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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Must be a South Australian thing ...... my picks not showing either .......... i.e. Froome, Contador, De Gendt, Rodriguez and Davis
VSP PICKS:
1. cuntador
2. froome
3. jrod
4. anton
5. mollema
VSP PICKS:
1. Contador
2. Froome
3. JRod
4. JJ Cobo
5. Talansky
The position that I reside in is one of desperation and I am forced to make rash decisions, but I shall stand by my picks.
Thank you keepers for hosting an excellent competition and an excellent site that educates as well as inspires, keep up your good work. -Bret
VSP PICKS:
1. Rodriguez
2. Contador
3. De Gent
4. Froome
5. Talansky
Desperate circumstances call for desperate picks.. Thanks for the great competition and all your efforts. Keep the faith, Bret
allright no picks showing tonight so I will drop knowledge manually.
Rodriguez, Contador, De Gent, Froome, Talansky. Thats right! Hope Im not duplicating and making things harder but Im just sure that this is my big chance!!-Island Bike, Bret
VSP PICKS:
1. Contador
2. Froome
3. J Rodriguez
4. Gesink
5. Valverde
I'm betting against Bertie, hoping he just doesn't have the racing in his Spanish legs to close the deal. If Froome is such a bad ass, now is the time to prove it.
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Contador
3. Thomas de Gendt
4. Valverde
5. j-rod
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Contador
3. de Gent
4. Gesink
5. Anton
@Islandbike
Try reloading the page or rebooting the browser. There is no tidy way to put in picks manually. grazie