Velominati Super Prestige: Liége-Bastogne-Liége
We’ve all watched bike races, that’s a given, but how many of us actually listen to a bike race? It’s at this time every year that I’m reminded of something;
The Ardennes Classics sound different.
How does a bike race sound exactly? In the case of L-B-L, it’s the low buzz of the TV helicopter that is ingrained in my psyche. The subliminal hum of the rotors, droning away, overlaid with the monologue of Phil and Paul (or some Dutch or Spanish guy), also droning away, is a trance-inducing concoction not even the likes of Ken Kesey ever experienced.
Be warned, if you’re a Vietnam Veteran watching (and listening to) this clip of Argentin taking his fourth Doyenne may lead to flashbacks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzAntXH46p0&feature=related
While the cobbled northern Classics elucidate a mien that takes hold of our hearts and can’t really be explained, the hillier races in the last week of the Spring campaign offer their own charms for us to appreciate. The fragile climbers, who’ve avoided the rough and dirty roads in weeks previous, mix it up alongside a smattering of the Big Men of the Stones who make the crossover to give it one last crack, or to simply help their grimpeur buddies get a slice of their own pie. These are races that can go to any number of riders who are having an on day.
Which doesn’t make picking a winner in this, the final Spring edition of the Velominati Super Prestige any easier. Will a Schleck, any Schleck, stand up (or be countered). What will the reactions be if Veino repeats, will he still be the villain, or is a year a long time in cycling and he’ll be forgiven, cheered and revered? PhilGil could make his own history and take not only the triple crown of Amstel, Fleche and Liége, but the quadruple with his Brabanste Pijl win thrown in for good measure. Whichever way the cards fall, or whoever plays them right, it’s always a worthy winner who rolls across the line first in Ans.
All that’s left to do is take a look at the start list, use your Powers of Deductionâ„¢ to decide your Top V, fill in the blanks and pick up an Obey The Rules bumper sticker for your trouble. It’s a prize older and more coveted than any other cycling-based-website-race-tipping-competition-bumper-sticker-giveaway.
Maybe listening to your heart is the way to go on this one.
Best of Belgian to you.
@frank
Ah man, that would be SO EPIC. The V would be fysically visible than.
@frank
Actually, I’m starting to get premonitions of Vino and Ryder making the break stick.
@Steampunk
Can we get a crocodile report?
Gilbert, because this is the one he wants…
VSP PICKS:
1. Gilbert
2. J Rod
3. Hesjedal
4. Schleck (either… ok.. Andy)
5. Leukemans
@ramenvelo, @Netraam
Not to descend back into doping, but isn’t Scarponi back under investigation? As I type this, I wonder for the first time if lifetime bans in the answer. Very, very few of them stay clean, don’t they? Basso and Millar are the only two cases I can think of that are even remotely close to rehabilitated.
@frank
I don’t even know anymore. Zabel was considered ‘Mr Clean’, until he admitted doping. On the one hand: almost everyone is doping. On the other hand: the doping rules are extremely severe.
@xyxax
I don’t actually know where the crocodile’s got to, but there hasn’t been any sign since Wednesday morning. Given that I’ve picked Gilbert to win, you can bet I’ll be planting it in my velomitoddler’s bed on Saturday eve…
VSP PICKS:
1. Pip Giblets
2. Jake Buglesong
3. Weight of a Nation
4. Rocket Squad
5. Sammy Sanchez
VSP PICKS:
1. Gilbert
2. J. Rodriguez
3. Frank Schleck
4. Vinokourov
5. Andy Schleck
VSP PICKS:
1. Gilbert
2. Andy Schleck
3. Vino
4. Hesjedal
5. Wiggins
I like Franks Idea with a slight difference. BTW I don’t know about you guys but I am pumped to see what Zdenek Stybar can do when he starts racing again in May.
VSP PICKS:
1. Frank
2. Andy
3. J Rod
4. Sammy
5. Igor
VSP PICKS:
1. Andy Schleck
2. Samuel Sanchez
3. Phillipe Gilbert
4. Robert Gesink
5. Sylvain Chavanel
So, an octopus picked the winner of the 2010 World Cup, a Spanish cow picked the winner of the 2010 TdF, and now Gil the Croc has picked the winner of the last two spring classics.
Why fight Mother Nature?
VSP PICKS:
1. Gilbert (not the reptile)
2. Rodriguez
3. Vinokourov
4. Schleck, A.
5. Sanchez, S.
I like the new right-way-around header pic. That’s Fons de Wolf in the red Boule d’Or kit on the left and the Peugeot rider still awheel is good old huntin’ and fishin’ Duclos-Lasalle. De Wolf would win that year’s Giro di Lombardia and the follwing year’s Milan-San Remo, and Duclos-Lasalle was of course famous for winning consecutive editions of Paris-Roubaix in ’92 and ’93 in his late 30s…
VSP PICKS:
1. Gilbert
2. Veino
3. Grimplette
4. J rod
5. Sanchez
Tiny Tony is due a good race
VSP PICKS:
1. Gilbert
2. Chavanel
3. Nibbles of Nibali
4. Vino (not Caldirola)
5. Tiny Tony Martin
VSP PICKS:
1. Sylvain Chavanel
2. Schleck the Elder
3. PhilGil
4. Jay-Purito-Rod
5. Vino
VSP PICKS:
1. Sylvain Chavanel
2. Schleck the Elder
3. PhilGil
4. Jay-Purito-Rod
5. Vino Sange Rouge
VSP PICKS:
1. Frank Schleck
2. Philippe Gilbert
3. Jakob Fulsang
4. Alexander Vinokourov
5. Sylvain Chavanel
VSP PICKS:
1. Chavanel
2. Gilbert
3. J Rod
4. Vincenzo Nibali
5. Schleck the Elder
@frank
Scarponi is under investigation, but I always want to believe what I’m seeing is genuine. However, I think more riders than not are clean now and the new kids on the block like Bobridge, Meyer, Phinney, Farrar, and Cavendouche are showing that it’s possible to win without doping.
