Velominati Super Prestige: Tour de France
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!
@Nathan Edwards
yes.
@Canarypunk
hear hear. today there was a damn good bike race.
Cool to see Good Cadel show today.
@Nathan Edwards
Strong finish and cool salute. I guess I’m out of yellow and back in green, now.
Great result for Geraint Thomas!
Good riding from Wiggins and Bertie (though he faded at the end).
and go Good Cadel!
Looks like the road looks pretty nice to Cadel and Schleck Jr now…
1 Armstrong
2 Basso
3 Contador
4 F. Schleck
5 Leipheimer
Green: Mark Cavendish
Polka dot: Moncoutie Renaldo Nocentini
Race Master, please replace F. Schleck with Cadel Evans.
That was damn cool racing. Once again, Saxo shows they are the class of peloton. Beautifully timed attack by Cancellara, great effort by Andy to hang on.
@Joe
I think Contador punctured right at the end; that’s why he fell off the back.
@david
Can’t help thinking that Cancellara would have attacked earlier and harder if he wasn’t responsible for delivering Schleck safely to the line.
@frank Thanks btw :)
@Nof Landrien: “Thor deserves no respect.” I was perplexed why a guy with status like Thor would not just tell Spartacus to fuck off. But, I got some info (I forget where, so keep that in mind) that as Cervelo was ready to chase Chavanel, and hence bury the Schlecks, Spartacus neutralized the race not with his informal power and prestige, but by quickly going to the race officials and having them officially neutralize the race. So, Thor was screwed by Spartacus cleverly whinning like a little bitch to officials and had little choice in the matter–perhaps. If this is right, the race officials were played by Spartacus and Riis.
@Kermitpunk
Sure he would have but the guy has class. He proved himself in the spring and is riding for the team. If you’re wondering why he kept pressing today after Frank’s crash and waited yesterday, it’s because today was a bike race. Yesterday was a yard sale and you always wait for your mates at a yard sale.
@Kermitpunk Sure, but it was beautifully timed because (i) it easily split the peloton. The Radio Shack guys were all over the place, hurting, and Cervelo had just got done with their second round of pulls. And, (ii) it was close enough to the finish line that A. Schleck could hang on. On his own, he probably could have gone earlier and won.
How to make Good Cadel: Find dirt roads or Cobblestones and add chaos. I expected him to sit at the end of the line and complain about his dog, but what a stud he turned out to be, again!
Poor Frankie, but it looks like the poor guy took himself down and Contodor with him. Good racing today!
Grimp Jr had the rocking chair ride today….none of the other GC riders had it so easy. Alas, he’s lost his cheif captain in the mountains and he’ll suffer for that. Add in a weak ITT and I think he still could finish out of the top 5. Liking my Menchov / Wiggins axis of evil more and more, both showed some cojones today.
Basso’s got a lot to do, he’ll be strong later though. Evans surely will wilt in the mountains though he was awesome today. Pharmstrong still looks hard, he’ll just slog away. But for a bit of bad luck with that pucture and dropping Kloden and a few other tough boys earlier on he could have put some hurt into Bertie and the others today.
Liking my 5 still. My biggest ? is Bertie – if he carries on looking human, Count Drac might get a sniff of blood and start ‘badgering’ him for the lead….
@Marko
My point exactly. Very classy guy, who provided a real service to his team today. Also impressed (as always) by Jens punishing the peloton as they approached the first patch of cobbles. He had Saxo Bank comfortably out in front. Their team was well-built for these early stages, and it seems to have paid off for Andy.
It will be interesting to see if Frank’s absence is help or hindrance. Great climber, who could certainly help Andy, but I wonder if Andy’s independence might actually work to his advantage when the Tour hits the steep hills.
@all
Updated results. Andy takes the lead with Cadel slipping into third on the GC. Hawkeye and Andy are tied, but Andy takes it due to having the earlier post.
1 Andy 5 points
2 Hawkeye 5 points
3 Marko 1 point
4 Brett 1 point
5 Houdini 1 point
6 Crossy 1 point
7 David 0 points
8 Roadslave 0 points
9 Steampunk 0 points
10 Cyclops 0 points
11 Roberto Marques 0 points
12 Souleur 0 points
13 John 0 points
14 Rob 0 points
15 Dan O 0 points
16 Geof 0 points
17 Marcus 0 points
18 Joe 0 points
19 Ben 0 points
20 Frank 0 points
21 Pont 0 points
22 Scott 0 points
23 Daniel 0 points
24 Joshua 0 points
25 Jarvis 0 points
26 David Edwards 0 points
The race for Green has swung considerably into Steampunk’s favor with Hushovd taking a big lead with his win today. Well done, there.
Polkadots is unchanged with Geof in the lead there as well.
@all
Substitution Update:
AndyJohn and Hawkeye: Please make your substitutions for Christian by the start of Stage 4, the poor guy.Houdini, Jarvis, David, Pont and yours truly also have until the start of Stage 4 to make our subs (and justify any additional swaps) for the fallen Brother Grimpeur the Elder.
