Velominati Super Prestige: Milano San-Remo 2012
The Poggio. It’s probably one of the most famous easy climbs in the world; going through old cycling photographs, I rarely come across one where the leaders haven’t moved Sur La Plaque. It has a reputation, however, for being a real leg breaker, mostly because any climb is a big climb once you cross its summit after a paltry 291 kilometers. And the descent provides one of the twistiest, most exhilarating finales in the sport.
This race stands apart as the longest on the calendar, and represents the only of the five Monuments where the sprinters have a chance at final glory. But this can have it all: the long, solo break routinely makes it to the finish uncaught. The final attacks on the Poggio regularly stick. The attack that goes away on the climb often gets caught on the descent. And, sometimes the whole thing stays together for a bunch gallop. Essentially, any ride who is on form has a chance at glory. This is a unique race.
The question on everyone’s mind is wether Cavendish can get over the Poggio in position to make it to the finish in the first group. If he does, then you can jot down the winner right now. He’s lost some significant weight in the last few weeks, so his climbing should be good; we also have it on good authority from our eyes and ears on the roads in Italy that the Manx Mouth has been spotted training in the hills of Italy with the express intention of making it over the last bump. If, on the other hand, he gets spat out the back like a rainbow turd when the road points uphill, it will be a free-for-all. The fast semi-climbers with descending skills like Nibbles are talking big about their chances. And who in their right minds would ever discount Faboo with his brommer or Gilbert once he fires the howitzers.
So rub your lucky rabbit’s foot and throw some salt over your shoulder; you’re going to need some divine intervention on this one. This year’s VSP is also the first year where we’ll be offering a special badge to the winner of the monuments. We can’t unveil the MSR Badge yet, but the winner of this VSP event will have the honor of posting with the badge until next year’s event. The winner will also receive a free Symbol Pack. Check the start list and get your picks in by 5am Pacific on Saturday morning; if timezone arithmetic isn’t your strong suit, just watch the countdown timer in the banner at the top of the site. As usual, your points go towards the overall VSP as well.
Good luck.
VSP PICKS:
1. Cancellara
2. Boonen
3. Goss
4. Gilbert
5. Haussler
VSP PICKS:
1. cav
2. tomke
3. thor
4. sparty
5. oscar
VSP PICKS:
1. Cavendish
2. Boonen
3. Freire
4. Cancellara
5. Sagan
VSP PICKS:
1. Cavendish
2. Boonen
3. Hausler
4. Cancellera
5. Hincapie
VSP PICKS:
1. Cavendish
2. Cancellara
3. Sagan
4. Gilbert
5. Boss hogg
VSP PICKS:
1. Spartacus
2. Boonen
3. Sagan
4. Hausler
5. Freire
‘Little Brummer Boy’ swapped for ‘Fabucus’. They both mean the same thing (at least to me – I had thought I’d read that ‘brummer’ means motorbike in some language I don’t speak, but a Google search finds no evidence of that, so perhaps I was hallucinating).
Actually think it unlikely Fabucus will be second if Manxy is first. But gotta hedge bets.
VSP PICKS:
1. The Rainbow Missile
2. Fabucus
3. Nibbles
4. H2
5. Tommeke
VSP PICKS:
1. Cavendish
2. Boonen
3. Haussler
4. Cancellara
5. Sagan
VSP PICKS:
1. Cav
2. Cancellara
3. Friere
4. Griepl
5. Sagan
Picking this race feels like a roll of the dice. Every one has the same dice more or less, just different outcomes. Good luck, everyone.
VSP PICKS:
1. Cancellara
2. Gilbert
3. Cavendish
4. Hushovd
5. Boonen
Not a lottery to pick this from the perspective that its wide open but rather its a race that only stars typically win and there are plenty in terrific form.
This = Barnstorming Finale!
VSP PICKS:
1. Cavendish
2. Freire
3. Sagan
4. Boonen
5. Cancellara
Pick the strongest and put them in finishing speed order
VSP PICKS:
1. Cav
2. Oscarito
3. Tommeke
4. Sagan
5. Fabs
Tough call to leave out EBH but I feel Sky will be putting their eggs in a Cav-shaped pannier.
VSP PICKS:
1. Cavendish
2. Cancellara
3. Boonen
4. Sagan
5. Haussler
VSP PICKS:
1. Free and airy
2. Matt Bros
3. Faboo
4. Tommeke
5. haussler
VSP PICKS:
1. Cancellara
2. Cavendish
3. Griepl
4. Boonen
5. Gilbert
VSP PICKS:
1. Cavendish
2. Sagan
3. Cancellara
4. Freire
5. Nibali
Greg LeMan weighing in on the cycling news live feed and not sounding like too much of Lemelvis.
Cavendish squarely in the Pain Cave.
ARGH. Cav lied. He can’t climb at all.
Pop.
I’m glad my Italian is terrible, b/c I’d be yelling at the computer otherwise.
Cav looks screwed!
@Erik
I yell at the computer anyway. And I have only very rudimentary Italian
Due vini Rossi! DUE VINI ROSSI!
How do you say ‘shat out the back of the group’ in Italian?
@napolinige
Me? Due vini rossi. Gets good results.
A bad day in a 300km race is a bad day indeed.
@napolinige
Rainbow Turd. If it worked for Cipo it works for Cavinrainbowturddish.
Fuck! Can’t believe I didn’t go with my first line up. I blame most of you here, and the peer pressure. Sky is trying to get him back tho……..
BTW; live and in english for all of us that only speak Tibetan as a second language.
http://sports-livez.com/channel/ch-9.php
Just loaded the player — what the sitch other than laying of Rainbow Turds?
Is it too late to say Freire for the four-peat? I have him taking the second step.
I think I got downgraded from V2 to V4 for that question. I am appropriately shamed. Nibali and Sagan changed everything by putting the heat on Cavendish.
@Erik
Did you change your email address? That’ll do it.
Hayman appears to be belly breathing.
And Sky pulls the plug with 50K to go at 58 seconds back. WTF? I mean I know it’s a tough call, but with 50K? His stock is slipping with me now…………
I wonder if Sauceler will pop on the poggio again.
@scaler911
The one time I put that little ass monkey down as my pick and this is how he repays?
On the other hand, when he got dropped, he did look like he was digging deep – swerving all over the road like it was a bunch gallop. And, to @Marko’s point, the rest of those guys hardly looked on the rivet.
Goes back to the advice Merckx gave him (and I’m paraphrasing): “Learn to climb, you little fucktard.”
Surprised Cav didn’t even make it to the Capi.
@blah
That’s what happened. Typo in the email.
@Erik
Welcome back.
So far things are looking good for my VSP this time around
Tomeke is lookin’ gooooooooood!
HOOGERLAND!!!
Hoogerland!
COSTA!!!
Johnny Five layin’ it down on the front!
@King Clydesdale
oh yeah!
If Costa makes the front two I give them a 15% chance to make it to the end. Costa and Hoogerland in the same break can be problems, they are both on form and know how to work a break.
Big crash, Gilbert and others down…
Chute! GOBBLES DOWN.
Gilbert down