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
[vsp_results id=”33262″/]
VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):
Still holding out hope for Purito. Love how Tejay is riding but he has a history of 1 bad day. Can’t wait for this next week.
VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):
Bummer for Basso and Bertie to boot! lucky he crashed and got checked out.
VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):
1st Rest Day Swaps
VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):
Out with Pinot
VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):
Sooooooo much AWESOME.
VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):
VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):
@frank
epic. Just epic
One of the two most boring days in July. Froome in, Nibali down a couple spots and Pinot out.
VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):
Almost complete re-think. Still can’t bear to pick any actual favourites.
VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):
@Teocalli
Indeed. Unfortunately common when you spend a load of time in the saddle.
Best wishes to Ivan, cancer isn’t fun.
@PT
Untrue. There is no proven link between time in saddle and testicular (or any) cancer.
Rest day swap
Drop Nibali and replace with Froome
@Oli
This.
@Two Ball Billy
You have to use the form.
@Oli
That would be my understand too. No link. Probably opposite anyway meaning active, fit = less chance of cancers. I’m not picking up what @PT is putting down with statement >>> Unfortunately common when you spend a load of time in the saddle <<<
@frank
Nicely done.
Two options today, Sky either take control and Froome attacks at a suitable place, or they wait and see who else attacks and try to limit the damage.
The way Froome spoke yesterday was to suggest they might defend…but is that a bluff? Is he going to go against their normal strategy and put pressure on everyone else?
Going to be fascinating. Tour could be won today, I think.
@RobSandy
I reckon they’ll attack. It’s a flat stage all the way to a final climb. Right now there’s 40km to go, and Sky have done very little at the front so far. I think we’re going to see a repeat of Belles Filles in 2012 – Sky train going full pelt on the lower and middle slopes and then Froome pressing on solo.
@LeoTea
So much for that prediction – it’s Movistar laying on the hurt. Nibbles and Jagger in trouble with 10km left.
Nibles going out of the back door early on.
Contador elastic also broke
TJ elastic ping
@Teocalli
Froome gone solo.
Froome from 5 Km out Q only one even close
Lexicon suggestion:
Snap, Crackle and Pop // The sound of pre race favourites going out the back on the first mountain day
Froome – Porte – Quintana
Clucking Bell, that was impressive.
Well, that’s that then…
Impressive ride by Gesink and also Barguil to come back to that selection after his crash.
Porte seemed to enjoy catching Quintana – understatement of the year
I can’t imagine anyone picked a top five that looks like the current standings.
Long way to go though.
Well, barring a crushing collapse, which I suppose is possible, this race is for the scraps. Ah, I got nothing in my VSP.
@Erik
This first-mountain-stage crushing routine is a bit tiresome but that was one crazy stage.
@Teocalli
Must’ve been satisfying after Froomotor didn’t even wait for him to finish the job before attacking on his own. I love Porte’s pain-face, it’s the most glorious grin-grimace.
Flipping heck, that was a hell of a lot of Frooming goin’ down.
If we consider that to be a repeat of Ax 3 Domaines in 2013, should we expect Movistar and Cannondale to try and repeat the following day? Maybe Richie should have been saving himself instead of going for second on the stage.
I can’t understand Movistar’s tactic, why drive the pace and burn your team? Sky sat in, when Movistar was spent save for Valverde they still had 4 guy’s to support Froome, wouldn’t you make Sky drive it and attack them one after the other?
@frank
It was a cracker of a stage. Fun to watch, even though I was watching my VSP collapse. Froome was positively amazing. Quintana’s face never reveals anything, but he didn’t look bad. TVG kept it together, relatively. Truly enjoyed it.
It is entirely possible that Froome is burning his matches too early. There is still a long way to go and it is not like he has never cracked in the high mountains. He is not immune to bad luck either.. Let’s not consider this done and over just yet.
The best thing about this Tour is I’m getting plenty of sleep! Wake me up when it’s over… say, next Spring when the proper racing is on.
@Erik
A lot of use of the word “unbelievable” in describing it, and a lot of the same kind of, “good old fashioned hard work” explanations that remind me an awful lot of the Armstrong Era, but its ultimately unfair to paint with those brush strokes – I’d rather believe a liar than doubt the integrity of an honest person.
The best thing about Quintana is he rides a normal size gear like Pantani did, not that stupid high cadence bullshit that Froome is using. At least Froome rode a LITTLE less fugly today – but would it kill him to stop riding his little brother’s bike and get on one that fits? Fuck, those pointy elbows and knees are killing me!
@brett
Oh look! Grumpy Grampa Brett’s awake! Look out for the hook of his cane.
@brett
If you’re finding it boring the inference is that you must be watching it to be bored by it…
@Oli
I watched the cobble stage live and have been watching the highlights and some replays, yes. And it’s the same as every year: favourite gets a couple minutes, that’s it, all over.
@frank
So you find it tiresome, I find it boring. Semantics.
@Jay
This.
I said a bit ago, and I agree, I think interest actually increases to see if/when Froome cracks. There are 4 climbs today, he will surely be tired.
Secondly, the worst thing about cycling currently is the fans and the media. Because every 5 minutes everyone throws out accusations and points fingers if someone they are not a fan of suceeds. Everytime a winner of a stage or race has a past transgression, it is always mentioned as a preface.
I have come to the stupefying conclusion that the reason that cycling doesn’t let go of the past, is because the fans and the media (who are actually are encouraged by clicks etc from the fans on those kinds of stories) don’t want to let it go. We have the reality, the dirty, doubting, reality, that we really want. All anyone seems to really want to read about is controversy. Especially the layperson/ non-purist.
If this was Merckx BITD, we all would be cleaning our tv sets and computers due to over exhuberance at such a result.
I am not a fan of Froome. I am aware that COTHO never failed a test also. But right now, Froome is likely to be the most tested and scrutinised athlete on the planet. The whole thing. You podium, you get tested. He is probably getting tested everyday for the last week. The systems have improved. The systems are probably not perfect. But they are better than they have ever been.
I have my faith in the organisation.
And so I can continue to watch the race in wonder.
Enjoying the race and coverage- but for shits sake, can someone PLEASE make a few more/different TV commercials for chocolate milk and Cadillac cars….the same six commercials each break makes me want to let out about 60 PSI from each tire and go for a century for some added self- administered pain and agony.
Though I will still watch it and think to myself…should I buy some chocolate milk to drink in my new car???
I guess Movistar were just trying a show of strength. To say they weren’t afraid and maybe to get into a one on one situation – in the past Quintana has at times been better than Froome when they are in direct competition.
Regarding the suspicion, yes there is some element of being stuck in the past but isn’t that also because nobody has done a lot to move into the future.
There is a lot of scepticism about Froome from sensible people who have been looking at the performances of top riders over a lot of years. I’m talking about sports science and data specialists, not haters on message boards.
Froome was estimated to have done 6.1 w/kg for 40 minutes yesterday. That level for that duration is extremely suspect. Unfortunately we don’t know his HR and physiological details. The only people with the data to confirm or deny it is Sky and they are setting lawyers on people.
Until teams and the sport’s administrators realise that it isn’t good enough to sit and say “He was tested, he’s clean, we don’t dope” then it is going to continue.
@brett
You should get a new hobby.