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

freddy says:

Jul 24 2014 at 1:51 pm

@KW

@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.

Avoiding crashes is a key part of GT success for the top contenders and their teams. Luck is a factor (good or bad), but as they say in the safety industry...there is no such thing as an unpreventable accident.
piwakawaka says:

Jul 24 2014 at 2:16 pm

So can TJVG put 2.08 into Bardet in the ITT?
Beers says:

Jul 24 2014 at 3:11 pm

@frank

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.

Easy on the past tense mate, they're not in Paris yet! What with all the talk on it being Spider and Bertie show before it had even begun, all we need is some over zealous selfie taker numpty to step into Vince, going down and breaking a collar, then it is all on again, haha.

Nibs has been awesome. Will be interesting to see if the same suspicions are levelled as they were of Froome last year.
Harminator says:

Jul 24 2014 at 3:32 pm

Been loitering in the Pyrenees for the last few days...Watched from Pla d'Adet yesterday and the Depart from Pau today. Very cool. I took some pics. Fuglsang nominated for Rule #5 for refusing to abandon, Paulini is a beast, Horner's socks? Kittel suffered like a bastard, Terpstra rolls to the start in his trainers, the VMH and kids got a nice table in Pau, Boom won the most badass stage of the year - I can see why...etc, etc...It all leaves me wanting more.
Harminator says:

Jul 24 2014 at 3:39 pm

VLVV
wiscot says:

Jul 24 2014 at 3:59 pm

@Harminator

VLVV

Indeed. Jealous as all-get-out. Enjoy!
Harminator says:

Jul 24 2014 at 4:01 pm

My internet is fecked. Final attempt...
Harminator says:

Jul 24 2014 at 4:11 pm

Nope. Pics won't post.
HMBSteve says:

Jul 24 2014 at 4:25 pm

@wiscot

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.

Agreed - best riders in the world available at the moment, duking it out in the mountains. There is still plenty of talent, challenges and attacks. Last man standing wins.
frank says:

Jul 24 2014 at 5:15 pm

@KW

@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.

Totally. Must finish to win.

My favorite part of Nibble's win is that Astana hired Peter Van Petegem and trained hard on the stones, practiced it extensively, really nailed the details and spent time riding them at race pace. That attention to detail really paid off. Shit, even a cobbles master like Sparty couldn't match him because he's not used to riding them in the wet (he's never raced on cobbles in the wet as far as I know.)

@wiscot

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.

Spot the fuck on. I will note with interest that Fignon was the only one to win another Tour (and come close a third time), not to mention that he nearly pulled off two Giro-Tour doubles.