Velominati Super Prestige: Critérium du Dauphiné
The Tour de France looms on the horizon, and those riders planning to race are putting the final touches on their form – or going into last-minute panic mode, final exam cram-style. The Critérium Dauphiné has long been a favorite preparation race serving both purposes rather well.
It’s a favorite of the Tour’s GC contenders as it usually features stages that, if not identical to key stages from the Tour, will at least feature many of the same climbs; habitual Tour winners like Indurain, Armstrong, and Clentador have traditionally used this race as their preferred method of final preparation; riders seeking additional form will take the beating taken from a week of suffering and have just enough time to recover prior to the Tour. And, of course, riders who have aspirations in July may also find they are a few kilos heavy yet and may indulge in some ultra-lean Spanish beef in order to get to fighting weight.
It’s also a dangerous gamble: ride too hard at the Critérium and you could fire off the Guns of Navarone and enter the Tour in a state of fatigue, as Pharmy did in 2003. A delicate balance, this.
The challenge in predicting the results of a preparation race such as this is that the favorites for the Tour are (hopefully) peaking in one month, not during this event. But they’ll be good – maybe good enough to win. But probably not. Combine that with that the notion that a rider with little hope in July may be looking for glory and will be in peak form, leading to an unexpected result – a review of last year’s race with Jani Brajkovic is a great example of this case.
With that we kick off into the first minor-stage VSP for the Critérium Dauphiné. Being a week-long stage race, the points on offer are 7 for first, 5 for second, 4 for third, 3 for fourth, 2 for fifth, with the usual allotment of bonus points for getting the rider right but the place wrong. Also, there are no rest days, so no rest day swaps, but we will have our usual approach for riders who drop out. Piti Principle applies as always. Also review the guide, being careful to note that the rules have changes a bit this year, and we may not have completely updated the guide yet, so if there’s a question, ask.
Best of luck to all.
Very close to Business time. Can feel it :-)
I got my Business socks on.
VSP PICKS:
i really hope wiggo can cease and desist from trying to be paul weller, and ride his f*in’ bike!
bloody brits
VSP PICKS:
I think this is the toughest one to pick yet, I started with a list of 18 riders, that’s just crazy.
VSP PICKS:
Well I made my picks, but they are not showing up in the post, must be a glitch somewhere.
Only 17 points away from first place. I told you guys in April that I was peaking in 2 months!
VSP PICKS:
Yeah, My picks aren’t working either.
Sorry about the glitch peeps. Our IT division is looking into it.
I can’t seem to see anyone else’s picks, so I’ll have to abandon my previous method of waiting until the last moment to complete an in-depth statistical analysis regarding the picks of the other competitors, assigning each rider a numerical value based on the probable net gain or loss of points against my closest competitors if I choose them for each place and filling in the blanks accordingly.
I guess now I’ll just have to crack a few tallboys and pick some funny European names.
VSP PICKS:
Ugh, thought we were off until the TdF. More picks, oh gosh.
That hair on Wiggins is stunningly bad; it’s like a nightmare from the 80s. If I were his teammates I’d shave his head while he slept. I wouldn’t want a clown looking like that on my team.
Ol Jolly Wiggo. The one hit wonder.
@heath
Is Wiggo a mod or a rocker?
VSP PICKS:
@all
The picks entry should be fixed now. Boy, our developer is a real moron.
Does he realize he’s allowed to cut his hair? That has got to be the worst look in the world.
It was much better when he was just chopping his hair with a lawnmower.
also, this thing says that I am the winner of the 2010 VSP Giro, though I’m positive I won it for the first time this year.
VSP PICKS:
1. Cuddles
2. Gesink
3. J-Rod
4. Wiggins
5. Tony Martin
Yay… I don’t have to worry about Clentador
VSP PICKS:
1. Good Cuddles
2. Basso
3. Brakiosaurus
4. Brad
5. Le Mevel (not Mond)
VSP PICKS:
1. Evans
2. Zabriskie
3. Vino
4. Sivtsov
5. Gesink
@frank
That third pic looks like he’s about to hop into his biplane to go on a search for Amelia.
Maybe it’s a pedal-powered propeller, and he’s realizing he really can’t get anything off the ground anymore.
I hope that Gesink doesn’t burn all his energy in here, like some people (Cadel) will probably do. There is still a Tour to be won.
VSP PICKS:
1. Evans
2. Vino
3. Basso
4. Gesink
5. Wiggins
What the fuck.
VSP PICKS:
1. Tony Martin
2. This is a Gessink Game
3. Erin Brakovich
4. Jurgens Go For Broke
5. Pinot Noir Horse
This is tough so I’ll just go semi-random and hope for the best.
