali is making these guys look silly, and his continued attacks are about the only reason to keep cheering for him. I think the most amazing thing about his win to be is that he dispatched Contador and Froome with the weather and the cobbles, before he even got to his strength in the mountains. Looking forward to what will be a great time trial for 2nd.

Contador lost what? 2 minutes on the cobbles. Does anyone think he could have pulled that back given Nibali's form? I don't.

Lots to look forward to with the TT. Tony Martin for the win. Nibbles and TJVG top 5.

I agree on all counts here. I'd also like to point out that I hated Contador's Giro win mostly because I never liked him as a rider. I also didn't like Nibble's Giro win - it felt boring.

But somehow, I'm loving this win of his even though it's largely in the same style. Beauty of being a fan and not having to account for your own irrational behavior while watching the sport! His ride on the Cobbles won the race for him; even if Contador/Froome would have stayed in, they'd have taken time from him maybe but the way he's riding, not enough. I think he was already nearly 3 min ahead of Bertie by the time he crashed out.
frank says:

Jul 24 2014 at 12:38 pm

@KW

Lots of speculation going on everywhere.

Simple fact is, it doesn't matter.

If you want to win ANY race, you must finish said race.

Nibali's (presumed) win shouldn't be regarded as diminished because Froome and Contador aren't there, any more than it should because Merckx, Hinault, LeMond, etc. aren't in the race.

Froome and Contador had their shot, and they couldn't stay in. That's the way racing goes. I, for one, am having a great time watching Nibali crush the race out of pride.

Froome was bad luck, Contador made a mistake trying to pass a rider at great speed with one hand in his pocket and the other on a handlebar. His own fault he was out, that's just pure racing. Froome's accident(s) was racing too, but that was a bit more being unlucky with where he was at that moment for the first crash.
KW says:

Jul 24 2014 at 1:04 pm

@frank

@KW

Lots of speculation going on everywhere.

Simple fact is, it doesn't matter.

If you want to win ANY race, you must finish said race.

Nibali's (presumed) win shouldn't be regarded as diminished because Froome and Contador aren't there, any more than it should because Merckx, Hinault, LeMond, etc. aren't in the race.

Froome and Contador had their shot, and they couldn't stay in. That's the way racing goes. I, for one, am having a great time watching Nibali crush the race out of pride.

Froome was bad luck, Contador made a mistake trying to pass a rider at great speed with one hand in his pocket and the other on a handlebar. His own fault he was out, that's just pure racing. Froome's accident(s) was racing too, but that was a bit more being unlucky with where he was at that moment for the first crash.

Agreed, but the Song Remains the Same "...as we go sliding... sliding... sliding through." Out is out.
wiscot says:

Jul 24 2014 at 1:45 pm

Ok, ok, I'll keep the debate going:

1973 Luis Ocana won, Merckx did not start

1976 Lucien van Impe won, Merckx did not start

1980 Joop Zoetemelk won, Hinault retired injured

1983 Laurent Fignon won, Hinault did not start

We could argue from here to eternity if these winners would have won if Merckx and Hinault had started and been healthy. They didn't. Every one of these winners deserved to win, no question. They were great riders with great palmares. At the end of three weeks they had ridden skillfully and smartly and finished with the least time elapsed. Froome and Contador started, didn't finish. End of story. We can debate this forever just like you can so many other situations in other sports. No asterisks on clean wins.