Velominati Super Prestige: Milan-Sanremo 2013
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″/]
VSP PICKS:
1. CANCELLARA
2. NIBALI
3. GILBERT
4. DEGENKOLB
5. BENNATI
@Dan_R
Yes””I’m going with a total flyer on Offredo in just the kind of scenario you’re implying. I just like the kid; I like FDJ; and I’d love to see it happen. I think I might have the only Offredo pick anywhere in the top five.
@Buck Rogers
Methinks Gilbert is the better bet to pick up a third Monument. Maybe we’ll be talking about Sagan in this way in a few years, but I still think Gilbert or Cancellara will start eyeing the remaining Monuments in order to collect all five. I’m not sure Cancellara could really manage LBL, but Gilbert’s been there or thereabouts both in MSR and the Ronde. Could he be a player at PR? Not this year, but in the future?
VSP PICKS:
1. Fabulous Faboo
2. Secondary Sagan
3. Thundering Thor
4. Galloping Gilbert
5. Monstrous Moser
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Cavendish
3. Cancellara
4. Gilbert
5. Nibali
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Cancellara
3. Boonen
4. Cavendish
5. Gilbert
I’m just throwing names out there…
Enough talk, as Conan the Barbarian said. I can’t pick Sagan to win, he is too highly favored. I’d like to pick Thor or PhilGil but I don’t think they have it together yet. I’ll never get as close to the top as I did last year so this year I’m just going to pick my favorites and sit at the bottom of the VSP standings with Brett.
VSP PICKS:
1. cancellara
2. husvold, thor
3. Nibali
4. farrar
5. boassenhagen
Sags too good in a two-up with Nibbles after the most terrifying descent of the Poggio ever witnessed. Fabs drags Haydn Roulston just enough to hold off the hard-charging select bunch which does not include Cav but does include Gossy.
Or not.
VSP PICKS:
1. Sags
2. Nibbles
3. Fabs
4. Rolly
5. Gossy
VSP PICKS:
1. Sags
2. Thor
3. EBH
4. Cav
5. Goss
@Buck Rogers and Steampunk
We have to attack with abandon once in a while! I am stuck in sub zero weather, so I attack the VSP!
VSP PICKS:
1. faboo
2. thor
3. chav
4. gilbert
5. sagan
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Chavanel
3. Cancellara
4. Gilbert
5. Nibali
Regardless of having not picked Haussler, I hope to see a strong showing from him. It would be great to see him back on form. Stage 13 of the 2009 tour remains one of my favorite moments in sport. To see H H crying in the rain as he crossed the line. Awesome stuff.
cyclingnews has the complete start list.
VSP PICKS:
1. Cavendish
2. Goss
3. Hushovd
4. Terpstra
5. Greipel
@Gianni
Love Conan, “Time enough for the earth in a grave”!!!
@Steampunk
Cannot wait until Gilbert decides to ride PR again. He rode it once in his very early career and has said that he will not return to it for a few more years. But when he dos, I really think he’ll have a chance. I just cannot get behind Cancellara. The guys always whinges on about how every one marks him and no one helps him, blah blah blah oh, shut the fuck up and ride Cancellara. Boonen was sooooo marked in the mid-2000’s and still won and never bitched about it the markings. It comes with being the favorite. Remember when Potato wouldn’t let Boonen take a piss without holding his dick for him? Never moaned about it at all. The Dude is class. Sagan will have at least two monuments this year in my opinion, marked or not.
Tomorrow is going to fucking suck to be on a bike. For 300K. At speeds we only attain for short bursts, or going downhill, wind at our back. Going to be rad to watch.
do I change my picks? Tho Italian, Nibbles doesn’t seem to mind foul weather. And he can climb, and can suffer “long”. But it may go slower ’cause of the cold and ice pellets. If it stays together, it’s a crap shoot. A Belgian or Dutch is going to go long and ride in solo. Fuck it, I don’t know. Can’t wait.