T is for THOR:
Boy I dunno man. Bertie may well have won himself the race today. Nobody expected him to do this well today. Christ he put a minute on Pharmy is a minute at most behind Good Cadel and A. Grimp. I think he proved himself a smart rider who learns fast and gets the job done. If I were any of the other GC guys I’d be hitting the drawing board and Rule #5 cantine often and early.
@Marko
Agreed. Last week we were talking about GC contenders needing to put four or five minutes into Contador by today if they hoped to have any chance. Not only did he not crash, but he looked pretty good under the circumstances, and has put them all in a hole (with the exception of Schleck and Cadel, who don’t have nearly enough time for both mountains and TT). If anything, this year’s margin of victory will be even big than last’s…
@Marko
Have to say, I’m starting to feel a bit like Jim wheel-sucking his way down the Tour de Blast; over the past few days, I keep posting: “Yeah, what Marko said.”
not looked at the results for the race yet; I’ve been Rule #5ing a fence line and some escapee cattle. Is that little Geraint showing some real grinta and finishing third? Damn. Good work.
also; I like this jersey
@Kermitpunk
You’re the guy wearing that nice shade of green dude.
@Marko
True: thanks for towing me to the line.
@frank
Frank, I’ve not got VDV in my picks i think. According to my list I should have AC, grimp a, Cadel (good), Menchov and Bradley?
@andy
Right you are. Eyes dropped a line when scanning over the results. John, I meant to say you.
Thanks Andy.
Based on that photo, henceforth Good Cadel shall be known as “the Hapsburg”.
Good racing today.
Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin (on ITV’s on-line coverage) seem to be channelling the worst moments of David Duffield. There was – and this is but one example – a lengthy period where they were waxing lyrical about Geraint Thomas being the first Welsh yellow jersey wearer, apparently oblivious to the simple mathematical reality that Thomas was behind the man he was behind, if you get my drift (i.e., Skodacus). My wife could call the race better.
And what’s with Vino hammering Cuntador in the run in? Vino is a nasty piece of work. As Alice put it (as she opened out like the largest telescope there ever was) “curiouser and curiouser”.
It looks like Thor’s win gave him a chubby.
@ nof: contador said his back brake was dragging on the last run in….
This from Geraint Thomas in an interview with cyclingnews:
“Having the national champion’s jersey on my back, and being in the front group with the world champion, Fabian Cancellara [Saxo Bank] and Thor was amazing. It was a massive buzz going across the cobbles with those guys – you don’t get a better group than that.
I can imagine! Nice bit of modesty from a good, young rider. He looked very impressive today. More:
Thomas has experience on the pavé, having won the junior Paris-Roubaix in 2004. “Yeah, but it’s a bit different with the big boys.”
I’ve not been big on Sky since their inception, but that’s not a bad team they have going. Some good character with Thomas, older sage Barry, Hagen, Flecha. Good ride from Cummings today, too. And Wiggins hasn’t dug himself any holes, either. The kit is appropriately British””devoid of any style””but these guys could do alright…
@nof Oh man, Phil and Paul sucked today. I don’t know how its possible to go from praising Faboo in one breath, to completely forgetting he existed… Although Paul did have one good line; ‘Fabian is really working all three motors today’ (which he then promptly spoiled)
As for Geraint, I think he had a great ride today. Holding onto the wheel of spartacus in classics mode is not easy (just ask tommeke). Sky have got two great prospects in him and EBH, although Geraint needs to sack the track off and concentrate on learning to climb…
Only just noticed that Thor was rocking green Oakleys today.
@andy
I loved the comment by Paul asking if he’d brought spare AAA batteries. What a sense of humor! Loves it!
Phil is wrong so often, I’m not sure why is suddenly matters now. Paul’s got it going on usually, though, and one of my favorite bits is waiting for Paul to correct Phil. Funny shit. During the crashes yesterday, Phil had no idea which way was up. If you’d put him in a swimming pool, he’d have drowned.
@andy
Watching the EuroSport coverage, and reading Whit Yost/Bill Strickland’s live chat – no one had any idea of who was where and which end was up – everyone is watching the same coverage – it was an absolutely clusterflooge. Anyway – helluva stage. I thought Bill Strickland was going to have a coronary.
Either Faboo wasn’t 100% or, more likely, he wasn’t going to go 100% with Andy on his wheel and with the race exploded behind him. He did attack Thor pretty hard, but I think that was just a test balloon.
@frank
Phil and Paul being wrong doesn’t usually bother me, its pretty much pure comedy gold. The Geraint in yellow slip did though, as both of them were caught up in it.
The triple A line was classy
@Kermitpunk
I like their kit… it’s simple.
But I wouldn’t mind rocking in Argyle. Hmm, maybe I just like the kits cos I associate them with my favourite teams. All the Welsh blood in me (about 37.5%) loves that Geriant Thomas came second today.
