Velominati Super Prestige: Tour de Suisse 2014

Need more cowbell!  photo: Moses Mexia
Need more cowbell! photo: Moses Mexia

The Tour de Suisse can be everyone’s warm-up for the Tour de France, including all you VSP dreamers. The big show seems to be the Critérium de Dauphanié this year, as far as Tour de France contenders go but the Tour de Suisse still has some big guns showing up. Twiggo is here, not for a Tour warm up, unless people are worried about Richie Porte’s lack of form. If Wiggins was drafted, we would have the potential for another Stephen Roche-Roberto Visentini affair. That would be the best but I’m getting ahead of myself.

The Swiss tour is a proper mix of time trialing and climbing but one might lose more time in the climbing than the time trialing. Rui Costa, the defending champion, has the need to win in his new white kit. Twiggo may have a need to win just to make Sky management sleep badly between now and July. Cancellara has won his home tour but he would need some special mojo to win this one. The racing may well be more interesting than the Critérium de Dauphiné as the eventual winner most likely won’t be decided on the very first day.

As always, look to the countdown timer to avoid a Delgado situation. Here is a start list.

Prizes, we remember the prizes don’t we?

  • First place overall wins a Veloforma Strada iR Velominati Edition frame in addition to the customary VSP winner’s VVorkshop Apron
  • Second place overall wins a set of hand built CR Wheelworks Arenberg wheelset in a custom Velominati paint scheme laced to orange Chris King hubs. (CR Wheelworks is Café Roubaix’s new wheel goods brand.)
  • Third place overall wins a full Velominati V-Kit with accompanying custom orange Bont Vaypor+ road shoes.

[vsp_results id=”30094″/]

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197 Replies to “Velominati Super Prestige: Tour de Suisse 2014”

  1. @wiscot yup, one of the big takeaways I got from Barry’s latest book is how frustrating it must be to be one if Wiggo’s domestiques. No matter how good his form, or their work, all it seems to take is one bad thing to cause him to chuck the toys out if the pram.

  2. @Steampunk

    @wiscot

    Tell me Coppi hasn’t already won:

    If you look like that before OR after a race, you’re a winner. The guy to his right also podiums for style points.

  3. @Steampunk

    @wiscot

    Sure, but with that look in his eye, he was a distant second.

    I hear Andy Schleck has fantasies about being a distant second these days . . .

  4. @Gianni

    Magnus said Fabs hit 116 km/hr on the descent yesterday. Mofo. That’s hauling ass.

    not quite, it was only 113, but have a look at that max cadence!!!

  5. @wiscot

    Damn, Cav looked good today. Straight, drag-out sprint and he won it clear. Looks like OPQS might be getting their train sorted for the Tour.

    Check out his Stage One and Eight wins at the Tour of California. And it was with almost the exact same crew that led him to the line in Ossingen. Stage Eight was beautiful, another straight, drag-out Cav sprint, accelerating past Goss, Sagan, and Degenkolb. Unfortunately for Cav, Boonen won’t be at the TdF.

  6. Is it just me? This race isn’t grabbing me like the Dauphanié, Maybe I’ve been spoiled by some great racing so far this season.

  7. @freddy

    Is it just me? This race isn’t grabbing me like the Dauphanié, Maybe I’ve been spoiled by some great racing so far this season.

    It’s not just you Freddy. I think things have been pretty straight forward and now that Wiggins has killed a lot of VSP picks, the interest level has dropped. Of course, compared to the Dauphine, it was not going to come close.

  8. Damn! Tony Martin, time-triallist extraordinaire and now lead-out man extraordinaire. What a pull he did today – it even split the bunch. I’ll say one thing for Patrick Lefevre, he sure knows how to get his superstars to work as a team for the team.

  9. @wiscot

    Damn! Tony Martin, time-triallist extraordinaire and now lead-out man extraordinaire. What a pull he did today – it even split the bunch. I’ll say one thing for Patrick Lefevre, he sure knows how to get his superstars to work as a team for the team.

    I heard he was training for the “hour” and that so was Wiggo (although there are always endless rumours about him which are largely unfounded) and that someone was trying to organise a 3 way “hour” each in a different city in a different country simultaneously…..what a race that would be Spartacus, Tony and Wiggo head to head!

  10. @Deakus

    @wiscot

    Damn! Tony Martin, time-triallist extraordinaire and now lead-out man extraordinaire. What a pull he did today – it even split the bunch. I’ll say one thing for Patrick Lefevre, he sure knows how to get his superstars to work as a team for the team.

    I heard he was training for the “hour” and that so was Wiggo (although there are always endless rumours about him which are largely unfounded) and that someone was trying to organise a 3 way “hour” each in a different city in a different country simultaneously…..what a race that would be Spartacus, Tony and Wiggo head to head!

    If that’s the case, I’d say Martin’s training is going better!

