Velominati Super Prestige: Tour de France Stage 8

Contador stamps his authority on the first hilltop finish of the 2009 Tour.

The inaugural Velominati Super Prestige makes it’s first VSP Sub-Competition with Stage 8 of the Tour de France. The competition will allow contestants the opportunity to win bonus points in the VSP Tour de France by choosing the top three finishers of the stage for a chance to win 3 points for first place, 2 for second, and 1 for third.

We are expecting fireworks on the bumpy stage from Station des Rousses to Morzine-Avoriaz so it’s going to be a tough one to call, given that a breakaway can go up the road while the GC contenders watch eachother and wait for the last hill. That said, some GC hopes are farther behind (or not far enough a head of) Alberto Contador to be able to afford to wait until the last hill; will the stage show a Pantaniesque ride from a rider like Sastre or Armstrong?

Make your picks by the time tomorrow’s stage starts, regular VSP Rules apply. Good luck!

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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View Comments

Geof says:

Jul 11 2010 at 5:35 pm

@Kermitpunk
Absolutely. You could see in his face how much he hated what had happened. It wasn't the pain, it was the lost chance that really hurt him. Gotta respect that - as well as his awesome ride on tehe cobbles. Just a shame he's now gotta support Eggtimer instead of someone fresh and new and exciting and, er, fast like Brakethebitch (the name I propose to call him by once he smokes Bertie in a climb one day again soon ...).
ben says:

Jul 11 2010 at 5:51 pm

If you ever doubted who called the shots on the RadioShack team:

Lance came over the radio, telling Jani to wait and for me to go with the group of riders that had just started attacking us before the crash. I latched on to the riders and rode in their draft for next few miles until we hit the final climb.

From Chris Horner's diary for Stage 8:
http://blog.oregonlive.com/horner/2010/07/tour_de_france_stage_8_chris_h.html
frank says:

Jul 11 2010 at 7:30 pm

@ben
Dude, you totally get a point. You're a fucking stud!! Gesink! Flying the Dutch flag! I missed it when I did the tallies, but God help me, I was also watching my heart get broken by Dutchland at the Football World Cup, so I get a winger on that one. But you totally fucking got a bonus point, and good on fucking you. Cheers, mate. Tomorrow, it will be noted.
frank says:

Jul 11 2010 at 7:35 pm

@Kermitpunk, @Geof
We shit all over Lemond and Armstrong at the Velominati, and good on us for that, because this here is the tree of trust, right?

But in '91, when Lemond was at his prime and thought he could win the Tour and he lost, he fucking fought tooth to nail to the last minute. He fucking broke away on the run-in to Paris. That was balls. That was a man. He's a fucking douche now, but that's how you loose like a man. You fucking attack to the last second.

Armstrong today, despite his bad luck, well...it was...well...shit. Lance, I tell you this - and I'm sorry to say it, truly: "Pain is temporary, quitting is forever." You got dealt a bad blow today, but you didn't need to loose 12 minutes and be a big looser. I am sorry to tell you, you will remember this day, the day you quit, forever.
Marcus says:

Jul 11 2010 at 10:05 pm

@frank
I disagree Frank - Lance at 13+ minutes back has a lot more strategic value for Radioshack than Lance at say 3-5 minutes back - both in terms of riding as support for Eggtimer and/or for getting himself in a break. Indeed, as soon as it became clear his overall prospects had fallen behind the Egg, he may well have been somewhat duty-bound to let himself drop way down in GC - just to open up the potential for "manouevrability" later in the race.

Whilst it might be very unlikely that he gets in a break that sticks (methinks half the bunch would want to be on his wheel if he tried) he has a lot more chance when he is miles back.

And I say there is no benefit in Lance finishing 10th-15th versus finishing 50th.
Hawkeye says:

Jul 12 2010 at 7:12 am

Ahhh crap. Was out of net coverage and couldn't tip.

Wouldn't have picked it right anyway! Would only have grabbed a Grimp point.

Great stage though. Couple of hitters are riding for pride, not the podium now. Twiggo for one - may not even top 10. Ouch.

I can't imagine Lance being allowed up the road, even if he was an hour down.
Nathan Edwards says:

Jul 12 2010 at 11:28 am

Really annoyed I missed this... would have tipped Grimpeur too... :S
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