Velominati Super Prestige

Velominati Super Prestige: Men’s Elite Road Race 2013

Philippe_Gilbert,_2012_Road_World_Championships,_Cauberg (1)
Gobbles goes clear on the Cauberg in 2012

The world championship road race stands out among all other one-day races as the one where the winner is awarded both a curse and a jersey to carry for the next 12 months. It also inspires way too many riders to wear white bibs, which is an alarming trend in itself and one which I hope Brian Cookston, the new UCI President, prioritizes over the doping problem – let’s face facts: white shorts on rainy days does more damage to Cycling’s image than any doping scandal ever could.

Be that as it may, I often find myself wondering if its easier to win a Grand Tour or a one-day race. Certainly, winning a Grand Tour requires focus, discipline, and performance across a wide range of terrain and over a long period of time, but it also offers the opportunity to recover from a bad moment and to take advantage of the days where the terrain or discipline suits the qualities of the rider. A one-day race, on the other hand, is shorter but also less controllable. All in, no net; a moment’s inattention could be disastrous and in an instant your chances could disappear up the road.

The World Championships are also the only race which has brought Mary V to tears after narrowly losing the title. The Dutch don’t cry easily, especially not the ones who bleed pure V.

The Worlds are always a live wire of a race; the national teams mean the riders are riding for and against their usual teammates. Team unity is always a question, and loyalties are hard to predict. All for one and one for all, until a mate goes up the road and suddenly things start looking blurry. Throw in a circuit race, a big climb you ride 17 times, a steep ramp about V km from finish, and you’ve got yourself a race Nostradamus would have a chore predicting.

The Men set out in what is predicted to be horrendous weather on Sunday, September 29. Check the start list, rattle the bones, and put your picks in by the time the clock goes to zero. Good luck.

[vsp_results id=”27411″/]

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303 Replies to “Velominati Super Prestige: Men’s Elite Road Race 2013”

  1. This has to be the most difficult race to predict of the entire calendar! Climbers? Puncheurs? Sprinters? Who knows…. Sunday will probably prove that the answer is “not me”.

    @Sauterelle – I was thinking Bakelents as well for an outside shout at the win, he’s been in excellent form the second half of the season and the way he dealt with Tommy V in the Grand Prix Wallonie showed his tactical nous!

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Fabian Cancellara
    2. Peter Sagan
    3. Jan Bakelants
    4. Joaquim Rodrigez
    5. Vincenzo Nibali

  3. The haters gonna hate but here comes the curse for Peter

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Sagan
    2. Cancellara
    3. Gilbert
    4. Rodriquez
    5. Valverde

  6. @Sauterelle

    @Mike_P

    So who is handing out the medals, Cookson or the fat Irish fucker?

    Cookson, thank Merckx!

    And speaking of Merckx….I MET HIM TODAY!!!!! Holy shit, I was at the finish line for the men’s U23, turned around, and there was Eddy! I nearly wet myself. I got to meet him and Axel!

    THIS!

  7. I’m going all in. Going to rearrange everything. Putting Evans first. Because I put Horner first and was the only one at the Vuelta to do that. I’ll do it here too.  Mind you, this does not mean I won the Vuelta VSP. Just that I managed to pick one of five.

    Good Cadel pips Nibali at the line in the rain!  Cancellara comes around Valverde to round out the podium. A tired but smiling Chris Horner comes across 20 second later. The devastated pack is lead in by Peter Sagan 1 minute and 20 seconds later.

    The VeloNostra (damas) has spoken.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Evans
    2. Nibali
    3. Cancellara
    4. Valverde
    5. Horner

  8. Total crapshoot.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Boassen Hagen
    2. Froome
    3. Boonen
    4. Cancellara
    5. Sagan

  10. Not going to win VSP now, so might as well have some wild cards in

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Froome
    2. Fabian Cancellara
    3. J-Rod
    4. Peter Sagan
    5. Richie Porte

  11. Given infinite time, a thousand monkeys with typewriters will eventually recreate the works of shakespear. My picks? One monkey; five minutes.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Faboo
    2. Horner
    3. Thor
    4. Valverde
    5. Sagan

  12. VSP PICKS:

    1. CANCELLARA
    2. NIBALI
    3. SAGAN
    4. FROOME
    5. DA COSTA

  14. VSP PICKS:

    1. Cancellara, F
    2. Sagan, P
    3. Boasson Hagen, E
    4. Froome, C
    5. Nibali, V

  15. I just want to know, as an uncabled denizen of the media desert that is lululemonland, where I might be able to stream a feed for this race on Sunday?

  16. Hushovd, what? I am 47yr old, show me a big climb I will hang on till the near end. Show me ten hills, forget it. I am not Horners doctor but i think not. Spains ‘tres capitan’ sounds like a car crash waiting to happen. A day for a spoiler me thinks. So I give you ah ummm Valverde…..

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Valverde
    2. Uran Uran
    3. Froome
    4. Nibali
    5. Quintana

  18. @Sauterelle

    @Mike_P

    So who is handing out the medals, Cookson or the fat Irish fucker?

    Cookson, thank Merckx!

