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?
[vsp_results id=”30094″/]
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The closing time of the VSP seemed to move this morning. I logged on at 0830 BST(GMT+1) and was told I had 5 hours to pick. This changed while I was browsing the start list. Any idea what happened?
Like wise
Wiggans
Pozzovivo
Kreuziger
Slagter
Henao
@Steampunk
Oh sure, it starts with hobbit doors and the next thing you know, only small cogs and short-reach brakes allowed. If I've said it once, I've said it thrice, that way lies MADNESS!
Yeah - 5 hours to go on the header yet closed?
Wiggo
Costa
Mollema
Pozzovivo
Pinot
Is there something wrong here? The counter is saying 1d 7h to go but the picks are apparently closed - with no posts submitted...
On the off chance I need to get them in, mine are: Wiggo, Roman Kreuziger, Betancur (if he gets his shit together in time), Rui Costa and Bauke Mollema.
Never mind the Tour de Suisse, what a bloody stage finish in the Dauphiné -- Westra stuffs up the sprint yesterday and only comes back today to chase down the leaders, both Katusha no less, to catch them 200m before the finish and take the stage, and Bertie attacks Froome one-and-a-half km from the line, drops him, and takes the leader's jersey. And that after Froome had five Sky riders for company at the bottom of the climb. Bring on le Tour, this could be brilliant.
But Clenbutador, Asthmagate... I think I could be even more conflicted following this than half-heartedly following the World Cup, with it's play-acting and corruption.
@andrew if Contador has 98% of Froome's form at the tour I reckon he can close the gap with racing savvy and mind game.
@delgados you weren't counting on the keepers to accurately determine when the race started were you ?
@Nate
Today's strong finish by Contador (building on his strong spring) really does change the TdF calculations. Daymn. More pressure to add Wiggins to the TdF squad?
Then Wiggins loses 32 seconds in the TT on today's Stage One?! What is up with that?! He badly needed that time, with a strong TT on Friday, to be in the yellow jersey next Sunday.
Is there a rest day? I want to make a change to my VSP picks.
VSP Picks:
1.B. Mollema
2. R Kreuziger
3. B. Wiggins
4.L. Ten Dam
5. T.J. Slagter
@xyxax
I heard Frank's currently penning a piece on the (newfound) virtues of riding a compact and/or triple. Of course, he's also riding a 52 these days, so he still fits through the hobbit door. This place's gone to hell.