The inaugural Velominati Super Prestige continues the with Tour de France edition, on Saturday July 3rd in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, just kilometers from the start of the Giro d’Italia in Amsterdam (Dutchland is a small country). This will be the second Grand Tour of the series, and at this stage the Grand Tour rules and regulations are fairly well-defined, so take a moment to review them on the VSP Page.
The Tour is, of course, a major event. My personal preference lies with the Giro, but there is no denying the magnitude of the Tour and the appeal it holds. For three weeks, the world pays attention to our sport, and – provided the Tour doesn’t coincide with the World Cup football matches – this is the biggest sporting event during this time of the year. (An interesting observation: the last time these events coincided, the winner was eventually stripped of his title.)
Having run the VSP Giro edition where we tested the ruleset for Grand Tours, we’ve managed to set up a scoring system that seems fair and helps to close down the competition to afford newcomers the ability to catch up with some good picks; the Giro proved that lineup switches and the associated penalties kept the point gains pretty small while allowing strategy to play an interesting role. There is a full overview of the rules and standing at the VSP Schedule, Rules, & Results page, but here is the ten-second overview:
Every contestant is to choose their top five General Classification picks of the race. The final podium of le Grande Boucle is worth 15 points to the winner, 10 points for second, 5 points for third, 3 points for fourth, and 2 point for fifth. Given the effect crashes can have on a tour, we’ve set up some guidelines around making changes to your lineup during the race: you’re allowed to change your lineup if any rider in your pick list drops out for any reason without any penalty; rest days will allow contestants to make changes to their lineup, however those changes will come at a point penalty. (Visit the VSP Schedule, Rules, & Results page for a complete breakdown of these points.)
Every day, the leader in the points standings will have the honor of wearing the Yellow Jersey when posting on the site; the overall winner will wear the Yellow Jersey for the remainder of the season and will also earn an “Obey the Rules” bumper sticker. All reader’s points qualify towards the final prize of the free Velominati Shop Apron. As always, if you are inclined to enter, simply post your predictions for the top five placings.
New to the Tour de France edition is the addition of naming the winner of the Green and Polka-dot jerseys for the Tour. There will be no points awarded towards these two jerseys, but the leader of the competition of these jerseys will have the honor of commenting with a Green or Polka-dot jersey badge throughout the competition and the winner will earn the right to comment with that badge until next year’s Tour. The contestant who picks both the final Green and Polka jersey winners correctly will win a Velominati Logo bumper sticker. Tie-breakers will go to the first contestant who posts their entire lineup (all 5 GC picks plus Green and Polka-dot jersey winners). Given that this sub-competition has no points, pick substitutions will only be granted under the DNF regulations of the VSP; no rest-day substitutions are allowed.
Sub-competitions will be conducted while the Tour is underway for specific stages. These stages will be chosen a few days prior to the stage being held and will be selected based on the current race conditions with the aim of choosing the most decisive and exciting stages of the race, so check back often to make sure you don’t miss out. Sub-competitions will be held in separate editions.
Good luck!
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@Marcus, @Geof
Just saw this on Twitter, via Andy's account:
Basically just my right ankle is untouched! Classic! I can't tell if he's being sarcastic or not!
@Marcus
HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!! TOE CLIPS!!! What a fucking stud.
@Marcus,
You need to find some new riding mates!
@Omar
Either that or become a Velomihottie - the likelihood and extent of assistance offered increasing in direct proportion to the babe-rating of the person requiring it.
@Geof
Something tells me that process would be quite expensive. Not worth it.
@Omar@MarcusJens would be a good idea?
The full story from Sunday:
Here's the full story.
The start:
Wednesday 14th July - Leave Gatwick with Rob. Arrive at Toulouse 6pm, get hire car and hack down to Bazugues to stay.
Thursday - food run and building bikes up. Evening with friends.
Friday - 35 mile ride with Rob around Mirande/Mielan. Felt ok, lumpy roads and warm.
Saturday- leave for Lourdes 9am. Arrive at Miramont hotel, unpack and head to Pau. Register in Etape village and have a browse. Head back to Lourdes for dinner and to meet up with Trek UK boys. Great bunch. Hit the sack at 10pm. No sleep for me until 2am.
Sunday 18th July - Alarm at 4am. My God I'm already knackered.
Leave Lourdes at 5am. Arrive at Pau at 6am. Bikes off, kit on, final checks done. Ride to find start pen for riders numbered from 251-600. See Alain Prost and Erik Zabel. Won't see them again that day.
7am. Start. First 5km plunge down away from Pau. Very, very fast. Lots of fast boys coming past trying to make up places early. Remind myself to pace as planned. First climb, the 4th Cat Cote de Gaye, comes at 20km in. 2.5km long at 7% average. No problems here. Day is still cool and lots of shade. Lulled.
