One of the loveliest things about the Grand Tours is that you get a feel, by the nature of the route, of the country’s landscape and physical qualities. Italy is littered with mountains and coasts, France is bordered by mountains with large swaths of open landscape throughout, and Spain is like Tatooine; mostly desert with some rocky outcroppings. I might be oversimplifying here, but it seems like every edition of the Vuelta features a week or two of riders cutting through open desert on a freeway and then finishing it off with some climbs that require a buzz-saw gear to get up. Of the three Tours, this one is my least favorite, but it’s a bike race and I loves me a bike race.
The Vuelta also stands apart as being the event which generally decides the Velominati Super Prestige GC and the personalized Shop Apron that goes with it; in past editions, we’ve even had newcomers to the event debut at the Vuelta and win the overall, as was the case last year with @Nate’s performance. Unless I have that wrong, in which case I don’t really care. The important point here is that even though there is less interest in this event than others, it matters quite a bit to the year-long VSP, so you better be paying attention, corporal.
No fancy prizes on offer as we did at the Tour, but we do have our customary Symbol Pack up for grabs, in addition to second and third places winning a pair of Handlebar Cufflinks each when they come available in a few weeks. So, check the race details, get your picks in by the time the countdown clock goes to zero (5am Pacific time on Saturday), and buckle in for the ride. Regular GT VSP rules apply. Good luck.
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VSP PICKS:
1. Contador
2. Froome
3. Purito
4. JVDB
5. De Gendt
More consideration and Anton out, J Rod in, meant to have him there in the first place and Tdg down a spot. I may toss Froome yet, he must be tired.
VSP PICKS:
1. Bertie
2. Froome
3. J rod
4. De gendt
5. Gilbert
VSP PICKS:
1. thero thero thero....thinko
2. thomas (Stelvio) De Gendt
3. boom boom Froome
4. Lars (tree) Boom
5. Jurgen cantfindmy Van den Broeck
thero thero thero thero thero.....thinko is hungry for it...however staying clear of the beel
VSP PICKS:
1. Joaquim Rodriguez
2. Igor Anton
3. Chris Froome
4. Van den Broeck
5. Alberto Contador
If, indeed, Froome was the strongest rider in le Tour then he's got some dry powder left. It certainly didn't look to me like he shot his wad - in fact - it didn't really look like anybody at SKy shot their wad. Marginal gains. That's why Sky is going to steamroll this race too. Which will be boring. What will be fun to watch is Contador lighting shit up when it gets steep and winning rests primarily on his shoulders with a weaker team than Froome. Like him or not, Bertie's gonna hurt some people. The question is whether or not it'll be enough to win. I say almost but not quite.
VSP PICKS:
1. Vroome Vroome
2. Angry Stomach
3. JoRo
4. De Gunt - it's like a FRUP
5. Purito
@Mikael Liddy
Not surprising, really...
VSP PICKS:
1. Contador
2. J Rod
3. Froome
4. Cobo
5. Anto
I almost didn't make this VSP, it's been a long season. The introduction of the women's races has meant I've sometimes had to think of two things at once and that's been tough. Here we go again:
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. De Gent
3. Contador
4. Anton Hernandez
5. Kessiakoff
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. De Gendt
3. Contador
4. Anton Hernandez
5. Kessiakoff