Velominati Super Prestige: Tour de Suisse

A big man playing where little men frolic. Photo: Sirotti

The Tour de Suisse is the last warm-up race prior to the Tour, and the last chance to test your form. As far as Tour rivalries go, we typically see one rival choose the Dauphiné and one la Suisse; it’s unpleasant to ruffle your feathers too much with a pre-Tour head-to-head, you see.

While the Dauphiné has the benefit of previewing some of the Tour’s stages in a race situation, the Tour de Suisse has the benefit of including the only thing more sinister than cobbled bergs: a cobbled mountain pass. This road also holds the distinction of being the only one where I feel more sympathy for the road layers than I do the riders.

Aside from rivals and masochism, the key factors determining which race to ride have to do with the timing of the peak: this race features a full week later in the calendar than does the Dauphiné, and based on the Tour’s parcours and rhythm of the rider’s season, this race may have better timing. But in any case, as with the Critérium, the effort is a dangerous gamble: ride too hard and you could fire off the Guns enter the Tour with little more than starter pistols. Balance, balance.

So, as the Dauphiné winds down, it’s time to start thinking about Suisse, our last VSP before le Tour. Get your picks in by 5am Pacific on Saturday morning. Same drill as usual: Being a week-long stage race, the points on offer are 7 for first, 5 for second, 4 for third, 3 for fourth, 2 for fifth, with the usual allotment of bonus points for getting the rider right but the place wrong. Also, there are no rest days, so no rest day swaps, but we will have our usual approach for riders who drop out. Piti Principle applies as always. Also review the guide, being careful to note that the rules have changed a bit this year, and we may not have completely updated the guide yet, so if there’s a question, ask.

May Merckx be with you all.

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

frank says:

Jun 16 2011 at 1:45 pm

@Buck Rogers

Frank: As much as I would love to have 4 points, I should only have one point. I am getting three points for having A Schleck in 4th place (it's misreading him as Frank).

Right you are. Corrected. In the future, you can dispute them automatically (without needing to post a comment) by clicking the down-arrow next to your pick and clicking "dispute".
Cyclops says:

Jun 16 2011 at 1:50 pm

@frank @all

I LOVE Campagnolo and DA works impeccabley but come on, SRAM Red (and even Force) is lighter and cost half as much.

And it's 'Mericun. That's one of the other things I like about my new bike - I think the only thing on it that is made in Taiwan are the water bottle cages. Oh, I forgot, I guess I have a DA chain/cassette now.
Alpin says:

Jun 16 2011 at 1:52 pm

last news on Juan Maurico Soler's Crash ...
(approximative translation)

Juan Mauricio Soler (Movistar), who struck a spectator on Thursday, was placed in an artificial coma. Doctors do not yet know if his life is in danger.

Juan Mauricio Soler has been placed in a medically induced coma Thursday for surgery to a fractured skull after his fall at the sixth stage of the Tour de Suisse. The Colombian, who hit a spectator in the beginning of the course, had lost consciousness, a broken ankle and head bloodied. The spectator is suffering from "minor injuries", according to doctors.

Soler, who was second overall, was transported by helicopter to hospital where doctors also diagnosed him with a skull fracture hematoma to the brain, and placed him on life support because of an affected lung. "He has serious injuries, but we can not say now if his life is in danger," said Dr. Robert Kretsch.

news 1

news 2
minion says:

Jun 16 2011 at 1:58 pm

Isn't Sram getting a bit stale? Since they bought out their road group the only thing they've changed has been renaming it RedBlack or putting tour colours on the shifters. In that time, Campy's gone to 11, Shimano's revamped their shifter shape, plus bought out electric, plus introduced asymetric chains, blah blah blah. Is this accurate or am I getting it wrong? It is cheaper than Dura Ace but not so much here I think.
(Americans, flame on - there's a lot of Sram lovers in the US)

Are DA components made in Japan? Don't know about drivetrain, but I thought that was the reason for price premium.
minion says:

Jun 16 2011 at 2:00 pm

Plus there was Sram's response to DI2, which was to try and use viral marketing to boost the organic feel of cables, make old school cool, etc...
sgt says:

Jun 16 2011 at 2:09 pm

minion:
Plus there was Sram's response to DI2, which was to try and use viral marketing to boost the organic feel of cables, make old school cool, etc...

"Steel is real, and cables are stable", eh?
minion says:

Jun 16 2011 at 2:50 pm

Yeah, I think it failed because the marketing concept was leaked and got a predictable backlash against perceived lack of innovation. That was a while ago now as well, around 12 months (waiting for Bretto or Oli to chime in.) And it wasn't a good marketing match - early adaptors and weight weenies love Sram, crusty old soap dodgers on 30 year old steel bikes with down tube shifters and spd sandals snagging their beards are the ones who think the cables for their 5 speeds are a new innovation worth trying out. Not the best marketing concept ever.
RedRanger says:

Jun 16 2011 at 3:23 pm

@Cyclops
How about that frame?
minion says:

Jun 16 2011 at 4:09 pm

@minion

http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=81977&hilit=sram+marketing+electronic Google search to prove I'm not crazy.
Marcus says:

Jun 16 2011 at 4:19 pm

@Cyclops

@frank @all
I LOVE Campagnolo and DA works impeccabley but come on, SRAM Red (and even Force) is lighter and cost half as much.
And it's 'Mericun. That's one of the other things I like about my new bike - I think the only thing on it that is made in Taiwan are the water bottle cages. Oh, I forgot, I guess I have a DA chain/cassette now.

The Taiwanese et al make good sh-t these days. Asian manufacturing standards (as a mass generalisation of a continent) are superior to just about anywhere else. But good news for you Cycey is that a lot more stuff is going to start getting manufactured back in the US of A over the next few decades... Coz your cost of labor is gonna go right down along with the Greenback.

Does it warm the cockles of your heart to ride a Look frame manufactured in Tunisia?