  11. @wiscot

    Damn! Tony Martin, time-triallist extraordinaire and now lead-out man extraordinaire. What a pull he did today – it even split the bunch. I’ll say one thing for Patrick Lefevre, he sure knows how to get his superstars to work as a team for the team.

    +1. Amazing ride. Watching it, I was starting to wonder if anyone would make it past him before the line! Chapeau.

  12. Assuming Martin and Dumoulin can’t handle the mountain stages this weekend, Mollema and Kreuziger are less than a minute behind the other front runners. Evans and Slagter are in there. And what about Acevedo?

    This is getting interesting!

     

  13. Yes. Yes. Yes. Sweet. To heck with Wiggins, this turned out well!

    Great race from the bottom of the Saas-Fee, Costa is so smooth and he played it perfectly. Makes you wonder if Wiggins, in his best form with good team support, could have beaten Costa.

  14. Chapeau, Rui Costa, as we say around these parts ‘well played sir, well played!’ Talk about a poker face, and leaving everything until the last minute, or 2.5km as it was. A fine ride, a stage and overall.

  15. @Minnesota Expat

    Makes you wonder if Wiggins, in his best form with good team support, could have beaten Costa?

    Corrected with a question mark at the end. Lack luster performances by Froome in the Dauphine’ and Wiggins at the TdS will make an interesting TdF. You just have to now consider Lampre and Costa (maybe with Horner too?) who looks like he is peaking at just the right moment, in your picks.

  16. Well, well. Sky didn’t win this one. Rui Costa wins the final stage and the overall, wearing the arc en ciel.  That is class. Tony Martin loses it in the final stage but also earns stud status with his defense. Chapeau.

    VSP Event:
    [vsp_results id=”30094″/]

    VSP G.C.:
    [vsp_gc year=”2014″/]

  17. And I put Tom Danielson in for fourth place, why, WHY?

    Abandy did not Abandy, 29th place overall. FFS, if that earns him a place on the TDF team, Trek Factory Racing must really suck.

  18. Oops….by Frank, I meant Matthias Frank. Really doubt that the Schlecks are returning to the podium. But I guess you never know with Sir Lambchops miserable failure.

  19. Not sure what I’m more surprised by, getting top score or getting my picks in earlier than another 4 people :-)

  20. @Buck Rogers Yup, and did you see the bit where he went over the speed bump and his real wheel lifted like a foot off the ground? (@3;35 mins) That would be a Jens-like trip to the hospital for most folks.

    And to add to the craziness, I think Sagan topped out at 88kms/hr, Fabs did 113 -25 kms/hr faster.

  21. @wiscot

    @Buck Rogers Yup, and did you see the bit where he went over the speed bump and his real wheel lifted like a foot off the ground? (@3;35 mins) That would be a Jens-like trip to the hospital for most folks.

    And to add to the craziness, I think Sagan topped out at 88kms/hr, Fabs did 113 -25 kms/hr faster.

    Yes.  Insane.  85 kph is my top speed that I have ever done.  I was racing and coming off the back side of Mt Mansfield (Stowe MTN) in Vermont in a race.  SCARED the shit out of me, thank you very much!

  22. “…do not try this at home…do not try this at home…”  Heh heh.

    I did 97 kmph once, just to say that I had. I emphasize “once.” It was on a  wider, smoother road, and I didn’t have my beanbag way down on a sloping top tube. Crazy.

  23. I’ve done about 80kms/hr on a straight downhill with a tailwind. That was plenty. What was it Kelly said he did (nonchalantly) during a Paris-Nice broadcast? 124 km/hr? That’s almost 78 mph. I don’t drive my car that fast.

  24. @wiscot

    Were those unbranded Bonts Costa was wearing as part of the Rainbow Turd ensemble? Sure looked like it.

    yep, they were. I had seen him wearing Sidis in various team shots earlier in the year so it’s cool he is sticking with the Bonts. Or he is getting a lot of money to wear them. Who knows. Frank converted me to Bonts.

  25. @Gianni

    @wiscot

    Were those unbranded Bonts Costa was wearing as part of the Rainbow Turd ensemble? Sure looked like it.

    yep, they were. I had seen him wearing Sidis in various team shots earlier in the year so it’s cool he is sticking with the Bonts. Or he is getting a lot of money to wear them. Who knows. Frank converted me to Bonts.

    You may think you were looking at Sidis, but you may have been looking at an elaborate disguise… (via the Inrng).  Note that he has more than one pair of these slightly odd-looking things.

  26. Speaking of Sidis, I have a pair of Genius Carbons (non-vented) in blue and white that need a new home. Barely worn, size 44. The last and my right foot are not compatible. Anyone interested?

  27. @piwakawaka crazy…such a difference from the overhead views that really take away the speed of the group.  If they could televise both for sprint finishes that would be amazing.

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