Velominati Super Prestige: Vuelta a España 2017

Contador in the Red in 2014

Holy fuckballs. I’ve never been this late ever on a VSP. I mean, I’ve missed them entirely – which is another kind of incompetence entirely – but I’m shocked at how quickly this week blew by me. I think I have whiplash.

Be that as it may, the Vuelta is on our doorstep, and before you panic, I’ll leave the picks open until Monday so we have enough time to screw up our picks despite knowing who crashes out in the first few days.

This is actually exciting stuff. We have some serious grudge-matching going on here for the Vuelta. Chris Froome is double-talking, Bardet is trash-talking, and Contador is exit-talking. This could be interesting.

On the subject of Bardet, he is my new Schleck. I love how he looks on the bike, and he’s got a fighting spirit. And he rides a white bike, which is the color bike I’m obsessed with. And I’m equally sure he will never win a major bike race, on account that I fancy him. (Roman, if you are reading this, I ask your forgiveness.)

Alright, I’ll stop faffing about. Check the start list, get your picks in, and let’s get this party started.

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.

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View Comments

Teocalli says:

Sep 6 2017 at 1:13 pm

@Ron

I'm sure I've told you this before but you are not old my friend. Plenty of time left before that!
RobSandy says:

Sep 7 2017 at 1:01 am

@Ron

On a brighter note, I zip tied the mount in place. Getting old sucks. I used to take an impact like that in contact sports daily and not even notice. Not today, not today my friends.

0

I hope the guys who used to tackle you weren't made of tarmac. Crashing hurts, heal up quick.
wiscot says:

Sep 7 2017 at 6:10 am

@Ron

Unrelated to the Vuelta, but want to out myself for a stupid move. Riding to the library last night, heading down this big hill leading out of my neighborhood. For some reason, the world-class university has decided to not light this part of campus at all. I lean down to turn on a light mounted on my fork. The mount slips and goes down the fork, with the light pinging into the spokes. So leaning forward, half off the bike, I grab my left (front) brake way too hard. It’s a v-brake and works great, but modulation is difficult as it’s so smooth.

I go (insert what ass over tea kettle phrase you like here) head first over the bike, landing on my shoulder and elbow. Surprisingly, I only drew a few scrapes and blood. But today, my entire right torso is sore as heck, as is my right elbow and knee. Oh, and neck. I commuted to work today, but couldn’t imagine a 200k + stage. Those bastards are HardMen.

On a brighter note, I zip tied the mount in place. Getting old sucks. I used to take an impact like that in contact sports daily and not even notice. Not today, not today my friends.

0

Lucky man! Could have been much worse! Hope you feel better soon.

I had a narrow one myself on Monday helping a pal get a duck hunting boat out of a lake in southern Indiana. I was carrying the front of the boat up the metal trailer ramp and my legs slipped out from under me. The bow of the boat came down hard on the upper inside of my right kneecap. Small scrape and some pain, but all seems to be ok. Just as well: I'm riding the Door County century this weekend.

Aqua Blue Sport. Worst jersey ever? No sponsor name on the front. What genius designed that? Discuss.
Ron says:

Sep 7 2017 at 11:53 am

Thanks, guys. This is my commuter bike, so just cheapo Tektro V's paired with Avid levers. Very nice pull action, but modulating with one hand/brake is NOT easy.

So sore can barely move my right arm and my right knee is swollen as hell. Very sore, but I don't think it's anything long-term.

It all happened so fast, as crashes usually do. Went down hard though, one of those where you get a weird taste in your mouth from the impact (not blood).

Dropping a boat on yourself? Ouch!
Rick says:

Sep 7 2017 at 3:10 pm

This is the attitude that is ruining Grand Tours. If Lemond would have had this attitude he The Professor would have another Tour win.

I am not trying to pick on Kelderman, many riders seem to have this attitude these days.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/kelderman-i-will-fight-for-the-vuelta-a-espana-podium/

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/kelderman-nibali-and-zakarin-are-my-vuelta-a-espana-rivals-not-froome/
Cary says:

Sep 7 2017 at 3:35 pm

@Rick

This is the attitude that is ruining Grand Tours. If Lemond would have had this attitude he The Professor would have another Tour win.

I am not trying to pick on Kelderman, many riders seem to have this attitude these days.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/kelderman-i-will-fight-for-the-vuelta-a-espana-podium/

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/kelderman-nibali-and-zakarin-are-my-vuelta-a-espana-rivals-not-froome/

0

i blame the rise of data-driven cycling for this, and many other ills. data clearly works, though. Kelderman is likely correct in his assessment.
Rick says:

Sep 7 2017 at 5:07 pm

@Cary

@Rick

This is the attitude that is ruining Grand Tours. If Lemond would have had this attitude he The Professor would have another Tour win.

I am not trying to pick on Kelderman, many riders seem to have this attitude these days.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/kelderman-i-will-fight-for-the-vuelta-a-espana-podium/

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/kelderman-nibali-and-zakarin-are-my-vuelta-a-espana-rivals-not-froome/

0

i blame the rise of data-driven cycling for this, and many other ills. data clearly works, though. Kelderman is likely correct in his assessment.

0

It is not just Kelderman. It is Uran sucking wheels the entire Tour, happy to finish second by less than a minute. Data isn't it is the riding to finish second or third or tenth that is ruining the sport. I blame the everyone gets a trophy culture.
RobSandy says:

Sep 8 2017 at 1:00 am

@Rick

@Cary

@Rick

This is the attitude that is ruining Grand Tours. If Lemond would have had this attitude he The Professor would have another Tour win.

I am not trying to pick on Kelderman, many riders seem to have this attitude these days.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/kelderman-i-will-fight-for-the-vuelta-a-espana-podium/

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/kelderman-nibali-and-zakarin-are-my-vuelta-a-espana-rivals-not-froome/

0

i blame the rise of data-driven cycling for this, and many other ills. data clearly works, though. Kelderman is likely correct in his assessment.

0

It is not just Kelderman. It is Uran sucking wheels the entire Tour, happy to finish second by less than a minute. Data isn’t it is the riding to finish second or third or tenth that is ruining the sport. I blame the everyone gets a trophy culture.

0

I guess the value of a result, any result, to the team and the rider also contributes. These guys will get a big paycheck for finishing top 5 or top 10 -why risk that trying to challenge the race leader?

If you get it wrong you can really fall from contention - see Adam Yates and Chaves.
Ron says:

Sep 8 2017 at 9:15 am

@davidlhill

@Cary

for me, excessive focus on hr and power has sucked a bit of the joy out of some group riding, and even watching certain races. i know people that cannot talk about anything else on a group ride. i have seen SO many crashes and other avoidable blunders on local rides due to lack of proper awareness and focus. indeed, the idea that made the Velominati rules, and this community so attractive to me initially, was the embrace of the ride, and the awareness and soft focus necessary to fully EXPERIENCE it. cycling on many levels, has turned into a live action SIMS game

Agreed. I for one have removed my bike computer. I let my phone record my ride so after I’ve finished I can see how far, how hard, how fast I went. During the ride I go with feel.

0

Uh, as someone who still loves the size, simplicity, and durability of plain old Nokia "brick" phones, how does this work? Do you need a sensor on the bike or can the phone do it alone?

I like to know distance and total time, for fun and for charting parts-life, and would LOVE to get even my basic computers off the bike. Please enlighten me.
Teocalli says:

Sep 8 2017 at 9:39 am

@Ron

You just need a smart phone and run something like Strava on it. Smartphones have GPS inbuilt. Only potential downside is log rides as it does tend to chew the battery vs the capacity of a dedicated GPS. Might be better on newer phones though.