Velominati Super Prestige: Vuelta a España 2012

Nibbles wins the 2010 edition of the Vuelta. Photo: Cyclesport Mag

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.

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.

View Comments

  • Unlike in the Tour I'm going to place my bet on the guy that I think is going to win - screw this playing mind games with Fortuna.

    By the evidence of my own eyes Gilbackwards can climb a hill when he wants to.

    Flecha gets in there because if Sky can get Vroom on the top step at least one other Sky rider will work closely enough to get up there too - its Spain so why not Flecha? They watch satellite TV there too.

    It's a shame that Soupe isn't more competitive because then we'd have much better punning opportunities.

    I notice that Jesus is riding for Andalucia...

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Va Va Froome
    2. C*ntador
    3. Gilbackwards
    4. Thomas De Went And Got Me Points
    5. Norman Stanley Flecha

  • Nothing original, but daddy needs some points.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Cothodor
    2. J-Rod
    3. Froome
    4. De Gendt
    5. Cobo

  • @frank hmmm, my picks didn't post but they're showing up in the boxes when I refresh the page as if they've been entered & saved. I've no doubt the cause is the shocking browser my work IT dept foists upon us but can I get you to check if they've registered?

  • Betcha Froome doesn't finish.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Clenbutador
    2. JRod
    3. Menchov
    4. VDB
    5. Hesjedal

  • My only prediction is that Contador won't be as good as he has been; if he is he'll get popped but it will be at another race, not this one.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Contador
    2. Froome
    3. Lars Boom
    4. Menchov
    5. Van Den Broeck

  • Whatever...

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Contadouche
    2. Froome-dog
    3. Jay-Rod
    4. Cobo the Clown
    5. de Gendt

  • Going with the bookies this time.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Alberto Contador
    2. Chris Froome
    3. Joaquim Rodriguez
    4. Juan Jose Cobo
    5. Igor Anton

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