Velominati Super Prestige:
Giro D'Italia 2013
Velominati Community Profile Archive

Velominatus: JohnB

Order: Level 2 Velominatus

Location: Arbroath

Social:

Cyclist and cycling fan based on east coast of Scotland. I enjoy the road, track, MTB and commuting. The TT never did it for me. Occasionally I do get to ride in the sun. Pleasantly surprised by my hitherto unknown compliance with The Rules.

@JohnB's activity:

Guest Article: Down with the YJA

Bicycles and automobiles- can’t we all just get along? @Kah writes about this universal (do aliens have this issue also?) problem of us co-existing with humans in cars. We all drive cars too and have cursed the occasional cyclists for some good reason. Cars are our greatest threat. We can crawl away from our own bicycle crashes, thanks very m...

@JohnB's posts:

  1. Other colours only exist to show just how black black is. »

  2. A timely article and I agree completely with the view that encouraging the wearing of hi viz and up to a point, a helmet, gives the impression that cycling is unsafe. Pedal on Parliament in Edinburgh on Sunday (www.pedalonparliament.org) is encouraging 10… »

Descendeur

We close out the 6 Days of the Giro with our sixth and final installment.A body at rest, stays at rest. A body in motion, stays in motion. Things get a bit more ambiguous when it comes to a body on a bicycle tearing down a twisty mountain descent at speed, particularly in the rain. But it is here, on the boundary between clarity and ambiguity, wher...

@JohnB's posts:

  1. @snoov Standby for the Cogal @snoov. I’m not the greatest at descending at all but I always get a speed wobble descending off Cairn O Mount, usually approaching 75kph if my wireless computer can actually record that speed reliably. VDO proving to be dis… »

Velominati Super Prestige: Giro d’Italia 2013, Stage 10

Day 5 of the Six Days of the Giro continues with an impromptu VSP event.Lets have a look at where we are in the 2013 Giro. Wiggins must have spent time training in Luxembourg because he’s been descending like a Schleck when things get dodgy before disappearing into the team van to have a cry about it. Hesjedal has put in some good moves and...

@JohnB's posts:

  1. @Buck Rogers FFS! Cycling and cynicism hand in hand. There is no hope, no future, why even try?. What will the sport be like in the 25th Century Buck? Just the same for you I wager. »

  2. The sun is out, new tyres fitted. Rapha hastily fit airbags to their kit. Wiggins attacks, Betancur tries again but is happy with another 2nd, Ryder deploys Plan B early doors. VSP PICKS: 1. Wiggins 2. Betancur 3. Hesjedal 4. Nibali 5. Evans »

Velominati Super Prestige: Giro D’Italia 2013

Twiggo is dreaming of a Giro-Tour double. He has sent out mixed messages about his Tour ambitions. Will he use the Giro as the ultimate Tour preparation or will be burn all his matches in May and hope he can find another pack for July? He has abandoned his successful 2012 Tour run-up strategy of winning every stage race he entered the previous spri...

@JohnB's posts:

  1. Mini out Evans in. VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps): 1. Bradley Wiggins 2. Vincenzo Nibali 3. Ryder Hesjedal 4. Cadel Evans 5. Robert Kiserlovski »

Scottish Cogal 2013

Date/Time: 8th June 2013Meeting at the Car Park near where I live which is free at VV to nine. We’ll then roll into town for a coffee stop at Empire State Coffee which serves the best coffee in Dundee according to the VMH. Then we ride all the way up to Cairn ‘O’ Mount at which point there are several options. For those with the l...

@JohnB's posts:

  1. Date/Time: 8th June 2013

    Location:  Magdalen Yard Road Car Park, Dundee, DD1 4NB
    Route Details:  170km starting in Dundee, reaching Cairn ‘O’ Mount, over the top riding a wee loop then back over and home to Dundee.

