Velominati Super Prestige: Tour de Suisse 2014

Need more cowbell! photo: Moses Mexia

The Tour de Suisse can be everyone’s warm-up for the Tour de France, including all you VSP dreamers. The big show seems to be the Critérium de Dauphanié this year, as far as Tour de France contenders go but the Tour de Suisse still has some big guns showing up. Twiggo is here, not for a Tour warm up, unless people are worried about Richie Porte’s lack of form. If Wiggins was drafted, we would have the potential for another Stephen Roche-Roberto Visentini affair. That would be the best but I’m getting ahead of myself.

The Swiss tour is a proper mix of time trialing and climbing but one might lose more time in the climbing than the time trialing. Rui Costa, the defending champion, has the need to win in his new white kit. Twiggo may have a need to win just to make Sky management sleep badly between now and July. Cancellara has won his home tour but he would need some special mojo to win this one. The racing may well be more interesting than the Critérium de Dauphiné as the eventual winner most likely won’t be decided on the very first day.

As always, look to the countdown timer to avoid a Delgado situation. Here is a start list.

Prizes, we remember the prizes don’t we?

  • First place overall wins a Veloforma Strada iR Velominati Edition frame in addition to the customary VSP winner’s VVorkshop Apron
  • Second place overall wins a set of hand built CR Wheelworks Arenberg wheelset in a custom Velominati paint scheme laced to orange Chris King hubs. (CR Wheelworks is Café Roubaix’s new wheel goods brand.)
  • Third place overall wins a full Velominati V-Kit with accompanying custom orange Bont Vaypor+ road shoes.

[vsp_results id=”30094″/]

Gianni

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  • @wiscot

    Damn! Tony Martin, time-triallist extraordinaire and now lead-out man extraordinaire. What a pull he did today - it even split the bunch. I'll say one thing for Patrick Lefevre, he sure knows how to get his superstars to work as a team for the team.

    I heard he was training for the "hour" and that so was Wiggo (although there are always endless rumours about him which are largely unfounded) and that someone was trying to organise a 3 way "hour" each in a different city in a different country simultaneously.....what a race that would be Spartacus, Tony and Wiggo head to head!

  • @Deakus

    @wiscot

    Damn! Tony Martin, time-triallist extraordinaire and now lead-out man extraordinaire. What a pull he did today - it even split the bunch. I'll say one thing for Patrick Lefevre, he sure knows how to get his superstars to work as a team for the team.

    I heard he was training for the "hour" and that so was Wiggo (although there are always endless rumours about him which are largely unfounded) and that someone was trying to organise a 3 way "hour" each in a different city in a different country simultaneously.....what a race that would be Spartacus, Tony and Wiggo head to head!

    If that's the case, I'd say Martin's training is going better!

  • @wiscot

    Damn! Tony Martin, time-triallist extraordinaire and now lead-out man extraordinaire. What a pull he did today - it even split the bunch. I'll say one thing for Patrick Lefevre, he sure knows how to get his superstars to work as a team for the team.

    +1. Amazing ride. Watching it, I was starting to wonder if anyone would make it past him before the line! Chapeau.

  • Assuming Martin and Dumoulin can't handle the mountain stages this weekend, Mollema and Kreuziger are less than a minute behind the other front runners. Evans and Slagter are in there. And what about Acevedo?

    This is getting interesting!

     

  • Yes. Yes. Yes. Sweet. To heck with Wiggins, this turned out well!

    Great race from the bottom of the Saas-Fee, Costa is so smooth and he played it perfectly. Makes you wonder if Wiggins, in his best form with good team support, could have beaten Costa.

  • Chapeau, Rui Costa, as we say around these parts 'well played sir, well played!' Talk about a poker face, and leaving everything until the last minute, or 2.5km as it was. A fine ride, a stage and overall.

  • @Minnesota Expat

    Makes you wonder if Wiggins, in his best form with good team support, could have beaten Costa?

    Corrected with a question mark at the end. Lack luster performances by Froome in the Dauphine' and Wiggins at the TdS will make an interesting TdF. You just have to now consider Lampre and Costa (maybe with Horner too?) who looks like he is peaking at just the right moment, in your picks.

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