VSP PICKS:
1. L.L. Cool S.
2. Evans
3. Guess-ink
4. Basso
5. Magic Karpets
Out…
on…
a…
limb here…
VSP PICKS:
1. Le Mevel
2. Evans
3. Gesink
4. Vino
5. Basso
Out…
on…
a…
limb here…
Seems like a wide open race this year. Should be AWESOME!
VSP PICKS:
1. Cuddles
2. J Van Den Broeck
3. J Brajkovic
4. Basso
5. Le Mevel
VSP PICKS:
1. Cuddles
2. Vino
3. Basso
4. Bushmaster
5. Gonzo Sancho
VSP PICKS:
1. Cuddles
2. Rodriguez
3. martin
4. vino
5. wiggins
THERE IS JUST SO MUCH PEOPLE THAT CAN WIN
This is cadelephants year – can’t pick against him :-)
VSP PICKS:
1. CAdelephant
2. Basso
3. Martin
4. Gesink
5. Sammi sanchez
As if I’m not already bemoaning the fact that the jerseys Pros are racing in are closer to skinsuits than jerseys, as if it’s not already bad enough that Garmvelo is racing a onesy with pockets, as if it’s not bad enough that the sleeves on most kits now run down to mid-upper arm…we are apparently now being treated to jerseys sufficiently thin that we will be staring at men’s nipples all summer long.
Lovely.
…and waaaaaaaay out of left field comes Jarvis
VSP PICKS:
1. Le Coppel
2. Birillo
3. Uran
4. Cuddles
5. Martin
Would like to throw Nick Roche in the picks I reckon he’s due to start ripping a few legs off! Maybe the Vuelta later in the year…
Go CUDDLES!
VSP PICKS:
1. Cuddles
2. Vino
3. Basso
4. Le Mevel
5. Rodriguez
VSP PICKS:
1. Evans
2. J. Rod
3. Basso
4. Gesink
5. Speedy González
VSP PICKS:
1. Vino
2. Basso
3. Cuddles
4. Bushmaster
5. Gonzo Sancho
@xyxax
mod.
VSP PICKS:
1. Sammy Sanchez
2. Tony Martin
3. Vino
4. Jurgen Van Den Broeck
5. Bradley Wiggins
VSP PICKS:
1. Vino (Did his father with him?)
2. Basso
3. Jani Brajkovic
4. Martin
5. Wiggo!
VSP PICKS:
1. Brajkovic
2. Wiggins
3. Cuddles
4. Sammy Sanchez
5. Gesink
VSP PICKS:
1. Cadel
2. Vino
3. Basso
4. Gesink
5. Voeckler
VSP PICKS:
1. Cuddles
2. Wiggins
3. Tony Martin
4. Basso
5. Luis Leon Sanchez
VSP PICKS:
1. Cuddles
2. Basso
3. Martin
4. Van Den Broeck
5. Veino
@Scuba Steve
I was thinking of tipping Roche myself, though in this recent interview with Velochrono, he says he’s looking for a stage win and top 10 in the TdF. Interestingly, the interviewer asks him if he would like to have Gadret and Dupont by his side in the TdF (after their Giro performance), and his response is that it is not up to him to choose who is on the team. Hmmmmm.
edit: a stage win in the Dauphiné.
@heath
Paul Weller = The Jam = Fookin’ brilliant (and still making some of the best music out there)
Wiggins = bad hair = WTF
As childish as this may seem, my first thought when looking at the photo of Bertie was that he was showing everyone how he had just picked the winner!
Good luck to all
VSP PICKS:
1. Good Cadel
2. Basso a go go
3. J-Ro
4. Sam San
5. Wig man
@frank
On fucking Leenuus no less.
@il ciclista medio
while early singles from the jam are pretty awesome, sound affects has always been most cherished lp of theirs.
oh, and here’s confirmation on wiggo’s gangster status:
@frank
And what the hell is he pointing at? It’s not like there’s a sponsor emblazoned on his chest. “Look everyone! Baby blue stripe! ‘Cause that’s how I roll!”
VSP PICKS:
1. Good Cuddles
2. Van den Broke
3. Wiggo’s Last Chance
4. Robert’s Kept Me Gesink
5. Sammy Sandwich
Paul Weller used Wiggo to get steak out of his teeth after that shot was taken. Wiggo needs to figure out how to channel some of that awesomeness to get a decent result.
VSP PICKS:
1. Cadel
2. Basso
3. Sanchez
4. Gessink
5. J Rod
Some dark horses here, can’t lose anything if you don’t bet!
VSP PICKS:
1. Evans
2. Flecha
3. Le Mevel
4. Wiggens
5. Busche
Absolute GOLD bro.
Also, I’m with steampunk. If disappointed, this will be the last time I deem Bradley Wiggins capable of anything not involving a skinsuit.
VSP PICKS:
1. Van den Broeck
2. Basso
3. Evans
4. Gesink
5. Wiggins