    Meeting at the Car Park near where I live which is free at VV to nine. We’ll then roll into town for a coffee stop at Empire State Coffee which serves the best coffee in Dundee according to the VMH. Then we ride all the way up to Cairn ‘O’ Mount at which point there are several options. For those with the legs it’s over the top and round a small loop before coming back over the Mount to then stop at The Clattering Brig for refreshments. Option Two is to ride up to the top, turn around and wait for those going over at TCB. The third Option is to just stop at The Clattering Brig and not take on the climb but I hope no-one chooses this option. Then the party of Velominati will travel back to the Car Park where showering facilities will be available at my place as well as some food before we walk a short distance for the recovery beverages. The long route climbing the Cairn ‘O’ Mount from both sides is about 170km. All welcome.

    VLVV

    snoov

     

    Event Details

    Loading Map....

    Date/Time
    Date - June 08, 2013
    8:40 AM - 8:30 PM

    Location
    Magdalen Yard Road Car Park

    Cogal Details
    Route Details

    Ride Classification

  2. Date/Time: 8th June 2013

    Location:  Magdalen Yard Road Car Park, Dundee, DD1 4NB
    Route Details:  170km starting in Dundee, reaching Cairn ‘O’ Mount, over the top riding a wee loop then back over and home to Dundee.

    Meeting at the Car Park near where I live which is free at VV to nine. We’ll then roll into town for a coffee stop at Empire State Coffee which serves the best coffee in Dundee according to the VMH. Then we ride all the way up to Cairn ‘O’ Mount at which point there are several options. For those with the legs it’s over the top and round a small loop before coming back over the Mount to then stop at The Clattering Brig for refreshments. Option Two is to ride up to the top, turn around and wait for those going over at TCB. The third Option is to just stop at The Clattering Brig and not take on the climb but I hope no-one chooses this option. Then the party of Velominati will travel back to the Car Park where showering facilities will be available at my place as well as some food before we walk a short distance for the recovery beverages. The long route climbing the Cairn ‘O’ Mount from both sides is about 170km. All welcome.

    VLVV

    snoov

     

    Event Details

    Loading Map....

    Date/Time
    Date - June 08, 2013
    8:40 AM - 8:30 PM

    Location
    Magdalen Yard Road Car Park

    Cogal Details
    Route Details

    Ride Classification

  3. Date/Time: 8th June 2013

    Location:  Magdalen Yard Road Car Park, Dundee, DD1 4NB
    Route Details:  170km starting in Dundee, reaching Cairn ‘O’ Mount, over the top riding a wee loop then back over and home to Dundee.

    Meeting at the Car Park near where I live which is free at VV to nine. We’ll then roll into town for a coffee stop at Empire State Coffee which serves the best coffee in Dundee according to the VMH. Then we ride all the way up to Cairn ‘O’ Mount at which point there are several options. For those with the legs it’s over the top and round a small loop before coming back over the Mount to then stop at The Clattering Brig for refreshments. Option Two is to ride up to the top, turn around and wait for those going over at TCB. The third Option is to just stop at The Clattering Brig and not take on the climb but I hope no-one chooses this option. Then the party of Velominati will travel back to the Car Park where showering facilities will be available at my place as well as some food before we walk a short distance for the recovery beverages. The long route climbing the Cairn ‘O’ Mount from both sides is about 170km. All welcome.

    VLVV

    snoov

     

    Event Details

    Loading Map....

    Date/Time
    Date - June 08, 2013
    8:40 AM - 8:30 PM

    Location
    Magdalen Yard Road Car Park

    Cogal Details
    Route Details

    Ride Classification

  4. Date/Time: 8th June 2013

    Location:  Magdalen Yard Road Car Park, Dundee, DD1 4NB
    Route Details:  170km starting in Dundee, reaching Cairn ‘O’ Mount, over the top riding a wee loop then back over and home to Dundee.

