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.
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And great racing today.
I think I would like to name my son, if I have one, Laurens ten Dam. Boss hair, cool name.
@minion
At my local coffee shop the other day, and was having this conversation with the proprietor who used to build bikes, was a national team mechanic, and connected with Cervelo for some time. His strong preference was Shimano (across the spectrum) as the best value and quality at the going prices.
SRAM's great on mountain bikes, but they're still behind the curve on the road stuff. The stuff is good, but there's a reason it's cheaper, too.
@Steampunk
On some level, I definitely agree. Especially mid-range Shimano is bomber stuff. I have 8-speed 105 that I bought 20 years ago that has seen nothing but new cables, chains and cassettes and it still works perfectly.
I'd also like to remind everyone that SRAM is not cheap - at least not SRAM Red. Before Campa went 11spd and Shimano went to their latest, SRAM was the most expensive group by several hundred bux.
In the end, I prefer Campa not only because I love the looks, but it's the most quiet - at least the 10spd is (I'm not upgrading to 11spd - more isn't always better, and I hear it's much noisier...and I just don't like the looks of the new levers.)
The Principle of Silence is more than just pleasant and peaceful, it also means you have an efficient machine. Every bit of noise - especially drivetrain noise - is lost energy because it takes energy to create the noise, and that's energy not going into making your bike move forward.
This becomes particularly acute when I'm pedaling squares up a big hill and my drivetrain is tic-tic-tic-ing. Obviously it's the lost energy in the noise, and not my form that's the issue there.
A change in the overall as Bulky Mollema dropped down to fifth. G'Phant takes the lead. What will the ITT bring tomorrow? Certainly not a Grimpelder on the top step.
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Wow, tied for high points. Sadly though, Frank is surely right about Schleck and the ITT, I see Levi Leipfrogging him into at least third and maybe second... and my lucky seven turning back into a 2....
@frank
Check the stats. Mollema is in there twice. Stevo is the one who is second.
@LA Dave
Under the circumstances, I'm looking pretty good. I've got Schleck for fourth and Mollema for fifth. If Fuglsang is light's out and jumps to second, I could be in the money. And if Klöden wins by, like, 40 minutes, that would be magic. It does mean I need Kruijswijk and/or Eggtimer to have an off-day...
@Netraam
Right you are. Corrected. That's the second time that's happened where I could swear the results show something different than I put in there. Don't know if it's user error or a bug, but either way it points at me. Bugger.
Balky Mulema is pissed that Leopard Trek hit the gas when he flatted with 15 km to go in today's stage. (Link for Frank)
@Steampunk
I can easily see things working out in your favor... well except for the Kloden part. Wish it would happen though, I had him winning as well, I could use the points!