Btw, anybody know why A Schleck is still eligible for the Young Riders, I thought it was U25s
Now that he has gone successfully over the pavé and emerged unscathed, does Menchov plan to race in Paris-Roubaix some day? The answer from the 32-year-old was unequivocal: “Not on my life.”
Obvious replacement of Cuddles in for F Schleck.
Good to see that at least one of the Brothers Grimpeurs proved that they couldn’t ride Pave by crashing all by himself.
Geraint/Gez/G is a completely down-to-earth guy, doesn’t take himself too seriously but can do the job. I just hope Sky don’t try and mould him into another Wiggins as has been suggested they think he could be…he was climbing OK in the Dauphine without going full-gas. I reckon Thomas would make a far better classics rider and would hate to see that talent wasted as he would only be able to concentrate on the Tour and nothing else. Besides, as long as they work on his time-trialling, Sky already have their successor to Wiggins in Peter Kennaugh.
@andy Thomas won’t sack the track just yet, he’s a Welshman and so knows that he’s got a good chance of bringing Wales some rare international sporting success in the Commonwealth Games (like the Olympics, but only for England & those nations that were conquered and raped by them)
@kermitpunk: “The kit is appropriately British””devoid of any style”
Honestly, chaps… not fair. Go back to Tommy Simpson who was the only guy who gave Merckxx any run for being playboy of the peloton, and a dapper one at that…. and then fast forward to today, with Rapha stocking the best looking kit on the road (OBVIOUSLY excluding Velominati bib shorts – that Rule #1, Rule #5, Rule #10 design is just epic)… I think you can go suck on one.
Geraint rode a fan-fucking-tastic ride to win UK Road Race Champion 2010, and rode a great stage today… out of his league, outgunned (by Spartacus), outclassed by Thor (I regret choosing Cav for Green Jersey… Thor just rocks), he rode like a complete seasoned pro – real heart, courage and fully applying Rule #5…. and I’m even beginning to like Wiggo again… he might have been right that the first day it was worth trading seconds on corners instead of losing minutes to a crash… he rode well today. So quit the brit bashing. I don’t like Sky either… a bit too corporate, but let them do their talking on the road.
I’m honestly not bitter about losing yellow. Like David Millar, and Chris Boardman…. I’m just happy to have had the palmares for a brief moment before you EPO-fuelled Euro trash steam past us. No class.
I’m liking this tour, though.
and @marcus, agree TOTALLY on the podium girls…. Mmmmmm
@roadslave
Who am I to complain, really? On a national front, Canada could have had French cuisine, English culture, and American technology. Instead, we ended up with English cuisine, French technology, and American culture. Massive fail. All I meant was I didn’t like the black bodysuits; they have a mushy peas kind of aura about them””bland. But, yes: liking the riders in them more and more.
@kermitpunk: funny guy – a true canadian: you sound american, but understand irony. Cool. Love the ‘mushy peas comment’…. and I getcha. Currently watching the rerun of today’s stage… just awesome watching them hammer over the cobbles… the dust, the heat, Cancellara putting the hammer down…. just like Paris-Roubaix… I’m feeling a bout of (b)romance coming on… where’s that pinot noir, dammit?
@Kermitpunk
I’m also not a card-carrying Twiggo fanmaniac, but I did like this: “It was carnage but we knew it was going to be carnage, we’ve known for seven months it would be carnage – and it was carnage.”
Armstrong leaving Popovitch on the cobbles…. huh? Irritatingly impressive.
@Geof
Did some more podium girl research last night. Yes indeedy, the young rider presenters are fabulous, including one LAURA ANTOINE who has been invited back for another year! She stood on the left of Thomas – your one stood on his right.
As for my criticism of yesterday, it is levelled at the presenters of the day’s stage winner – however it is not all their fault. The outfits (I believe they may be called pantsuits!) on those poor girls are not flattering.
Ont to the race – go Cadelephant! He rightly pointed out after the stage that a few seconds might not mean much in the Pyrenees, but it is better than the other way around.
@Jarvis
Hey Jarvis – Commonwealth Games isn’t only for countries conquered and raped by England. It also includes the country that dominates those Games – Australia. And we weren’t conquered and raped, just mere recipients of all of your criminals and a questionable electoral system.
Gotta love all the Poms getting hard over a bloke coming second. So typical.
@Marcus
Thanks. Was not able to continue my “research” as coverage here finished. But glad for the confirmation I was no hallucinating.
“Cadelephant”! Love it.
Alright, you Brits. Enough with the patriotism. The vibe here requires bashing everyone at will, except when they exceedingly deserve praise. It seems to promote a nice cosmopolitan atmosphere, where one doesn’t feel compelled to respond when one’s own national heroes are trashed. (If you are a Canadian, you pretend you are an American, and bash Armstrong and Hincappie.)