    Meeting at the Car Park near where I live which is free at VV to nine. We’ll then roll into town for a coffee stop at Empire State Coffee which serves the best coffee in Dundee according to the VMH. Then we ride all the way up to Cairn ‘O’ Mount at which point there are several options. For those with the legs it’s over the top and round a small loop before coming back over the Mount to then stop at The Clattering Brig for refreshments. Option Two is to ride up to the top, turn around and wait for those going over at TCB. The third Option is to just stop at The Clattering Brig and not take on the climb but I hope no-one chooses this option. Then the party of Velominati will travel back to the Car Park where showering facilities will be available at my place as well as some food before we walk a short distance for the recovery beverages. The long route climbing the Cairn ‘O’ Mount from both sides is about 170km. All welcome.

    VLVV

    snoov

     

    Event Details

    Loading Map....

    Date/Time
    Date - June 08, 2013
    8:40 AM - 8:30 PM

    Location
    Magdalen Yard Road Car Park

    Cogal Details
    Route Details

    Ride Classification

Velominati Super Prestige: Giro D’Italia 2013

Twiggo is dreaming of a Giro-Tour double. He has sent out mixed messages about his Tour ambitions. Will he use the Giro as the ultimate Tour preparation or will be burn all his matches in May and hope he can find another pack for July? He has abandoned his successful 2012 Tour run-up strategy of winning every stage race he entered the previous spri...

@JohnB's posts:

  1. Before this VSP opened I had my 5 picked, I’m not just following the crowd. The consensus here is clear – is there anyone out there who can upset the Sky machine? It seems unlikely and I have to support the Brit anyway. Vuelta in 2014 for the full set. V… »

Guest Article: Bernard Hinault’s 1980 Liege-Bastogne-Liege

Unfortunately the weather for 2013 L-B-L looks a lot nicer than the 1980 episode.  Then again, if the weather looked that bad, they might have cancelled the race or put them on buses before Bastogne and driven them back towards Liege. Who would be the Badger of the peloton of this year’s race in those conditions? Discuss. As always, we have...

@JohnB's posts:

  1. Marvellous article Wiscot. Thank you. The ultimate description of Rules #9 and #5 for us mortals. I’ll never have room to complain about cold hands and crappy gloves again. »

Velominati Super Prestige: Luik-Bastenaken-Luik 2013

There is something to love about a race that makes a deviation to its route for the simple joy of sending a fleet of professional riders up a fiendishly steep and narrow ramp. The Cote du Stockeu offers zero benefit to the route from a logistical standpoint – in fact, all it does is complicate things. On the way down from the Cote de Wanne &#...

@JohnB's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Phillippe Gilbert 2. Simon Gerrans 3. Maxim Iglinskiy 4. Carlos Bettancur 5. Alejandro Valverde »

Velominati Super Prestige: La Flèche Wallone 2013

We came tantalizingly close to adding a foray up the Mur de Huy during our excursion to Liege-Bastogne-Liege during this year’s Keepers Tour. But good sense and The Anti-V prevailed, as they are wont to do, and only two of us were left wanting a dig at the most notorious finishing climb in the Classics season.I write this, then, woefully igno...

@JohnB's posts:

  1. Wrong Sky rider! It’s like changing your lottery numbers. At least my sub paid off. »

  2. Thanks for the heads up on Gerrans. Subs on, team sheet amended, for no other reason than I can’t make up my mind who to put in. VSP PICKS: 1. Phillippe Gilbert 2. Richie Porte 3. Carlos Bettancur 4. Ryder Hesjedal 5. Nairo Quintana »

  3. VSP PICKS: 1. Richie Porte 2. Philippe Gilbert 3. Simon Gerrans 4. Ryder Hesjedal 5. Joachim Rodriguez »

Velominati Super Prestige: La Flèche Wallone Féminine 2013

Last year we saw Evelyn Stevens out-last Marianne Vos at the top of the Mur de Huy. The take home message is don’t start one’s charge too early. Vos should know this finish, having won it four times already. It’s hard to know who is on form in the professional women field as the races are too far apart to infer much from the last...

