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

Velominatus: Aidas

Order: Level 4 Velominatus

@Aidas's activity:

Velominati Super Prestige: Mens World Championship Road Race 2012

I’m quite upset about it, actually, all this racing that’s been going on in perfectly good weather. Vlaanderen, dry. Roubaix, dry. We were nearly guaranteed shit weather with the Olympics in London, but even then, only the women got to get all Rule #9 on our asses – and only for one race. Damnit, I want Epic, and if we keep insis...

@Aidas's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Sagan 2. Boonen 3. Gilbert 4. Phinney 5. Navardauskas »

Velominati Super Prestige: Women’s Road Championship 2012

It seems like just weeks ago that Cav won his rainbow stripes, things were said, umbrage was taken. Luckily we have found more umbrage so we are good to go. This course is not like last year. It’s not exactly a sprinters finish. It’s a 128 km rumble in Valkenberg and the Dutch team is there for Marianne Vos. She has finished second in...

@Aidas's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Cilvinaite 2. Vos 3. Pooley 4. Armisted 5. Bronzini »

Velominati Super Prestige: Men’s Olympic Road Race 2012

You can all wave “goodbye” to your Post GT Depression Syndrome, because the Men’s Olympic Road Race is only three days yonder. I don’t typically give two shits about this particular event; while contested by national teams, unlike the Worlds it appears as just another one-day race on a calendar filled with events that carry...

@Aidas's posts:

  1. I think Cancelara wants to bring home something shiny for the new baby. VSP PICKS: 1. Faboo 2. Boonen 3. Sagan 4. Chavanel 5. Albasini »

Velominati Super Prestige: Tour de France 2012, Stage 16

Which bold rider has this stage circled in their tour bible? Wednesday July 18th, Stage 16, 197 km. The day after a the final rest day. A climbing day with two HC climbs followed by two Category 1 climbs and a serious descent toward the finish. The Aubisque, Tourmalet, Aspin and Peyresourde: you better be a fearless climber and a good descender, bu...

@Aidas's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. LL Sanchez 2. Voekler 3. Casar 4. Nibali 5. Rolland »

  2. VSP PICKS: 1. LL Sanchez 2. Voekler 3. Casar 4. Nibali 5. Schleck »

Velominati Super Prestige: Tour de France 2012, Stage 11

During the 1969 Tour de France, Felice Gimondi and Ray Poulidor were fined for taking a ride from a lorry up the Tourmalet. What about Merkcx? Well, he was towing the lorry.Its an old joke, but like any good joke, it stays funny no matter how many times you hear it. I bet it’s even funnier if you know what a lorry is. I knew a girl named Lori...

@Aidas's posts:

  1. Schleck is going to step up, because there’s nothing left for him to do.  During the jour sans, he will have grown up, come to the realization that he actually wants this and is willing to risk everything for it.  He will attack on stage 10 to feel out th… »

Velominati Super Prestige: Tour de France 2012

We are proud to announce a change to the Velominati Super Prestige moving forward: sponsorship. We are delighted (if a little surprised) at the interest our partners showed in this endeavor, despite the short notice we gave them. Four sponsors will be gracing the sides of our team bus for this year’s race: fi’zi:k is our Super Domesti...

@Aidas's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps): 1. Vrooooooooome 2. Frank Schleck 3. Porte 4. Tejay van Garderen 5. Nibali »

Velominati Super Prestige: Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile 2012

It seems a disservice to start the Women’s Giro right before the Tour de France. Even at Velominati’s main bunker HQ, the new TdF VSP sponsorship excitement has overshadowed this race. But at least it is starting (the race and the VSP), nine stages, a time trial, some sprinting, some climbing and some serious transfers. The race starts...

@Aidas's posts:

  1. The Lithuanians will let Vos and Pooley on to the podium, but just for shits and giggles ;) VSP PICKS: 1. Rasa Leleivyte 2. Vos 3. Pooley 4. Cilvinaite 5. Pauliukaite »

Velominati Super Prestige: Tour de France 2012

We are proud to announce a change to the Velominati Super Prestige moving forward: sponsorship. We are delighted (if a little surprised) at the interest our partners showed in this endeavor, despite the short notice we gave them. Four sponsors will be gracing the sides of our team bus for this year’s race: fi’zi:k is our Super Domesti...