VSP PICKS:
1. Veino
2. Chavanel
3. Gilbert
4. J rod
5. NibsAli
VSP PICKS:
1. Gikbert
2. Rodriguez
3. Vino
4. F Shleck
5. Chavanel
VSP PICKS:
1. Vino
2. Purito
3. Grimplette
4. Sammy Sanchez
5. Igor Anton
Jill Bear is going to be covered tighter than last summers underpants, can’t see him in the top ten. If he proves me wrong he is the next Merckx!
Its interesting to see Chavanel being picked. does he have the team to support him of the ability to make it in a break with so many big boy climbs?
VSP PICKS:
1. Gilbert
2. Chavanel
3. A Schleck
4. a diFferent Schleck
5. Vino
The heck with it. After reading all your picks and admiring the common sense suggestions I again took the crap shoot approach. Phil Gil will be marked so the breakaways will want to stick: di luca stays in lower case till he wins a race post suspension and stays clean, Gerrans is someone I can’t go past this classics season and I can’t wait till he takes a big race, and I can’t tell the Schelcks apart so I’m hedging my bets either way. If Andy places cool, if Frank places then I could claim I just nominated a Schleck and snaffle points that way.
VSP PICKS:
1. PhilGil
2. Gerrans
3. A Schleck
4. di luca
5. Jo Jo Rodrigues
The brothers Grimpeur will look fantastic but will miss the decisive move while looking for Andy’s lip gloss. Pineau will go in a long break with Jens but will be overrun in sight of the line.
VSP PICKS:
1. Gilbert Grape
2. Pinner Pineau
3. Gerry Gerrans
4. JRod
5. Veino
VSP PICKS:
1. J-Ro O
Oops!
VSP PICKS:
1. J-Ro O
2. Sam San
Note to self, it’s the TAB button, not the back button FFS!
As per my last lot of picks, a couple of hopefuls and a couple of definitely maybe’s.
VSP PICKS:
1. J-Ro O
2. Sam San
3. PhilGil
4. J-Co
5. Le Mans
VSP PICKS:
1. Gilbert
2. Sammy Sanchez
3. A Schleck
4. F Schleck
5. J-Rod
The break stays away and none of us get any points?
VSP PICKS:
1. P Gilbert
2. S Sanchez
3. J Rodriguez
4. A Vinokourov
5. Damiano Cunego
VSP PICKS:
1. Phil Gil
2. J Rod (the bridesmaid)
3. Veino
4. Kolobnev
5. Andy
VSP PICKS:
1. Andy
2. Gilbert
3. J Rod
4. Vino
5. Sammy Sancho
For those of you with realistic GC ambitions that’s absolutely right. Me? I’m more of a Van Summeren. Bumper stickers are where it’s at.
Betting everything on a breakaway with Gilbert being marked out of the race.
VSP PICKS:
1. Danny Martin
2. Danny di Luca
3. Philly Gilbert
4. Wacky Rodriguez
5. Frankie Schleck
Damn! Too much Kool-aid going around. Sign me up for Veino in the top five.
VSP PICKS:
1. Pip Giblets
2. Jake Buglesong
3. Weight of a Nation
4. Rocket Squad
5. Veino
@Steampunk
I think he means Axel…
Bonus points if Gewal makes the start line?
VSP PICKS:
1. Philbert Gillipe
2. Sanchez, dirty or otherwise
3. Alexi Grewal
4. Gerrans (please!)
5. Veino
Gilbert will be a marked man. Looking for a dark horse.
VSP PICKS:
1. Van Avermaet
2. Tejay
3. Nocentini
4. Moncoutie
5. Pineau
VSP PICKS:
1. Gilbert
2. Rogriguez
3. A. Schleck
4. Sanchez
5. Vinokourov
VSP PICKS:
1. Gilbert
2. Vinokourov
3. A. Schleck
4. Sanchez
5. Gerrans
Bloody hard to pick this one, going for PhiL’s quadruple (counting Brabantse Pijl).
Not an actual finishing climb so to speak to it does rather open things up.
I think a small group could fight this out.
VSP PICKS:
1. Gilbert
2. Rodriguez
3. Veino
4. A Schleck
5. F Schelck
gott a love a guy who’s this down to earth, check the hand-drawn name on the helmet:
watch out everyone, PhiL’s coming:
Come on Ryder… and Schlecks… you guys have so much promise and just haven’t delivered yet this year. Watch this time now that I’ve switched Schleck’s, I switch at the wrong time…
VSP PICKS:
1. Gilbert
2. Vino
3. Grimplette
4. Weight of a Nation
5. Chavenel
VSP PICKS:
1. Gilbert
2. Veino
3. Dan Martin
4. Sammy Sanchez
5. Fulgsang
Now that I’m not naming Louder in every VSP pick he’s going to pull it out I tell you.
VSP PICKS:
1. Phil Gilbert
2. Vinokourov
3. J Rodriguez
4. Ryder Hesjedal
5. Schleck the younger
VSP PICKS:
1. Gilbert
2. A. Schleck
3. F. Schleck
4. Gesink
5. Hesjedal