Velominati Super Prestige: Women’s Olympic Road Race 2012

Cooke takes a Rule #9 Gold (despite violating the Goldilocks Principle)

What a difference four years can make. In Beijing, Nicole Cooke was the dominant rider in Women’s Cycling, taking wins in every important race on the Women’s calendar for several years running. Fast finish, good in the hills, good against the clock, she helped give context to what we mean by the term “all rounder”.

Four years on, she’s been struggling with injury and the pressures of forming her own team which has resulted in the inevitable reduction in results. But don’t count her out just yet; she has been showing some form already this year and during the last Olympic year, she burst into form for the event to take Gold. Add to that the motivation a British rider is sure to feel racing at her home Games, and you’d be a fool to leave her off your list of considerations.

Be that as it may, she’s facing up to a strong field. Kristen Armstrong dropped out of the Cascade Classic (while leading it) in order to prepare for the games. Not to mention Marianne Vos, who dominated the Giro last month – or Giorgia Bronzini, whose website I find vaguely frightening.

Review the route and study the weird, paged roster if you like pretending that helps you, and get your picks in by 5am Pacific on Sunday. (If you find Time Zone Mathematics too complicated, just get your picks in by the time the giant countdown timer in the banner goes to zero), regular One-Day VSP rules apply. Good luck.

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152 Replies to “Velominati Super Prestige: Women’s Olympic Road Race 2012”

  1. @el gato

    I haven’t done so well with the ladies this season and I don’t expect that to change with this race.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Vos
    2. Bronzini
    3. Olds
    4. Pooley
    5. Johansson

    maybe it’s your cologne?

    Yeah, once again my rapier wit stuns the crowd.

  2. VSP PICKS:

    1. Marianne Vos
    2. Georgia Bronzini
    3. Lizzie Armestead
    4. Shelly Olds
    5. Emma Johansson

  3. VSP PICKS:

    1. Vos
    2. Ina-Yoko
    3. E. Johansson
    4. Bronzini
    5. Armistead

  4. Clara Hughes is a  Canadian Olympian.  She’s won Olympic medals in cycling AND speedskating, making her one of a handful of people to win medals in both the summer and winter Olympics.  She’s the ONLY athlete to win multiple medals in both summer and winter Olympics.

    http://clara-hughes.com/about-clara/

  5. It’s a few years too early to pick Chloe but i’m gonna just pick her for everything and one day I will be right.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Hosking
    2. Vos
    3. Bronzini
    4. Arndt
    5. Teutenberg

  6. Bah, like I have been getting any of these.

     

    Delgado’ed the mens’ race…

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Vos
    2. Hughes
    3. Teutenburg
    4. Arndt
    5. Cooke

  7. No Ina Teutenberg (too humorless), no Pooley (too wee). I have nothing. The course is too short. Women deserve a tougher course so it does not end up in a sprint, again.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Armstrong
    2. Armistead
    3. Vos
    4. Biannic
    5. Cordon

  8. Another guess-o-matic; but will have to plump for the home team; come on Lizzie

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Armistead
    2. Armstrong
    3. Bronzino
    4. Arndt
    5. Vos

  9. Agree course should be harder, only two times Box Hill seems a shame for the women. I expect that they want a more selective race as well but think this will be a Copenhagen redux and for Vos as well unfortunately.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Bronzini
    2. Vos
    3. Teutenberg
    4. Armistead
    5. Armstrong

  10. VSP PICKS:

    1. Evelyn Stevens
    2. Marianne Vos
    3. Liz Armitstead
    4. Judith Arndth
    5. Giorgia Bronzini

  11. The men’s race indicates that too much thought is a bad thing.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Ferrand Prevot
    2. Villumsen
    3. van Vleuten
    4. Numainville
    5. Vos

  12. Get some

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Johannson
    2. Teutenburg
    3. Armistead
    4. Vos
    5. Bronzini

  13. The women’s race is brilliant – attack after attack.  Also, It’s fascinating to watch a race on roads I’ve ridden.

  14. Three away: Vos, Armitstead and Zabelinskya, but Vos and Armistead are laying down the V.  25km to go with a 30 second lead.