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Cancellara
3. Pozzato
4. Nibali
5. Moser
VSP PICKS:
1. Cavendish
2. Sagan
3. Cancellara
4. Thomas
5. Gilbert
VSP picks
Hoping for a sprint
Toughest fuckers to the front. Or something.
VSP PICKS:
1. Boonen
2. Sagan
3. Goss
4. Bennati
5. Chicchi
VSP PICKS:
1. CANCELLARA
2. NIBALI
3. GILBERT
4. BOONEN
5. DEGENKOLB
@paolo
Yeah, I wanted to put HH in too. It would be good to see him back to his old ways. I don’t know a thing about his team this year, can they help get him to the final? Lovkvist? Sky must have booted his swedish ass, he should be good for HH.
A minor tweak and a little St Paddy’s Day influence…
VSP PICKS:
1. Paddy O’ Sagan
2. Vince Nibbles
3. Pozzato
4. Thor
5. Motorcus
Battery charged…
Weather has me thinking… probably too much.
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Philbert
3. Degenkolb
4. Chavanel
5. Faboo
VSP PICKS:
1. NEE-ba-lee
2. Moser
3. Santambrogio
4. Pozzato
5. Degenkolb
@G’rilla
you speak the truth, good spot.
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Cancellara
3. Thomas
4. Cavendish
5. Griepel
VSP PICKS:
1. sagan
2. Nibali
3. Cancellara
4. Thomas
5. Moser
@Pedale.Forchetta Just the one battery? Are you not taking many photos? Disappointing …
In honor of St. Patrick’s day and MSR, here’s a great clip of Sean Kelly ruining Moreno Argentin’s day in the ’92 edition. He bridges across just as they go under the red kite, from then on it was just a formality…watching it never gets old.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL3jQmkj3uI
@LA Dave
david duffield’s scatalogical approach to cycling commentary in full flow
Hurrah it’s started…
Now that’s a new one – a bike race in a bus – a real bus
So the break should go all out to get the biggest possible gap, have a rest and refuel while they drive to the restart point, and then try to hold on until the end.
Could be interesting.
Had to read this a few times to sink in; from http://live.cyclingnews.com/
11:32:15 CET
So the riders will take shuttle buses and cars from the 117km point to 163km and the time gap to the break will be kept at the foot of the climb.
11:30:24 CET
Official confirmation that the Turchino – both the ascent and the descent – have been neutralized.
Oh come on…
“Erik Dekker, the DS at Blanco, has been complaining about the whether, saying that some riders have been crying on their bikes.”
Have to say, this guy looks like he could be ready to turn on the waterworks. http://t.co/6Tot6g7AKH
Rule #5 gentlemen, otherwise there’s whisky and a revolver under the driver’s seat.
Suggested addition to Rule #24 – all temperatures to be referred to and measured in Celcius.
Holy Rule #9 barman! Here’s a look at Taylor Phinney as he stepped on the bus.
https://twitter.com/taylorphinney/status/313261700155592704/photo/1
Here’s the actual image now that I’m not trying to do this via phone.
Twitter hashtag #MSR is full of nasty images. Looks like this classic has finally found an addition to suite the hardmen. Should be interesting to see what things look like on the Capi on the second half of the race.
Ha.
Roger De Vlaeminck on twitter: What a mess, this Milano-San Remo. The riders are so frozen they can’t even tweet anymore!
Not being able to see any video coverage of the race (suggestions for a US source???), I’m curious as to what changes to the bikes they may have made for this weather. Would you ride different tires for snowy climbs, or do you just assume that the ones you normally use will handle it? Do you need to worry about the derailleurs icing up and jamming? Is it possible to put a heated cab on the bike? Enquiring Minds want to know!
They are only racing for 85KM now. Restart at 15.00 CET. Looks like a bunch sprint / bun fight is going to decide it.
@ralph
don’t know for sure if http://www.stopstream.com works in the us
I think I’d rather see them call the whole thing off than carry on with a fiasco. It’s like reducing a Test match to a 20 over slog..