@JohnB's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Ellen Van Dijk 2. Emma Johansson 3. Marian De Vries 4. Marianne Vos 5. Elizabeth Armitstead »

Velominati Super Prestige: Amstel Gold 2013

Yes it is a race named after a barely drinkable Dutch beer. I have enjoyed Amstel beer, brought to our table by a nice waitress, sitting outside in the Dutch spring. Atmosphere is everything. Do the Dutch brew awesome beer? I drank some good stuff in Amsterdam last spring but I’m pretty sure it was Belgian.Now we begin the Ardennes three race...

@JohnB's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Philippe Gilbert 2. Peter Sagan 3. Simon Gerrans 4. Sergei Henao 5. Dan Martin »

  2. Gilbert still smarting after Brabanste Pijl, Sagan because he’s a machine, Henao for that every hopeful Sky podium in a classic and Gerrans and Martin as my wildish cards. After a lucky start to the VSP now sliding into mid table obscurity. VSP PICKS: 1… »

Velominati Super Prestige: Paris-Roubaix 2013

It looks so easy on the television. Well, no, actually it looks pretty bloody hard. We think we have some understanding of how they suffer, how their bodies can take the continual beating. But we don’t really know. Not even by riding these abominations they call roads twice in the space of a few days can we understand the scale of the thing...

@JohnB's posts:

  1. @Deakus Thinking the same about Sky, but the moment I do they’ll produce a result. They have riding to the numbers down to a T but the cobbles simply don’t work that way. Too many uncontrollables and how can you see the readout on the SRM head unit boun… »

  2. Will 2 spills in 2 days cost Spartacus? Last chance saloon for Sky classics season? Who knows? All I know is that it’ll be the riders with more than a little fortune on their side that triumph in the velodrome on Sunday. Going with the man. Even if he’s m… »

Keepers Tour: Eat Properly

During last year’s Keepers Tour, the motor was fine for about two or three days until it suddenly sputtered and shut down completely on Wednesday. My basic problem, it appears, lies with my ongoing struggle with body dysmorphia; based on the quantity of calories rolling into the station on the Malteni train, I was loathe to lay into the vast...

@JohnB's posts:

  1. @eightzero +1. I ride, I eat what I like, when I like. Inside this skinny body there is a ‘beefy’ guy waiting to burst out. The bike keeps that man at bay. »

The Rules

We are the Keepers of the Cog.  In so being, we also maintain the sacred text wherein lie the simple truths of cycling etiquette known as The Rules. It is in our trust to maintain and endorse this list.See also The Prophet’s Prayer. Continue reading...

@JohnB's posts:

  1. @unversio Assos do indeed ‘work’ and very well at that. Only in black though. There’s something a bit baffling in producing all the ‘look at me’ colours and designs. »

Velominati Super Prestige: Ronde van Vlaanderen 2013

Imagine a world without the little things we take for granted; a house without a roof, a pub with no beer, a Keepers Tour without any clothes. The last one is a reality for me at the moment, five days in and still no trace of where the hell between Wellington and Paris my bag (filled with V-Kit, shoes, helmet, everything) is. The other thing that h...

@JohnB's posts:

  1. Thinking that Tomeke fine tuning condition for a P-R blitz next week. Going with the flow, even though I’m slipping down the table fast. It would take a lucky pick of a surprise winner to leap back up again and that’s a pin into the start list. VSP PICKS… »

Velominati Super Prestige: Ronde van Vlaanderen Féminine 2013

Marianne Vos has never won this? She who wins everything all the time has never won this? Is it not hilly and tough enough? This seems like a tear in the time-space continuum. Someone is going to be wanting to add this to her palmarés. Weather sounds like a cold but dry day for racing. This is a big one, maybe worth two bumper stickers, so ponder...

@JohnB's posts:

  1. Here we go, another variation on a theme VSP PICKS: 1. Armitstead 2. Vos 3. Johansson 4. Van Dijk 5. Bronzini »

    2. Older Posts