  15. Clouded over and tipping down in London now – the three are still away with 3.6 km to go and 50 second lead.

  16. Vos takes it in the sprint, Armitstead second, Zabelinskya third, Teutenberg fourth from the following bunch sprint.

  17. What a finish! Great effort by all 3, gutted that Lizzie didn’t quite make it in the end but brilliant all the same – and all in Rule #9 conditions too.

  18. That was a great race, I enjoyed it even more then the men’s. The ferocity and frequency the women attack is really fun to watch.

  19. That was fun to watch.  A great win for Vos and effort by the top three to maintain a consistent gap on the field over the last 15-20k in tough conditions.  Too bad a mechanical dropped Olds from the lead group.

    Picked 4 of the top 5, none in the correct position.  These sour grapes are making me thirsty.

  20. A’Merckx, if women’s racing is like that all the time it defininly needs more coverage.

  21. What a good race.  Rain. Breaks. A sprint out of a select group.  Good day for cycling. Another bad day for my VSP.  I thought for sure that Evie would be up there with Vos Vos Vos Vos.

    Never bet against her again.

    Never.

    Because unlike Boonen, Gilbert, and Spartacus, she seems incapable of having a great season followed by a not so great season.

  22. @Jonny@xyxax@Erik

    No kidding! That was much better than the Men’s race! Constant attacks, gutsy riding, a great group, and an amazing finish. What happened to the Americans, though? Hello? Bueller?

    @Erik

    Because unlike Boonen, Gilbert, and Spartacus, she seems incapable of having a great season followed by a not so great season.

    As the VMH pointed out, it seems she’s got the strength and willingness to ride on the front that Faboo has, but has the ability to step back in the final and still ride a smart tactical race to finish it off. Seems like a lot of the guys have one half of that equation, but not both. 

    In any case – great race!

  23. As is the case, the women’s events can sometimes be a greater sporting spectacle than the comparable men’s event.

    Thread jack: I can sort of understand why women’s road/TT events are shorter than men’s, but can anyone give a logical reason why the WNBA uses a smaller ball than the NBA? I think this is true of olympics BB too.

  24. @eightzero

    As is the case, the women’s events can sometimes be a greater sporting spectacle than the comparable men’s event.

    Thread jack: I can sort of understand why women’s road/TT events are shorter than men’s, but can anyone give a logical reason why the WNBA uses a smaller ball than the NBA? I think this is true of olympics BB too.

    Smaller average hand size?

  25. @Gianni Ina is so far from being humourless it’s ridiculous. Try having a beer with her sometime – you’ll be in hysterics half the time. She is a top sort.

  26. @Oli

    Damn you Oli, does your knowledge have no bounds? I was banking on the German stereotype and her ability to crush her rivals and banking that no one was on drinking terms with her. Glad to hear she is a good sort. But, don’t argue with me about Pooley being wee. Ya canna argue that.

  27. @Fausto

    @eightzero

    As is the case, the women’s events can sometimes be a greater sporting spectacle than the comparable men’s event.

    Thread jack: I can sort of understand why women’s road/TT events are shorter than men’s, but can anyone give a logical reason why the WNBA uses a smaller ball than the NBA? I think this is true of olympics BB too.

    Smaller average hand size?

    Sure. And this makes a difference how? I still don’t get it. Not sure, but I think pro women cyclists push a 53×11 on 700mm wheels. And each and every one of them can kick my ass; twice on a sunday.

  28. Ai kinda dug Vaughter’s tweet:

    “There are two kinds of people I can’t stand in this world. People who are intolerant of other people’s cultures, and the Dutch.”

  29. Or, to take us even further off topic, remember that there are only 10 kinds of people: those who understand binary, and those who don’t.

  30. Can’t believe I missed it by one point!  Oh well, still my first VSP Podium.

  31. I was very confused as the women’s race reached its climax. There I was, seeing three riders: Vos, Armistead and Zabelinskaya. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Paul Sherwen could see a fourth rider called Armitage. She must have been there because he called her by name many times. Then, by the end she magically disappeared. Amazing what highly paid, experienced commentators can see that we mortals can’t.

  32. If you’re in the United States and have an iPad, I was able to watch a full replay of this race on the NBC Live Extra Olympics app, even though I don’t have a cable TV subscription.

  33. @Bianchi Denti  Good article. And, in that spirit, here’s Lizzie A on sexism in pro cycling: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/armitstead-speaks-out-over-sexism-in-professional-cycling

     
    She’s obviously not talking about velominati.com …

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