Velominati Super Prestige: Liege-Bastogne-Liege 2015

Liege is an interesting animal; whereas the Cobbled Classics are the sole domain of the specialists known as de Klassiekers in Flemish who rarely show their faces as serious contenders in the other portions of the season (assuming you ignore John Degencobble or Al Kristoff), the Ardennes classics have a strong showing from the Grand Tour GC contenders, rouleurs, and climbing specialists alike. Liege, being the biggest of the lot, is the final showdown and provides the first real glimpse into what might unfold in May and July.

The route is a brute; the road back from Bastogne being packed tight with shortish, punchy climbs. My favorite of the lot is the Cote de Stockeu, which climbs up steeply before taking a hard left turn and dropping right back down to the precise point from where the climb started. Its inclusion in the route is gratuitous in the most sinister sense. From there to the finish the route is bumpy to say the least, and the final uphill grind through town is where the race is lost if you don’t have the legs.

Will Nibbles take it? He’s performed well in the final before. Or will one of the specialists take it this time around? Last year saw Gerrans take the win from a small group, but a solo winner is just as likely. Amstel had a big bunch, so maybe QuietKowski will show again.

Start your Prognostication Machines, ponder the start list, and set your alarms to remind yourself not to Delgado. Good luck, and remember we have a frame from Jaegher and wheels from Café Roubaix on offer for the overall VSP winner after Lombardy.

 

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177 Replies to “Velominati Super Prestige: Liege-Bastogne-Liege 2015”

  1. When I used my cellphone, all 5 boxes showed up. On my laptop only one box shows up. I tried restarting the laptop, logging in then logging out, turning pop-ups on and off, but none of that worked on this laptop. Hopefully the system accepted my picks from my cellphone. It is a mystery to me (like so many other things).

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Valverde
    2. Kwiatkowski
    3. Rodriguez
    4. Rui Costa
    5. R Kreuzinger
  2. Here we go.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Nibali
    2. Pozzovivo
    3. Kwiatkowski
    4. Schleck
    5. Van Gaarderen
  3. VSP PICKS:

    1. Kwiatkowski, Michal
    2. Valverde, Alejandro
    3. Martin, Dan
    4. Rodriguez, Joaquin
    5. Nibali, Vincenzo
  4. VSP PICKS:

    1. Kwiatkowski, Michal
    2. Valverde, Alejandro
    3. Gallopin, Tony
    4. Martin, Dan
    5. Nibali, Vincenzo
  5. It’s always so completely obvious after the fact.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. M. Kwiatkowski
    2. Dan Martin
    3. A. Valverde
    4. R. Costa
    5. F. Gilbert
  6. VSP PICKS:

    1. Alejandro Valverde
    2. Michal Kwiatkowski
    3. Joaquim Rodriguez
    4. Vincenzo Nibali
    5. Domenico Pozzovivo
  7. Going with my head for now. Might go with my heart (Kwiato) later…

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Alejandro Valverde
    2. Joaquim Rodriguez
    3. Domenico Pozzovivo
    4. Michal Kwiatkowski
    5. Rui Costa
  8. VSP PICKS:

    1. Alejandro Valverde
    2. Michal Kwiatkowski
    3. Tim Wellens
    4. Michael Albasini
    5. Dan Martin
  9. Piti has prepared well for Ardennes week…

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Valverde
    2. Albasini
    3. Kwiatkowski
    4. Gasparotto
    5. Dani Moreno
  10. VSP PICKS:

    1. Michal Kwiatkowski
    2. Alejandro Valverde
    3. Tony Gallopin
    4. Joaquim Rodriguez
    5. Domenico Pozzovivo
  11. tweakage

    VSP PICKS:

    1. M Kwiatkowski
    2. A Valverde
    3. J Rodriguez
    4. V Nibali
    5. P Gilbert
  12. Valverde doesn’t do well in shit weather, Nibali and J-Rod are made of harder stuff.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Joaquim Rodriguez
    2. Nibali
    3. Kwiatkowski
    4. Dan Martin
    5. Valverde
  13. Can anyone stop the green valley? I ‘m not sure they can . I just hope Gerrans doesn’t wheel suck his way to a good result .

    VSP PICKS:

    1. valverde
    2. kelderman
    3. rodriguez
    4. kiatkowski
    5. bardet
  14. @rockkk

    Can anyone stop the green valley? I ‘m not sure they can . I just hope Gerrans doesn’t wheel suck his way to a good result .

    VSP PICKS:

    1. valverde
    2. kelderman
    3. rodriguez
    4. kiatkowski
    5. bardet

    I’m happy to concede that Gerrans following wheels in Australian races against much weaker domestic riders was totally lame. But in a Monument against the best teams in the world, its just smart racing. The job of the other teams is to unhinge anyone who can finish better than their finisher. If they can’t do that, they have to accept the consequences. How long was Kwiatowski in the wind last weekend?

  15. VSP PICKS:

    1. Michal kwiatkowski
    2. Joaquim Rodriguez
    3. Alejandro Valverde
    4. Dan Martin
    5. Tony Gallopin
  16. VSP PICKS:

    1. Philippe GILBERT
    2. Alejandro VALVERDE
    3. Wilco KELDERMAN
    4. Vincenzo NIBALI
    5. Julian ALAPHILIPPE
  17. Holding my nose with crossed fingers.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Valverde
    2. Daniel Martin
    3. Gilbert
    4. Kwiatkowski
    5. Alaphilippe
  18. VSP PICKS:

    1. Michal Kwiatkowski
    2. Alejandro Valverde
    3. Joaquin Rodriguez
    4. Rui Costa
    5. Tom Jelte Slagter
  19. VSP PICKS:

    1. Rafal Majka
    2. Jelle Vanendert
    3. Tim Wellens
    4. Jan Bakelants
    5. Daniel Martin
  20. My spelling is awful. But I’m afraid to change anything on my picks. Kwiatkowski. Sheesh.

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