    And speaking of Merckx….I MET HIM TODAY!!!!! Holy shit, I was at the finish line for the men’s U23, turned around, and there was Eddy! I nearly wet myself. I got to meet him and Axel!

    Fuck yeah! Did you kneel? Was there a parting of the skies? Perhaps a faint rumbling of the ground?

  20. @Buck Rogers

    @unversio

    Good eighstimation eightzero.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. VALVERDE BELMONTE Alejandro
    2. CANCELLARA Fabian
    3. HUSHOVD Thor
    4. RODRIGUEZ OLIVER Joaquin
    5. HENAO MONTOYA Sergio Luis

    Jesus, Man, are you changing your picks again??? You’re worse than my VMH!!!

    Velominati are supposed to strategize all the way into the final moments — to the line.

  23. Hard to pick against the boy wonder.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Sagan
    2. Faboo
    3. Nibali
    4. Van Garderen
    5. Stannard

  24. VSP PICKS:

    1. Cancellara
    2. Sagan
    3. Valverde
    4. Rodriguez
    5. Nibali

  27. VSP PICKS:

    1. Fabian Cancellara
    2. Peter Sagan
    3. Rui Costa
    4. Vincenzo Nibali
    5. Nairo Quintana

  29. I get a chuckle out of those of you who think Froome’s SRM will tell him how to win a hotly contested one day race.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. cancellara
    2. nibali
    3. sagan
    4. g. thomas
    5. van avermaet

  31. What have I done?

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Phil Gil for the ‘peat.
    2. Oh Danny Boy Martin
    3. Rui Alberto Faria da Costa
    4. Purito
    5. “La Ronca” Betancur

  32. picks dont matter no more, gonna be a wet canaragefest. cant wait.

    but gotta roll those bones.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Nibbler
    2. JRod
    3. BelamonteValverdemonte
    4. Saganator
    5. Rocheee

  34. Looks like it will be a race for a hardman who can go well in shit weather.  Come on, lads!  A win in the overall is out of reach, but I’d like to keep second place.

    I didn’t even pick him for a podium finish, but I still feel dirty picking Piti.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Fabian Cancellara
    2. Peter Sagan
    3. Edvald Boasson Hagen
    4. Alejandro Valverde
    5. Vincenzo Nibali

  35. Bring on the weather.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Sagan
    2. Valverde
    3. Evans
    4. G Thomas
    5. Porte

  37. If the weather’s going to be filthy there’s only one man I’d pick for a largely descending finish with a cheeky uphill kick in it. I’m hoping the tank isn’t empty after La Vuelta. As for the rest, no idea.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Nibbles
    2. Bakelants
    3. Gilbert
    4. Spartacus
    5. Sagan

  40. It’s a classics race wrapped up in another name….Good Cadel is out to play having had a good year in Italy and the Italians will fight hard in the home land to get Pozzato to the line (knackered as he is).  I cannot see much beyond Peter Pincheur making it in a sprint unless Spartacus makes a Roubaix style motorised acceleration and rides the peloton off his exhaust fumes!  Phil Gil will try desperately to win something but noone gets to wear rainbow 2 years running..

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Peter Pincheur Sagan
    2. Faboo
    3. Phil Gil
    4. Good Cadel
    5. Pozzato

  42. Go cloggies!

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Alejandro Valverde
    2. Robert Gesink
    3. Peter Sagan
    4. Daniel Martin
    5. Warren Barguil

  43. My head hurts trying to pick this VSP. It’s even had me looking at betting websites for some inspiration.  Youth to triumph, 150/1 outsider but a 60kg 6 footer.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Warren Barguil
    2. Peter Sagan
    3. Fabian Cancellara
    4. Alejandro Valverde
    5. Dan Martin

  44. Valverde to get another second.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Nibali
    2. Alejandro Valverde
    3. Joaquim Rodrigez
    4. Cancellara
    5. Porte

  45. VSP PICKS:

    1. Cancellara
    2. Sagan
    3. Nibali
    4. Rodrigez
    5. Valverde

  47. I’ve seen Cavendouche race a couple of times this year and he’s going like a train – he can climb a hill when he has to – or rather descend like a maniac. Someone has to get him to the line and Froome knows that he can look at his stem all day but if it finishes in a bunch (as it will) he’s fucked so he’ll look after Cavendouche with the rest of his former Sky pals seeing as the rest of OPQS will be riding for somone else. The weather will be apocalyptic which will suit anyone from the UK apart from Pippi Longstocking who will either fall off or get dropped or both.

    Sagan will lose by half a bike length and I might have swapped him with the Dog if I didn’t think that Froome will rise to the occasion.

    Nibbles and Faboo will looked pissed off and thump their handlebars in the background of the finishing line slo-mo.

    Horner will blow up.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Cavendouche
    2. Froome Dog
    3. Peter Sagandouche
    4. Nibbles
    5. Faboo

  49. Tough decision. Sagan and Cancellara both targeted this race. Betting that Sagan learned from the spring races on how to take Faboo.

    VSP PICKS:

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

  50. “Herding cats” yet again…

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Cancellara
    2. Nibali
    3. Horner
    4. Van Garderen
    5. Sagan

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