Velominati Super Prestige: Tour de France Stage 14

Ullrich fought to within seconds of the Yellow Jersey at Ax-3 Domaines in 2003

The inaugural Velominati Super Prestige launches it’s second VSP Sub-Competition with Stage 14 of the Tour de France. The competition will allow contestants the opportunity to win bonus points in the VSP Tour de France by choosing the top three finishers of the stage for a chance to win 3 points for first place, 2 for second, and 1 for third.

The last time the Tour de France visited Ax-3 Domaines saw Der Kaiser take advantage of a rare weakness in Pharmstrong to take time out of his rival and come within seconds of reclaiming the Maillot Jaune he had last held in 1998. It wasn’t to be, however, and the 2003 Tour eventually saw Huevos Rancheros claim his 5th consecutive title.

This year will likely see another gunfight as Pistolero will surely attempt to tear the Yellow Jersey of the back of Brother Grimpeur the Younger. Both riders are formidable climbers: they have traded 10-second blows on each of the uphill finishes so far while the other climbing stages have resulted in a draw. The challenging climb to the ski station in the Pyrenees could well reveal which rider is the better climber as the race enters its third week.

But aside from the fight for the GC, there is a stage win on offer. Will Armstrong play the loyal domestique while we wait for the Eggtimer to buzz, or will he attempt to sneak off for the win? The penultimate climb is a killer; will a break go here to fight out the stage as the battle for the GC rages behind? Veino also made a strong showing here in 2003, will he go for a second win after his success on Stage 13?

Make your picks by the time tomorrow’s stage starts, regular VSP Rules apply. Good luck!

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.

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View Comments

pakrat says:

Jul 18 2010 at 9:32 am

Hank the Nostradamus of Le Tour. So true re: Phil and Paul.
Dan O says:

Jul 18 2010 at 4:28 pm

I'm not going with any predictions at the moment - but, man - Andy Schleck rocks - I am pulling for him to take the whole show.

Cool pic of Jan for this post. He was one of the favorite racers, always awesome to watch.
Geof says:

Jul 18 2010 at 5:29 pm

@Dan O

"He played poker, I played poker, we both played poker today. I can afford to lose time to the others but I had to play the game today... Tomorrow it's different and I might go 'all in' ...". - A Grimpeur

Bring it on!
Marcus says:

Jul 18 2010 at 6:32 pm

@Geof
Grimpeur might have thought he was playing poker but the bookies opinion is that he was playing with himself. Over here, Contador has tightened in to 1.25 for the win from about 1.50-60 a few days ago. Grimpeur at 4.55...
Geof says:

Jul 18 2010 at 6:49 pm

@Marcus
If he doesn't put some serious time into Bertie tomorrow I think the bookies will be proved right. And I am not sure he'll be able to. But wouldn't it be cool if he did...

Bertie's response to Grimpeur's poker-talk was good - to the effect that Grimpeur needs to watch out for Denis the Menace and Sammy Sandshoe, because they can time-trial and Andy can't.
Marcus says:

Jul 18 2010 at 6:56 pm

@Geof
I hope he does put some time into Bertie but I fear that even if he does put the bite on him on the uphill, there is enough of a downhill afterwards for people to catch Grimper - who can certainly climb, but goes downhill very "carefully"...

Reckon his only real chance is on the Tourmalet stage...
Geof says:

Jul 18 2010 at 7:07 pm

@Marcus
Indeed. Did you see that shot this morning of Grimpeur and Sammy hitting the sharp left hander? Andy hugging the inside (as did most of those following), Sammy flinging it well (almost too) wide...
Joe says:

Jul 19 2010 at 1:56 am

Although I'd love to believe, I think Grimp Jr just blew one of 2 big chances he has to stay in it...Bertie's going to stuff him for a couple of minutes on the TT.
Good riding from the silent killer...more fail for Syrup.

How friggin strong are Vino and Navarro though? They are shredding the peleton uphill.
Nof Landrien says:

Jul 19 2010 at 8:16 am

Phil and Paul going on about Shlep's ability to descend ... in which parallel universe have they been watching the TdF? Any group with Dirty Sanchez in it is going to come off a hill faster than a group without. I would also like Paul to stop calling Menchov "Denny". Yes perhaps this is the correct French pronunciation (for what that's worth) but it sounds absurd.
Nathan Edwards says:

Jul 19 2010 at 8:24 am

Dunno what you guys think but I think what Bertie just did was out of order. Andy dropped his chain and then he comes past and counters, he doesn't just keep riding, he ups it again... I also hate Cuntador, so this might be biased