Velominati Super Prestige

Velominati Super Prestige: Milan-Sanremo 2013

Eddy Planckert photo:cor vos
Eddy Planckert and Marc Sergeant photo:cor vos

Finally, we have Milan-Sanremo. I hope pedale.forcetta is ready to shoot some pictures, especially black and white because it will be cold and possibly wet. Throw in a little wind and a race of this distance will weed out the less hardy. Recently, but not too recently, this race would be won out of a decent size field sprint. And yet, besides Fabs winning in 2008 it does come down to a sprint finish of some size. That race was setting up for a field sprint when Cancellara bolted and no one could catch him. The solo charge to the finish just doesn’t seem to work here. It is such an interesting race because the finish is unlike any of the other monuments. Moreno Argentin lost the race because he was not as good as descender as Kelly. Getting down the Cipressa and Poggio well is not easy. The descents are tight narrow Italian roads, hairpin turns, madness. Fabs and Sagan are two excellent descenders and Sagan has a killer sprint. NIbali just won Terreno. Thor has recovered. Boonen is back with Cavendish, on the same team! Gilbert is wearing the rainbow jersey. Andy Schleck has pre-dropped out. God Damnit, if you are going to get up at some weird hour of the night to watch a race this year, this is it people.

An American has never won one of cycling’s monuments and Sunday’s race does not seem to be where it is going to happen. Tyler Farrar would have to latch onto a special train and surely Cancellara will not be towing people to the line this year. The odds of Australian riders winning the last two editions were very long but it demonstrates how exciting and unpredictable this race is.

Here is the incomplete start list, it will be updated when available. No Delgados, no whining, the betting window is now open. Get you picks in before the countdown timer goes to zero at midnight Pacific Time. The winner of this event is awarded the MSR comment badge for the remainder of the season.

Here is a little video from last year, interesting more for the behind the scenes action and the amount of bleeped out cursing.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHAKie2XiU0[/youtube]

[vsp_results id=”22700″/]

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461 Replies to “Velominati Super Prestige: Milan-Sanremo 2013”

  2. @Gianni I was going to post the vid of Kelly-Argentin before I even saw that you mentioned it, because Sean Kelly’s awesomeness and the awesomeness of MSR is on full display:

     

  3. VSP PICKS:

    1. Sagan
    2. Gilbert
    3. Spartacus
    4. Pfaffs about with Sunnies
    5. Goss

  4. No one will let Sagen get away this year. Got bunch sprint all over it but I am sure he will still place. Boonen to spend 150k on the phantom tri bars pulling the bunch at 65kph just to scare the shit out of the other cobbled ridders.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Cav
    2. Sagen
    3. Degenkolb
    4. EBH
    5. Renshaw

  5. Going for broke and calling it a sprint day.  If the weather forecast goes to shit, I might revise this.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Cav
    2. Sag
    3. Greipel
    4. Renshaw
    5. Boonen

  7. Does Matt White say “Rule 5” to Svein Tuft around 6:45 in that video or am I imagining it. Probably imagining it. I can’t believe Matt got sacked. Such nonsense.

  8. Oops I guess I’ll add more than Sagan, although that may be enough

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Sagan
    2. Boonen
    3. Gilbert
    4. Cancellara
    5. Nibali

  9. VSP PICKS:

    1. Sagan
    2. Chavanel, Sylvain
    3. Nocentini
    4. Cancellara
    5. Thomas, G

  12. @Nate

    @Gianni I was going to post the vid of Kelly-Argentin before I even saw that you mentioned it, because Sean Kelly’s awesomeness and the awesomeness of MSR is on full display:

    I LOVE this video. The massive sigh from the crowd when they hear Argentin has been caught by . . . . Kelly, is wonderful. They know the hometown boy has lost when they hear that.  Even Kelly admitted he descended like a madman but that’s what it takes when you want to win in what seems like a lost cause. The only bad thing is the shitty commentator. Actually, there’s two bad things, the commentator and Kelly’s helmet. Ugly-ass Brancale.

  20. @wiscot

    @Nate

    @Gianni I was going to post the vid of Kelly-Argentin before I even saw that you mentioned it, because Sean Kelly’s awesomeness and the awesomeness of MSR is on full display:

    I LOVE this video. The massive sigh from the crowd when they hear Argentin has been caught by . . . . Kelly, is wonderful. They know the hometown boy has lost when they hear that. Even Kelly admitted he descended like a madman but that’s what it takes when you want to win in what seems like a lost cause. The only bad thing is the shitty commentator. Actually, there’s two bad things, the commentator and Kelly’s helmet. Ugly-ass Brancale.

    I liked the point where the crowd drags the bikes and the hurt riders off the road so the race can go on. You don’t see that anymore.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Boonen
    2. Sagan
    3. Thor
    4. Cancellara
    5. Gilbert

  21. VSP PICKS:

    1. Boonen
    2. Chavanel, Sylvain
    3. Goss
    4. Sagan
    5. Cavendish

  23. Phinney because of that performance on the T-A stage-of-death, rather despite it. B-H because of a shot of him Sky posted looking decidedly Casually Deliberate. There is no science to my picks. There maybe madness.

    Well, apart from Sagan to win, because, well, he is going to isn’t he? See again the T-A stage-of-death.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Sagan
    2. Boasson Hagen
    3. Gilbert
    4. Phinney
    5. Boonen

  26. Cold, wet, and windy? Boom Boom rises above.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Boonan
    2. Nibali
    3. Syl. Chavanel
    4. Sagan
    5. Terpstra

  27. Nibbles lead a selection up and over the Poggio, and then gets outsprinted by all of them!

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Sagan
    2. van Avermaet
    3. Pozzato
    4. Sylvain Chavanel
    5. Nibali

  28. VSP PICKS:

    1. Peter Sagan
    2. Philippe Gilbert
    3. Tom Boonen
    4. Fabian Cancellara
    5. Matthew Goss

  30. VSP PICKS:

    1. Mark Cavendish
    2. Geraint Thomas
    3. Fabian Cancellara
    4. Peter Sagan
    5. tom boonen

  31. Much like Gilbert 2011, everyone knows what Sagan’s gonna do but none of them can do a thing about it…

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Sags
    2. Thor
    3. Fabs
    4. Chavs
    5. Nibs

  32. Was actually considering dropping Thor from the selection purely because he didn’t fit my naming scheme…

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Sags
    2. Thor
    3. Fabs
    4. Chavs
    5. Nibs

  36. VSP PICKS:

    1. Sagan
    2. Gilbert
    3. Cancellara
    4. Boonen
    5. Cavendish

  37. Nibbles to tear it up in the wet….

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Nibbly nibble
    2. Sagan
    3. Boonen
    4. Cancellara
    5. Welsh wonder. G Thomas

  39. VSP PICKS:

    1. Sagan
    2. Greipel
    3. Nibali
    4. Cavendish
    5. Cancellara

  41. Think I might just stubbornly keep putting G Thomas down for every race he enters this season – better put Sagan in there to take at least one point

    Totally fascinating in that the favourite rarely seems to win in bike racing one dayers

    VSP PICKS:

    1. G
    2. Fast Phil
    3. Faboo
    4. Sagan
    5. Nibbles

  48. Does it really matter who is in the final four? Sagan is on fire.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Sagan
    2. Phil Gil
    3. Nibbles
    4. Goss
    5. Thor

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