Velominati Super Prestige: Tour de France 2015
Cobblestones make the race, I’m not ruining any fantasies telling you that. Wet cobblestones, well, those make a legend. Nibbles rose in my esteem considerably when he rode the wet cobbles as well as he rides any mountain descent or climb; that is a boy with some nerves and some mad bike handling skills.
Wet cobbles are scarier to ride that dry ones, but they aren’t really that much more difficult to ride; you’re still playing the lottery that your wheels keep pointing where your bike is trying to go. But wet stones are definitely more draining; the mud and silt you ride through make it like riding through molasses. Awesome molasses, but molasses nonetheless.
The cobbles are back this year, and hopefully so will the rain. Let us pray for rain, because last year’s stage made the race.
The Tour de France needs no introduction but the VSP prizes deserve a gentle reminder. This is a Grand Tour, people, lots of points at stake. And those points are going towards amazing prizes including a Jaegher frame and a Café Roubaix wheelset. There is plenty of time for you to Delgado this thing, too, if you wait around until the last minute. So my advice is that you avoid doing that.
Give yourself enough time to enter your picks so if something has gone amuck, you have time to hit “reload” or come back V minutes later to try again before the event closes. Remember, your procrastination in this matter will not result in our emergency to enter your picks for you. All that said, if you do encounter a problem, please be so kind as to take a screenshot and upload it because the descriptor “it didn’t work” or “hm, not working” doesn’t help us debug the problem. Also, Internet Explorer is not supported and apparently only shows one Pick Entry box, so use Chrome, Firefox, or Safari instead.
The scoring for the Grand Tours is a tad more involved than the one-day races and one-week Tours, so look the guidelines over before making your prognostications.
So get your picks in before the countdown clock goes to zero, hit the go button, and good luck.
Café Roubaix's CR Wheelworks Arenbergs
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This race can’t possibly be as good I’m anticipating, right? I think the TTT will be critical, and I think Movistar has the perfect team for that course.
I’d love to see Nibali get time on those cobbles and then chaos for the rest of the Tour while everyone tries to make up time.
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Well, in the end, we are the ones who are the winners, being given the fine opportunity to watch this beautiful event. But Nibali will win anyway..!
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I haven’t read the VSP rules in detail before, I’d thought there might be some points on offer for stage winners. As there isn’t, it means I’m just trying to pick the final top 5. That’s tricky. Here we go, anyway.
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I might as well put about 11 in a hat and stop trying to use my brain but anyway here goes……..
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I’m picking lightning to strike twice,although I’ll give you even money on Froome breaking the other collarbone (or whatever it was he broke last time) on the cobbles. French to fail miserably, Degenkolb for the green jersey. Good luck, everyone.
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Always assuming no one crashes…
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@Simon
Wrist and hand I believe.
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Don’t want to pick Nibbles because of Astana, fair chance he’s gonna make me look stoopid.
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I’d love to see contador do the double but I think he and froome will shit themselves and go arse up before the end of the first week .I wouldn’t be surprised if a french rider wins . I wouldn’t be surprised if i’m totally and utterly wrong .
The green jersey battle this year is just as intriguing and is worthy of its own VSP degenkolb to pip sagan in that contest
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I can’t recall a Tour with so many evenly matched favourites, it will be a cracker! As my VSP for 2015 is a bust not much thought has to go into the picks. Learning from the Giro don’t bother with costly rest day swaps.
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I predict some attrition amongst the gang of four, but I don’t have the confidence to leave any of them out.
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@Robert Dao
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Nairo is my idol so I have to go for him. He’s hard as nails in the hills and I reckon he has the bottle for the cobbles. Who knows he may have been riding cobbles in Boyaca to prepare?
Froome has a hell of a team but not the best at TTT? sucks at rainy cobbles and I reckon Nairo can hang with him in the hills.
Gotta love the double attempt by Contador but hard to see him in same form as Nairo and Froomey. If either/both of them tank he could pull it off.
Tough call between Pinot and TJ Hooker – but I’m and American and TDF starts on 4th of July so that’s that.
So many counter-balancing factors I love it!!
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Froome and Bertie are both all or nothing picks, either they’ll be 1 and 2 (likely in the opposite order to what I have picked…) or they’ll DNF, I can’t see either scrapping for 3rd or 4th.
Nibbles will grab a stage or 2 but will loose time in the hills.
Nairo will win the polka dot jersey but only because he’ll have lot time before we get to the hills so won’t be in contention for GC.
Geraint Thomas will hopefully give Froome a scare (like Froome did to Wiggo) and will push him all the way. If the race was the opposite way round (cobbles at the end) I’d have put him in 3rd as if Froome drops out he’ll make time.
Cav for Green, Kwiak for white, Nibbles for dots.
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Got a feeling Quintana will crash out and Valverde will ride high. We’ll get the Froome v Contador battle we missed last year – Contador will crack, may even drop behind Nibbles.
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Don’t want to pick Nibali, Froome or Contador, but me needs some new Café Roubaix wheels.
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Froome (and Sky) don’t intimidate the peloton the way they did 2 years ago. Hate to say it but Porte isn’t a good enough domestique to take Froome all the way. He’ll overreach and then the other teams will attack.
After the Giro Contador looks shakey, and he’ll be smashed by smarter teams if he bonks at the end of three weeks. But he’s experienced and wiley enough to hold in to the end.
Or we could all be stuffed by most of the favourites falling off in the first week again
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Thinking of removing Contador from my picks in protest re the new Tinkoff kit. That is truly horrendous.