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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Well, the UCI suddenly seems interested in going after past dopers, just not "Le Big One".
http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/09/news/uci-suddenly-develops-interest-in-garmin-trio-after-jonathan-vaughters-online-revelations_237857
17 etapa missing Contador attack.
http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/vuelta-ciclista-a-espana/imagenes-del-ataque-contador-collada-hoz/1522924/
Mucho Gracias to Alberto Contador and his fingerbang for winning the Vuelta and for dragging me to the top with him. I just watched the last 50k of today's stage online and that mountaintop finish was amazing. Really regretting that i haven't had more time to watch this years Vuelta but what I have watched has been spectacular.
A stripped jersey next to my name is awesome as hell too
@Ron
For anyone who hasn't seen it. Imlac had a little moan up on ITV4 highlights, saying it's un-professional for a team that hasn't won much. Don't agree though, looks good team building to me.
@meursault Perhaps they are all available and looking for a new team.
@Tartan1749
@Tobin
@San Tonio
To celebrate what should be a 4th place finish in the VSP for me, I went to see the stage in person today. Here are some pics. Sorry, no podium girls, as I'm not VIP enough to get good access.
[dmalbum: path="/velominati.com/wp-content/uploads/readers/Skip/2012.09.09.16.17.25/"/]
@Skip Nice!