Lumpy to the foot of the first proper climb, the Col de Marie-Blanque. Starts easy enough at 4-5% for the first 6km of its 13km length. 5km left and it veers up to 13% and stays there for the rest of the climb. Crash at the top. Narrow road means a bottleneck and we're all walking for 1km. This walk would cost me a finish. More on that soon. Riding again now. Watch the heart rate, keep it below 180bpm. Don't go into the red on this one.
Over the top of the climb, working really hard and see the Trek Travel feed stop. Descent is amazing. See massive crash. Focus, it's not you. Focus. Out of drinks by now and refill. Small coke and some nuts here. Gels every 45 minutes. Temp is rising now as we approach the second climb.....
Col du Solour. 22km of exposed, 35c Pyreneean hell. Stop at the foot for more drinks from Trek Travel. Start again and can't clip my left foot into my pedal. Push down really hard and it's in. Start the climb. Out of the saddle at 1km in and my left foot is out of the pedal. Can't get it back in now. Can't climb standing. This is really bad news. 21km left to climb at 8% average and can't stand for any of it. Half-way up. Sitting in, working hard, breathing, sweating. Pass rider in Caisse d'Epargne kit being sick. A lot. Carry on, can't think about that. Hit 6km to go. Really suffering now. So hot, no water, no shade. People on the climbs everywhere shouting, 'Allez, Allez'. Their words give me strength. Can't climb off now. Have to get over the top. Finally, 1km to go. Legs burning, dying on the bike. Never suffered like this. Mentally I'm in bits. Stop at the summit. Water. See the Mavic support truck. Ask for a new cleat. Don't carry anyway. I'm stuffed. But I'm riding that descent. More crashes. Focus. Drop like a stone.
Fly down towards Argeles-Gazost. 80kph and carve the turns. Refuel on the straights. Gels. Pass masses of riders here. Starting to recover. Have to get to the final elimination point before 3.30pm. Make it at 3.05pm. Stop 4km later at Trek Travel, more drinks. So hot now. Skin is burning with salt and sweat. What am I doing here? Crying whilst I'm riding now. Tears and sweat. Thinking of home. Do it for them. Suck it up. Ride. Rule No. 5. Harden up. I'm dying.
Sign ahead 'Arrivee 50km'. Can I do this? Start the approach to the Col du Tourmalet. More people than ever now. Man with hose hits me with ice cold water. I stop and stand there to get as much as I can. English couple push me to start. Encouragement and an energy bar. Thank you.
Turn up to start the Tourmalet climb. I have 2 hours 5 minutes to climb the 19km 8.5km average. 160km ridden now and no shade. The heat. Too much. Sitting down has done for me, can't climb. Keep going. Barely turn the pedals. If I stop I won't get back on. Think of home. Do it for them. Crying again. How can I do this? How?
Pass Bareges. Time is running out and I know it. People in bits at the roadside. Thousands already eliminated. Men weeping. Me amongst them. Still riding. 9km to go.
Then it's over. Race Control pass and wave me down. Out of time. 5 miles from the summit they've caught me. Stop. Climb off. Fall down. Cry. Scream. Kick bike. Hate Look pedal cleats. You cost me a finish.
Coach arrives and we climb aboard. Stories traded. Doctor needed for some. Not enough liquid. I've done 19 600ml bottles and 12 gels. Madness.
Arrive at La Mongie. Look enviously at those with finish medals. What might have been. Wait for bike on truck. Never want to see it again. Feel empty. Nothing.
Walk up to find Trek boys. Rob's left for Pau to get our car. He finished, what an effort. 8hrs 42m. Elated that he did it.
Horrible wait to get off the mountain. 3 hours to get back to Lourdes. Back to hotel at 12.30am. Shower, bed, sleep. Don't wake. Dreaming of a finish.
Monday - breakfast, need to eat. Moods have lifted. Trek boys leave for UK. We head back to house in Bazugues. Home, unpack, sleep more. Lunch, sleep. Talk about what happened. Feel like I've let Rob down. Didn't make it. So close. Dinner with friends that night. John, Tina, Lori and Lucas. Lots of beer, laughs and great food. Thank you so much.
Tuesday - break down bikes. Pack. Leave for Toulouse. Arrive at Gatwick at 7pm. Home for 9pm. Hugs. Glad to be home.
Already want to do it again.
@Guy
I'm close to crying just reading this. Outstanding effort - and excellent reportage. Thanks for sharing it.
@Guy
Chapeau Guy
@Guy Just epic Guy and thank you for giving it the perspective that we would all (I mean those of us not racing full time) have. So now we know what to expect! Just one other thought and that is you did more than most with the mechanical you suffered and therefore made it even if you did not "win" no stinkin medal!