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.

Next Guest Article: Why Does Bradley Wear His Polo Shirt Like That? »

Previous « Keepers Tour: Cobbled Classics 2013; More Cobbles, More Bergs, More Beer, More Legends

View Comments

motor city says:

Aug 30 2012 at 12:37 pm

Brilliant final climb on the stage today, so so steep. Really worth trying to watch the last 15 minutes if you can find it.
scaler911 says:

Aug 30 2012 at 4:21 pm

@motor city

Brilliant final climb on the stage today, so so steep. Really worth trying to watch the last 15 minutes if you can find it.

http://www.cyclingfever.com/stage.html?etappe_idd=MjcwMDU=&_ap=video
DerHoggz says:

Aug 30 2012 at 8:03 pm

@wiscot

Is it too early to do a feature on Juan Jose Cobo as an Evanescent Rider?

I queried the same thing last week, great minds and all.
Bianchi Denti says:

Aug 30 2012 at 10:58 pm

@DerHoggz

@wiscot

Is it too early to do a feature on Juan Jose Cobo as an Evanescent Rider?

I queried the same thing last week, great minds and all.

That article could have been written straight after last year's Vuelta finishing ceremony!
frank says:

Aug 31 2012 at 7:13 am

Watching Froome get worked over on the climbs has me wondering: is he cooked from the Tour or is it just an indication of how much slower the climbing was at the Tour without the Pistolero?

Updated provisional standings:

Provisional Race Results
1. RODRIGUEZ OLIVER Joaquin

2. CONTADOR VELASCO Alberto

3. FROOME Christopher

4. VALVERDE Alejandro

5. GESINK Robert

Provisional VSP Standings
1. el gato (47 points)

2. itburns (40 points)

3. Islandbike (36 points)

4. mxlmax (35 points)

5. Two Ball Billy (33 points)

6. Lindrop (29 points)

7. TBONE (28 points)

8. Gianni (28 points)

9. il ciclista medio (26 points)

10. Adrian (26 points)

11. razmaspaz (24 points)

12. LA Dave (23 points)

13. noiyce (23 points)

14. TOM.NELS2120 (21 points)

15. GProsser (21 points)

16. blue (21 points)

17. Noel (21 points)

18. 2000dB (21 points)

19. calves (21 points)

20. napolinige (21 points)

21. Grant Henninger (21 points)

22. Simon (21 points)

23. wiscot (21 points)

24. snoov (21 points)

25. TomC (21 points)

26. The Fish (21 points)

27. moondance (21 points)

28. sprider (21 points)

29. Barracuda (21 points)

30. Lepidopterist (21 points)

31. Ankush (19 points)

32. Mason (19 points)

33. Anais Ninja (18 points)

34. Bianchi Denti (18 points)

35. Jellybean (18 points)

36. the Engine (18 points)

37. Dr C (18 points)

38. Gerard (18 points)

39. xyxax (18 points)

40. ten B (16 points)

41. Mikael Liddy (16 points)

42. graham d.m. (16 points)

43. King Clydesdale (16 points)

44. velomihottie (16 points)

45. CanuckChuck (16 points)

46. Heihachi (15 points)

47. gaswepass (14 points)

48. farzani (13 points)

49. MJ Moquin (13 points)

50. Lukas (13 points)

51. Giles (12 points)

52. dancollins (12 points)

53. RayElVis (12 points)

54. Jay (12 points)

55. Smithers (12 points)

56. pakrat (12 points)

57. erik (11 points)

58. taon24 (11 points)

59. Skinnyphat (11 points)

60. scaler911 (10 points)

61. Deakus (9 points)

62. tony macaroni (9 points)

63. Steampunk (9 points)

64. stickyjumper (9 points)

65. Sauterelle (9 points)

66. sthilzy (9 points)

67. eightzero (9 points)

68. meursault (9 points)

69. R00tdown (9 points)

70. mouse (9 points)

71. ramenvelo (9 points)

72. Fausto (9 points)

73. Rigid (9 points)

74. SimonH (9 points)

75. motor city (9 points)

76. Nosyt (9 points)

77. harminator (9 points)

78. VeloVita (9 points)

79. Duende (9 points)

80. unversio (9 points)

81. Blah (9 points)

82. Enoch (9 points)

83. Buck Rogers (9 points)

84. Daccordi Rider (9 points)

85. Markp (9 points)

86. Gino (9 points)

87. seemunkee (9 points)

88. VirenqueForever (9 points)

89. Nate (9 points)

90. Roadslave525 (9 points)

91. imakecircles (9 points)

92. simonsaunders (9 points)

93. G'phant (9 points)

94. drewPjohnson (9 points)

95. Skip (9 points)

96. Ron (9 points)

97. Tobin (9 points)

98. Mikel Pearce (9 points)

99. Mikel Pearce (9 points)

100. San Tonio (7 points)

101. Oli (7 points)

102. Trobs (6 points)

103. Flying Crowbar (6 points)

104. Xyverz (6 points)

105. minion (6 points)

106. Cyclops (6 points)

107. Benny (6 points)

108. Matt (6 points)

109. Jonny (6 points)

110. The Oracle (6 points)

111. Souleur (6 points)

112. Chappy McPappystackings (6 points)

113. Chris Schneider (6 points)

114. DerHoggz (6 points)

115. brett (6 points)

116. Dashiell (3 points)

117. RedRanger (1 points)

118. Marko (0 points)

119. ChrisO (0 points)
meursault says:

Aug 31 2012 at 9:12 am

Seems to me Froome is feeling the pressure of being GC rider. Plus I am not sure how Sky compares in strength to tour team.
meursault says:

Aug 31 2012 at 9:13 am

Did I lose some points? I didn't make any rest day swaps.
Nate says:

Aug 31 2012 at 9:27 am

Bye, bye, ugly shirt sleeves (and baseball caps)? Rapha to kit out Team Sky next year.
Gianni says:

Aug 31 2012 at 11:58 am

@Nate This should be interesting, Rapha's slightly retro design and a modern cycling team. Maybe it will make their stuff more affordable? Somehow I doubt it. Maybe they will go mod on Sky, at Wiggo's urging.
Nate says:

Aug 31 2012 at 12:13 pm

@Gianni

@Nate This should be interesting, Rapha's slightly retro design and a modern cycling team. Maybe it will make their stuff more affordable? Somehow I doubt it. Maybe they will go mod on Sky, at Wiggo's urging.

It won't be hard for them to improve. And slightly OT, but the stripey jersey icon looks good on you.