Velominati Super Prestige: Tour de France 2017

As many of you know, I write a monthly column for Cyclist Magazine where I answer Dear Abby-esque questions, and the most recent query pertained to whether I consider the Tour the best race of the year, or whether it’s an over-publicized circus. The question made me realize something about myself: I have a weariness around the Tour de France not unlike a romantic whose heart has been broken one too many times.

The fact is, as much as I prefer a race like Paris-Roubaix or the Giro d’Italia to the mid-summer shit show that is the Tour de France, nothing gets my anticipation going quite the way the Tour does, which is undeniably the pinnacle of the season; all the classifications and stages are prestigious enough that racers of all sorts are all arriving at the start in peak form. There is a promise of hard racing from day one, but the first week consists mostly of me worrying about the big favorites crashing out. As soon as we get through that mess, my heart is usually broken on the first day in the mountains, when the favorite takes a decisive lead and the rest of the race is most about stages than the GC.

At least, these are the dreads of a man who lived through the Indurain and Armstrong eras of racing.

Nevertheless, the Tour always manages to seduce me, and this year is no different. Maybe this year, she won’t be such a cruel lover. And, maybe this year, I won’t make horrible picks in the VSP. Just maybe, just maybe. You know the drill; get your picks in by the time the clock goes to zero, and you get some swap options on the rest day. Good luck!
[vsp_results id=”104413″/]

AddThis Website Tools
frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

View Comments

  • Froome has already taken 43 seconds from Bardet at the first checkpoint.  slaughter.

  • @Cary

    Bardet hangs on to the podium by 1 sec!

    0

    Very lucky to hang in there after that effort. Woeful.

    Barguil has been a highlight this week. Looks really good on the bike doing it too. A future powerhouse for sure.

  • @Grimace

    @Cary

    Bardet hangs on to the podium by 1 sec!

    0

    Very lucky to hang in there after that effort. Woeful.

    Barguil has been a highlight this week. Looks really good on the bike doing it too. A future powerhouse for sure.

    0

    Barguil has been great this week. However, it is a tough call naming him super combatif for the Tour after De Gendt spent almost 1/3 of the entire race in front of the peloton. 

  • How long until the Vuelta? What am I going to do all day apart from ride a bike?

     

  • @Rick

    @Grimace

    @Cary

    Bardet hangs on to the podium by 1 sec!

    0

    Very lucky to hang in there after that effort. Woeful.

    Barguil has been a highlight this week. Looks really good on the bike doing it too. A future powerhouse for sure.

    0

    Barguil has been great this week. However, it is a tough call naming him super combatif for the Tour after De Gendt spent almost 1/3 of the entire race in front of the peloton.

    0

    But De Gent is not French, n'est-ce pas?

    What the Prophet said about le Tour yesterday?

    On the flat stages only the start and the last 10km are interesting. And there is some long breakaway in between. In the mountains the high quality domestiques of main contenders cannot attack for win. I am sorry but this is how I see this. Many cyclists are boring. When Porte or Sagan left peloton there was less excitement and fun.

    On the question what changes he would introduce:

    What should be changed is increase the attractiveness of stages. I had feeling too often this year that you can guess what will happen. This is for sure disadvantage of TdF compared to Giro.

     

     

     

     

  • @Pali65

    @Rick

    @Grimace

    @Cary

    Bardet hangs on to the podium by 1 sec!

    0

    Very lucky to hang in there after that effort. Woeful.

    Barguil has been a highlight this week. Looks really good on the bike doing it too. A future powerhouse for sure.

    0

    Barguil has been great this week. However, it is a tough call naming him super combatif for the Tour after De Gendt spent almost 1/3 of the entire race in front of the peloton.

    0

    But De Gent is not French, n’est-ce pas?

    What the Prophet said about le Tour yesterday?

    On the flat stages only the start and the last 10km are interesting. And there is some long breakaway in between. In the mountains the high quality domestiques of main contenders cannot attack for win. I am sorry but this is how I see this. Many cyclists are boring. When Porte or Sagan left peloton there was less excitement and fun.

    On the question what changes he would introduce:

    What should be changed is increase the attractiveness of stages. I had feeling too often this year that you can guess what will happen. This is for sure disadvantage of TdF compared to Giro.

    0

    Seriously right? Spread the wealth. Barguil got two stages and the mountains classification. De Gent was out there every friggin day. I'd be pretty pissed if i was him.

  • @hhbiker

    How long until the Vuelta? What am I going to do all day apart from ride a bike?

    0

    excepting the world championships, the season is over for me.  the cobbled classics are my high holy days anyway.  i already can't wait for next April.

Share
Published by
frank

Recent Posts

Anatomy of a Photo: Sock & Shoe Game

I know as well as any of you that I've been checked out lately, kind…

7 years ago

Velominati Super Prestige: Men’s World Championship Road Race 2017

Peter Sagan has undergone quite the transformation over the years; starting as a brash and…

7 years ago

Velominati Super Prestige: Women’s World Championship Road Race 2017

The Women's road race has to be my favorite one-day road race after Paris-Roubaix and…

7 years ago

Velominati Super Prestige: Vuelta a España 2017

Holy fuckballs. I've never been this late ever on a VSP. I mean, I've missed…

7 years ago

Velominati Super Prestige: Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian 2017

This week we are currently in is the most boring week of the year. After…

7 years ago

Route Finding

I have memories of my life before Cycling, but as the years wear slowly on…

7 years ago