Which bold rider has this stage circled in their tour bible? Wednesday July 18th, Stage 16, 197 km. The day after a the final rest day. A climbing day with two HC climbs followed by two Category 1 climbs and a serious descent toward the finish. The Aubisque, Tourmalet, Aspin and Peyresourde: you better be a fearless climber and a good descender, but a better climber. This is not a stage for Sagan or Fränkie Schleck (sorry Frank). If Wiggo was going to have a bad day, this would be a special one to have it on. And this follows a rest day? Could the weather finally make a difference? Will the mad tacker return? Will climbers just try to survive this stage to perform on the fearsome Stage 17? More questions than answers in the Velominati Super-Bunker.
All VSP bettors better give an extra shake of the monkey bones before casting them down. Study them well. There is much at stake: Fizik R3s for the winner, 2 pair of DeFeet socks for first loser. The rules are the same as for the first single stage VSP. Points are awarded for correct place only. Delgado might have enjoyed this stage but don’t be like him.
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@Marcus yeah that's fair enough, I think the biggest complaint comparing Wiggo this year to Cadel last year is that the Cadelephant was on the front foot from stage 1 chasing stage wins & time where he could, whereas Wiggo, despite racing in a similar way in some of his wins earlier this year, has seemed much more canservative.
The Indurain comparison is apt, cos I'm pretty sure there weren't too many tears shed when he didn't win in '96...
@Daccordi Rider
Sensational, enjoy Margaret River. If you can swing it, give Moss Wood a call to see if they can give you a tour & tasting. The VMH & I did it a few years back & got taken around by the head winemaker before tasting an awesome selection of their back catalogue down in their cellar.
@mcsqueak
I don't think I'm entirely opposed to this, although I don't really see the benefit? I could take a picture for all of you I suppose? Any suggestions, fish on my head?
@Marko
Wow. This is the greatest day of my life. A prize of my favourite socks for 1 point!
To think that I was watching the stage with @Rigid and @Brett from 11pm to 3:30am kiwi time, and ended by swearing at the TV because I forgot I'd picked Nice Brice.
Thanks to DeFeet for their generosity.
I like Tommy Voeckler a lot, and I like his enthusiasm when he wins. I don't find it melodramatic. Too bad I had him a few places back, today, but I did have him gunning for a stage win in my pick "commentary". And KOM too!
He is one of my top two favorite Frenchmen. Marshall Foch's quote, "Situation excellent, I shall attack!", fits Tommy V very well today. He attacked and rarely looked back.
@Marcus
Actually, it's about entertainment value, that's why there are sponsors, that's why there are fans. But more to your point, he has ridden the perfect race and even closed the gaps when he needed to. It's a respectable win for sure, but low on entertainment value as far as nail-biting goes.
I'm sorry you're upset Bad Cadel reappeared. You too, @brett.
@frank
He can't help it, he's English, he was born second. Being in the front is an unnatural state.
@frank
I couldn't care less if Cadel won or not, but I like to see some exciting racing, or at least not knowing the result two weeks from Paris.
I still can't get my head around Porte and fucking Rogers being able to climb like that. Not right.
@brett
If it's a slower, cleaner race, surely the naturally talented bike riders are going to emerge? Not that the rest of the peloton are slouches, but Porte's had a star over his head for a while, and Rogers? No question about his pedigree. Seems like an odd target to pick when half the Astana team have been done at least once for actually cheating
http://www.cyclinginquisition.com/2012/06/victories-disappointments-and-how-epo.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doping_in_cycling
@harminator
No, the VSP ties are broken by the bold; the first to post an equivalent score gets the win. Whereas y'all dilly dallied about how to suck, @DerHogwash js trumped right with sucking and it won him the shirt. Lesson learned, though, next round, if there's a prize on offer, you have to score at least a point to win it.