Velominati Community Profile Archive

Velominatus: Markp

Order: Level 4 Velominatus

@Markp's activity:

Velominati Super Prestige: Paris Tours 2012

The final race of the 2012 Velominati Super Prestige season is upon us. It’s not the most inspiring race, supposedly a race for the sprinters. The long straight final run in to the finish line begs for a mass sprint. It should be called Châteauneuf-en-Thymerais-Tours. The route is 235.5 km of small rollers through the French countryside. The...

@Markp's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Degenkolb 2. Bouhanni 3. Van Avemet 4. Chavanel 5. Ciolek »

Velominati Super Prestige: Giro di Lombardia 2012

Il Grillo gives it some stick in 06. Photo: actionplus sports images[/caption]Lombardia is a beautiful race. Taking in the majestic shoreline of Lake Como and climbing past the shrine to the Madonna del Ghisallo, its stunning Italian-ness bookends the Monuments along with Milan-San Remo which started them way back in March. And it’s a coming...

@Markp's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Gilbert, Philippe 2. Contador, Alberto 3. Valverde, Alejandro 4. Rodriguez Olivier, J 5. Nibali, Vincenzo »

Anatomy Of A Photo: Hamburger with Extra Sauce

The EPO Era threw up some surprise World Champions from the early ’90s to the mid ’00s. Riders juiced to the gills meant that the rainbow jumper could go to anyone who not only had the form on the bike, but their program sorted and the luck on the day. You could throw a dart at the start list and wherever it stuck, you’d be a pret...

@Markp's posts:

  1. @Adrian They need to bring back a classic steel frame, don’t think the bronze / copper would suit carbon frame. Coming from me who is on my second Wilier! »

  2. Bianchi has Celeste, Wilier has Bronze and Gios has Azzura, got to love the tradition, these bikes always look superb. »

Velominati Super Prestige: Vuelta a España 2012

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 outcropp...

@Markp's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Alberto Contador 2. Chris Froome 3. Joaquim Rodriguez 4. Nairo Quintana 5. Thomas De Gendt »

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...

@Markp's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Cavendish 2. Goss 3. Boonen 4. Sagan 5. Cancellara »

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...

@Markp's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Nibali 2. Evans 3. Froome 4. Wiggins 5. Rolland »

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...

@Markp's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Evans 2. Wiggins 3. Nibali 4. Schleck 5. Hesjedal »

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...

@Markp's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Kreuziger 2. Gesink 3. Valverde 4. Cunego 5. Leipheimer »

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...

@Markp's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Basso 2. Hesjedal 3. Rodriguez 4. Pozzovivo 5. Scarponi »

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...

@Markp's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Scarponi 2. Basso 3. Kreuziger 4. Rodríguez 5. Hesjedal »

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...

@Markp's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Philippe Gilbert 2. Joaquim Rodriguez 3. Damiano Cunego 4. Samuel Sanchez 5. Alejandro Valverde »

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...

@Markp's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Rodríguez, Joaquim 2. Vanendert, Jelle 3. Sanchez, Samuel 4. Gilbert, Philippe 5. Nibali, Vincenzo »

Velominati Super Prestige: Amstel Gold Race 2012

When people think of the The Netherlands, they generally think of flat lands, windmills, and a topography where people claim to “live at elevation” when their home on the third floor of a building. Never the less, this is not entirely true as The Motherland does, in its most southern reaches, boast quite hilly terrain; the province of...

@Markp's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Rodriguez 2. Freire 3. Gilbert 4. Gerrans 5. Sagan »

Velominati Super Prestige: Paris-Roubaix 2012

We rode the Pavé of Roubaix in the dry, and any comforting feelings we might have been carrying about with us that suggested we had somehow prepared for them were summarily vaporized as we hit the first secteur. Riding together in a group, unable to reach for the brakes or the shifters, we all were hit with the same realization: these aren’...

@Markp's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Boonen 2. Hushovd 3. VanSum 4. Ballan 5. OGrady »

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...

@Markp's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Cancellara 2. Boonen 3. Chavanel 4. Devolder 5. Vanmarcke »

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...

@Markp's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Boonen 2. Vanmarcke 3. Degenkolb 4. Sagan 5. Van Summeren »

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...

@Markp's posts:

  1. @Markp 4. Hushovd, Thor – Out 4. Freire, Oscar – In VSP PICKS: 1. Cavendish, Mark 2. Boonen, Tom 3. Cancellara, Fabian 4. Hushovd, Thor 5. Sagan, Peter »

  2. VSP PICKS: 1. Cavendish, Mark 2. Boonen, Tom 3. Cancellara, Fabian 4. Hushovd, Thor 5. Sagan, Peter »

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...

@Markp's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Wiggins 2. Schleck A 3. Valverde 4. Voeckler 5. Gerrans »

Velominati Super Prestige: Strade Bianche 2012

The Monte Paschi Strade Bianchi is happening this Saturday and it is such an interesting race we are putting it into the VSP.  The route is a mix of pavement and white marble sectors that roam through the hilly Tuscan country and finishes in the middle of beautiful Sienna. It seems early to me but that is because the Giro had an epic stage on the...

@Markp's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Gilbert 2. Nibali 3. Gatto 4. Sagan 5. Cancellara »

  2. 2012 Program »

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...

@Markp's posts:

  1. Out: Boasson Hagen In: Van Summeren VSP PICKS: 1. Boasson Hagen 2. Gilbert 3. Flecha 4. Clarke (Will) 5. Boonen »

  2. VSP PICKS: 1. Boasson Hagen 2. Gilbert 3. Flecha 4. Clarke (Will) 5. Boonen »

The Austin, Texas Cogal; December 4, 2011

Stop the presses, North American Cogal #2 is off and running.  @Jeff in PetroMetro is organizing a ride deep in the heart-o-Texas on December 4, 2011 for the rider who wants a taste of drought, dust storm, truck nuts and fun. Lest we forget what a Cogal is, “… A meeting of like-minded misfits brought together by the promise of beer, pr...

@Markp's posts:

  1. When’s the invitation going out to Austin’s #1 son. Perhaps the ride should start and finish out front of the Pharmahacienda. »