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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@Cyclops
The last one of Lance & Alberto deserves a caption.
@Cyclops Now that is a photo record of carnage.
"Ooh, Bertie, do you use Baxter? I could just gobble you up."
Or not.
@frank
He'll have a really sunburnt neck now, too.
@cyclops, those photos are great!
God, I hate my job.... takes me away from the Tour, and I have to catch up late at night, watching reruns. SO: @Nof Landrien - we obviously aren't going to be friends yet, as you clearly have no taste; @all - yes, I am pro-Brit.. and that is VERY different to being pro-English: the day Andrew Murray wins a Tennis Major, he will be an amazing British Tennis Pro... up until that date, he is a wannabe scottish arriviste. Geraint Thomas may have only come second yesterday (to an angry Thor), but fuck me, he is in the white jersey.... and he rode a ballsy stage... I'm really happy to celebrate his 2nd place.... he may be welsh, but he's also our road race champion. That white jersey can never be taken away from him, and is a pointer to future pedigree... and the guy can ride. Yes CAVENwetDISHrag (that one's mine, by the way) is having a shocker... but you shouldn't fuck with the fates. Quote MotorMouth last year: "When I win the green jersey, I'll treat myself to an Audi R8"... he then DOESN'T win the green jersey, but argues "I was disqualified for a facile reason [the stage narrowed, and I was deemed to be naughty - fair cop], and should have won by the 14 points I was disqualified, so why shouldn't I buy a flash car anyway?"... and then does by an R8.... and look what happens - shit performance, tooth infection, bad PR, poor legs: a) you focus on cycling, cycling, cycling. Rules 5 and 10, nothing else... not flash cars, not girls, not dosh; b) you don't fuck with the gods of mount olympus.... that's why this year is not going Cav's way.... Talking of which, I'm loving Thor... no accident that Nordic god had a hammer..... do you remember that stage last year where he dug deep, buried it over the lumps, and came in to reclaim the green jersey?... and this year... awesome: really classy. Last word of my rant: Contador - a 'broken spoke' slowed me down. He rode really well on the cobbles, so well done... but see my earlier post on what it would be like for him taking the wheel of Vlad... broken spoke, my arse... on the rivet the entire day, being bounced around like a mannequin, more like. Thanks for all the photos of yesterday... a truly iconic stage. Today, me thinks, a tad anticlimactic.
On a related note, I'm still reeling at Spartacus's oh-so-cool-wrists-resting-on-the-bars as he powered over the cobbles while everyone else held on for dear life. I suppose it was the only way to make sure Andy kept up.
@Kermitpunk How can the Schlecks even think of leaving Saxo, when they have the most loyal and dedicated teammates in the entire peloton?? Did you see that photo of Jens standing over F. Schleck on ground? Jens probably holds himself personally responsible, and wishes he could have taken the fall for Frank. And, Cancellara's work for Andy was some of the finest and most effective domestique work I've ever seen.
Here's a long term prediction. The Schlecks on their own Luxembourg team will never be as good as they were with Riis.
@david
Dude, my thoughts exactly. There are some riders who fail to appreciate the network in a team - the DS, the riders, the support staff - and place far too much value on their own ability to pedal their bikes.
I'm personally shocked to read these stories, although I hope they are just rumors. If not, however, they will likely go the way of the Hamiltons of this world and disappear as soon as they depart from the structure that their mentor - in this case Riis - has put in place. That picture, and the "Murderers" quote from Jens just puts him one notch higher on the Awesomeness Ladder. It must be scary all the way up there where that guy is.
Watch this clip and it will make your day: Cavcanttakealosslikeamandish?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ro2nDhJ6Wp8
Hmmm...I sense a disingenuously manipulative substitution from Pont there... Knowing (as I do) that he is a character of dubious moral value, I think this should invoke the Piti Principle. As he was not specific anyway, I suggest that the substitution is only ratified on the basis that Pont has substituted in 'Bad Cadel.'
As such, on the days where Team BMC are nowhere to be found, where journalists encroach on his dogs personal space and when he was good, good, good and then he wasn't, Pont shall accrue the benefit of our mangina chinned, hero.
Time gains made by 'Good Cadel' can be set aside....