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!
I know as well as any of you that I've been checked out lately, kind…
Peter Sagan has undergone quite the transformation over the years; starting as a brash and…
The Women's road race has to be my favorite one-day road race after Paris-Roubaix and…
Holy fuckballs. I've never been this late ever on a VSP. I mean, I've missed…
This week we are currently in is the most boring week of the year. After…
I have memories of my life before Cycling, but as the years wear slowly on…
View Comments
@brett"2: An awesome Cadel. The rainbow will cast a spell over him and propel him onto Bertie's wheel until he's the last man dropped. 2 minutes back at the end."
I love it!
But I don't see it?
Why does everyone assume that Contador is going to crash on the cobbles?
@Steampunk
Had a friend refer to him the other day as "Ooh, Alberto" after those really bad shampoo commercials from the 1980s. I guess there is something silky smooth about his climbing style...
Because he's tiny, because he's scared, and because everyone knows it.
To quote Liggett talking on Motorcus: "These big guys, they know the key to surviving on the cobbles.. you put it in a big gear and keep accelerating... the momentum does the rest." Despite the obvious flaw in the argument ["keep accelerating", which would soon have cyclists breaking laws of physics and achieving relativistic speeds (which I reckon Spartacus could actually do, he's so awesome... but I do have a mancrush on him)], it does mean that AC, with his high cadence, small frame, small cog cycling approach, coupled with the panic that is seeping out of his eyes everytime someone asks him how he's feeling about the first week means he is dooooomed. Every team is going to be coming up behind him on the approach to pave yelling boo! If there is a crosswind he'll end up in a ditch, or not catch the break (did you see last year?), and Count Dracula just won't understand why AC can't keep his wheel ["I ride hard all day, you stick to my wheel.... where have you gone again? Fuck, Keep up and stop bouncing around, you little spanish prig. Rule 5"]
Also, I don't know if you've read 'Tour de Force' (quite good read on LA's TdF story upto 2004... if a little biased, and yes, it does dodge the doping issue), there is a fantastic breakdown of the 2003 opening stage where there was a mass pileup and Tyler Hamilton broke his collarbone... worth reading the book just for that section: Basically, everyone knew the road was going to narrow, the cobbles were slippery, so for 20km before that section, the entire peloton got jittery and nervous, with some anxious acceleration... basically ending in a mass pileup before the cobbles even started because everyone was so nervous. That's going to be AC, that is.
If it doesnt' happen, its game over for everyone else, as he is going to kill everyone in the Pyrenees... having ridden the stage on 22nd, it is suited to him (and not to fat bastards like me, nearly killed me): Marie Blanque is fucking steep, the Soulor is fucking long, and the Tourmalet is both... flats in the middle will be fast... will suit a light grimpeur who can climb at pace: AC and noone else. The old men will be out the back door, me fears.
@Steampunk
Personally I don't think he's going to crash on the cobbles due to his own bike handling. He'll stay upright if his team can keep him near the front of the peloton. But therein lies the rub. I don't think Astana will be able to keep him in a safe enough place to avoid problems when they arise. This is what radioshack, saxo, bmc, and even garmin are going to exploit. It's really their only best chance to put serious time into the little silky smooth fella. Saxo has a horse in the race with Faboo. He's prolly got two stage wins on his mind, the cobbles and the TT. Lord knows he can ride the shit out of both. Radioshack can handle the stones well enough. 27th at Flanders for LA was a strong showing. He rode that race smartly and has the savvy to be in the right place at the right time. Add the God of Thunder to the mix and some fellows from BMC and the next thing you know El Pistolero has his work cut out for him the next 2 and a half weeks. Now, he's more than capable of making up a 6, 8, 10 minute deficit mano y mano, but again, Saxo and the Shack are going to exploit that shit. If this scenario holds any water at all and Bertie pulls out the win, he's cemented himself as one of the greatest champions of all time.
@david
Maybe the LA pick isn't all that crazy. That's what I like to think anyway. Again, 27th and smart riding at Flanders this year and third at TdS. Also, last year was his first year back. He was 12th at the Giro which doesn't happen unless you're riding hard and 3rd at the Tour. Add to that a broken collarbone, a new baby, and "riding" for someone else and it's hard to believe he was as good as he could have been. His dream team is in place (save Haimar) and all things indicate he is in better shape than last year. Alberto is THE marked man this year. Everyone with a GC man in the hunt is going to try to take him out early and often. If he makes it to the Pyrenees or the TT with anything less than a double digit minute deficit the race is over.
I dunno. I think he could surprise. He's been riding on cobbles in training all through the spring"”riding with Peter Van Petegem, who knows a thing or two about cobbles. Can't help thinking guys like Vino and Noval will work to keep him up front and out of trouble. Of course, dropping a few minutes would make the Tour more interesting...
The other fellow who hasn't been mentioned much here is Carlos Sastre, who has apparently recovered from his back problems after the Giro. He was unspectacular there, apart from a pretty impressive climb up the Zoncolan, finishing fifth after starting more or less last. It seems like the Pyrenees offer more than a couple of climbs that would suit him. I don't see him as a serious GC contender without much team support, but he's a guy who could literally and figuratively climb up the standings in that final week.
@Steampunk
I agree, he could surprise. Like I said, he won't undo himself on the cobbles, if guys put time into him there it'll be the product of tactics. Berts cannot be out-ridden. So he's not looking to surprise on stage three, he's looking to maintain. If peeps get surprised by him coming in with the main group they don't understand Contador.
@Marko
Thanks, Marko: this is what I think I was getting at.