@Aidas's posts:

  1. Conventional wisdom won’t win me any swag, as I’m too far down in the SuperPrestige. So, I’m going to bet that Cadel and Wiggo do NOT make it to Paris.  I see Wiggo crashing out sometime in the first two weeks.  Cadel will fall to a stomach bug soon there… »

Velominati Super Prestige: Tour de Suisse 2012

This is an exciting time of year. The Giro is in the books, the Tour is firmly in everyone’s sights, and those of us with the vaguest idea of how the big race will unfold are prognosticating the loudest as we use races that are proven to reveal fuck-all about what will happen at the Tour to predict what will happen at the Tour.With the Dauphi...

@Aidas's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Faboo 2. Levi 3. Boonen 4. Konovalovas 5. Kreuziger »

Velominati Super Prestige: Giro d’Italia 2012 Stage 20

See that huge mountain over there? The one with the steep, twisty road going up it? The one that is often covered in snow this time of year? Right, race ya to the top.I don’t know what more there is to say about this year’s Giro; four days from the end, with two of the biggest mountain stages yet to come and the G.C., Mountains, and P...

@Aidas's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Pozzovivo 2. Kreuziger 3. Scarponi 4. Ryder 5. Rujano »

Velominati Super Prestige: Giro d’Italia 2012

After a winter of long training rides that offered more in the way of numb extremities than it did in acute enjoyment, I have to say that the warming of the air and brightening of the skies have served to remind me that while I love riding in bad weather, I certainly don’t have anything against riding when its nice out.But dont think for...

@Aidas's posts:

  1. My gut is telling me that Basso, having recently been thinking about pulling out of the Giro entirely is not up to it mentally. Grimpelder has been two months from peaking for this whole season, and I don’t think he cares that much right now… So, becau… »

Velominati Super Prestige: Luik-Bastenaken-Luik 2012

I thought I’d take this opportunity to move en danseuse on Rule #89 and to refer to Liege-Bastogne-Liege by its less-common Flemish name. It also draws into sharp relief that fact that while Dutch may be every bit as expressive and subtle as French, it certainly sounds less sexy.Some races seem to foster a romanticism that other races of e...

@Aidas's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Frank Schleck 2. Rodriguez 3. Kreuziger 4. Gilbert 5. Andy Schleck »

Velominati Super Prestige: Flèche Wallonne Femmes 2012

During the Ronde von Vlaanderen, we of the 2012 Keeper’s Spring Classic Tour were right on the Oude Kwaremont climb as the women big-ringed it up the cobbles. Kristin Armstrong (US Women’s Team) was burying herself to get on Judith Arndt’s (Greenedge) wheel. It looked like the winning break was going right in front of our eyes. Se...

@Aidas's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Vos 2. Leleivyte 3. Arndt 4. Pooley 5. Dvorak »

Velominati Super Prestige: La Fleche Wallonne 2012

I just had to use this pic of Tom Simpson in 1965 wearing the Peugeot kit as the title pic for this year’s VSP for La Fleche Wallonne. Rigid hooked himself up on the Keepers Tour with the same kit he purchased at the Flanders Cycling Museum and it’s Grade A nipple lube. Although victory eluded Simpson in this Classic he still looked dam...

@Aidas's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Frank Schleck 2. Gesink 3. Jelle 4. Gilbert 5. Wegmann »

Velominati Super Prestige: Women’s Ronde van Vlaanderen 2012

The Velominati Super-Prestige continues with our second Women’s event of 2012, the Women’s Ronde van Vlaanderen. This one is made even more exciting for me by the fact that I now have some small connection to the Women’s Tibco Racing Team, as I watched with envy as they each pulled their bikes off the oversized baggage carrousel...

@Aidas's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Rasa Leleivyte 2. Van Vleuten 3. Vos 4. Armstrong 5. Inga Cilvinaite »

Velominati Super Prestige: Ronde van Vlaanderen 2012

The Keepers and Rigid rolled into a region in France called Flandres which, without doing any further research into the matter, we assume is the coloquial French term for this region of the world. If its anything like the other regions in Europe, these places have roots that extend way past any modern country’s border and situate themselves i...

@Aidas's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Cancellara 2. Konovalovas 3. Bennati 4. Gilbert 5. Vaitkus »

Velominati Super Prestige: Gent-Wevelgem 2012

Gent conjures up images of the quintessential Flemish city. Age-old medieval architecture rising from the river’s edge is classically Belgian. Gent is also firmly tied to Belgium’s greatest gift to the world, cycling tradition. Many a pro-expat cyclist has relocated to Gent with the hope of testing their mettle in the seat of cycling...

@Aidas's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Ramunas Navardauskas 2. Bennati 3. Boasson Hagen 4. Boonen 5. Vansummeren »

Velominati Super Prestige: Milano San-Remo 2012

The Poggio. It’s probably one of the most famous easy climbs in the world; going through old cycling photographs, I rarely come across one where the leaders haven’t moved Sur La Plaque. It has a reputation, however, for being a real leg breaker, mostly because any climb is a big climb once you cross its summit after a paltry 291 kilomet...

@Aidas's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Faboo 2. Cav 3. Nibali 4. Petacchi 5. Greipel »

Velominati Super Prestige: Paris-Nice 2012

It’s right around this time of year when the little voice in my head that spurs me on in cold, wet, Rule #9 conditions starts getting overpowered by all my other personalities who at this stage are gathering stones and crowbars and getting ready to enforce their will on him regarding their preference for riding in nice, warm, sunny conditi...

@Aidas's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Grimpette the Elder 2. Wiggins 3. Voekler 4. Taaramae 5. Martine »

Velominati Super Prestige: Men’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

The 2012 Velominati Super Prestige kicks off in proper form this season with the debut of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad as part of the series. I’m tempted to stubbornly refer to this race as Het Volk, but I’ll toe the line and refer to the race by its bewildering new(ish) name.This is a tricky race to predict because the big races in April ar...

@Aidas's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Navardauskas 2. Boassen Hagen 3. Van Summeren 4. Neyens 5. Vaitkus »

Reverence: Gilet

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who own a properly-fitting, lightweight gilet and those who don’t. Those who own one know this is an indispensable piece of kit.The gilet is typically one of the last items that enters into a Cyclist’s wardrobe, long after arm warmers, knee warmers, and long sleeve jerseys have found...

@Aidas's posts:

  1. Absolutely. I’ve skipped past the armwarmers and went straight for The V gillet. Form and function incarnate. »

Velominati Super Prestige: Giro di Lombardia

No event of the year is more likely to provide piles of Rule #9 in the Five and Dime than il Giro di Lombardia. A hilly circuit around Lake Como ensures lots of climbing and that the bunch is blown to bits before the finish. Add to that its position as the last classic of the season, nestled in amongst the falling leaves of mid-October, and you...

@Aidas's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Fuglsang 2. Voekler 3. S. Sanchez 4. Nibali 5. Gilbert »

Bringing the Mountain to Muhammad: Seattle Cogal

@Cyclops has taken it upon himself to organize North America’s first official Cogal right in the backyard of where it all started: Seattle, Wa. @Scaler911 and @McSqueak have confirmed that they will be driving up from Portland, OR to attend and we hereby invite any and all Velominati to attend. We’ll be doing a no-drop ride on Whidbey...

@Aidas's posts:

  1. @Chris I’m up for it. Let’s do one of the classics. »

Velominati Super Prestige: Paris-Tours

One of the most wonderful things about living in a climate with four distinct seasons is that each one comes as a welcome change, and with each season I find a period of time where I find myself thinking this one is my favorite. But regardless of the weather outside my window, I know Fall is here when our attention falls to the last major road race...

@Aidas's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Cav 2. O’Grady 3. Freire 4. Jens 5. Gilbert »