The inaugural Velominati Super Prestige continues the with Tour de France edition, on Saturday July 3rd in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, just kilometers from the start of the Giro d’Italia in Amsterdam (Dutchland is a small country). This will be the second Grand Tour of the series, and at this stage the Grand Tour rules and regulations are fairly well-defined, so take a moment to review them on the VSP Page.
The Tour is, of course, a major event. My personal preference lies with the Giro, but there is no denying the magnitude of the Tour and the appeal it holds. For three weeks, the world pays attention to our sport, and – provided the Tour doesn’t coincide with the World Cup football matches – this is the biggest sporting event during this time of the year. (An interesting observation: the last time these events coincided, the winner was eventually stripped of his title.)
Having run the VSP Giro edition where we tested the ruleset for Grand Tours, we’ve managed to set up a scoring system that seems fair and helps to close down the competition to afford newcomers the ability to catch up with some good picks; the Giro proved that lineup switches and the associated penalties kept the point gains pretty small while allowing strategy to play an interesting role. There is a full overview of the rules and standing at the VSP Schedule, Rules, & Results page, but here is the ten-second overview:
Every contestant is to choose their top five General Classification picks of the race. The final podium of le Grande Boucle is worth 15 points to the winner, 10 points for second, 5 points for third, 3 points for fourth, and 2 point for fifth. Given the effect crashes can have on a tour, we’ve set up some guidelines around making changes to your lineup during the race: you’re allowed to change your lineup if any rider in your pick list drops out for any reason without any penalty; rest days will allow contestants to make changes to their lineup, however those changes will come at a point penalty. (Visit the VSP Schedule, Rules, & Results page for a complete breakdown of these points.)
Every day, the leader in the points standings will have the honor of wearing the Yellow Jersey when posting on the site; the overall winner will wear the Yellow Jersey for the remainder of the season and will also earn an “Obey the Rules” bumper sticker. All reader’s points qualify towards the final prize of the free Velominati Shop Apron. As always, if you are inclined to enter, simply post your predictions for the top five placings.
New to the Tour de France edition is the addition of naming the winner of the Green and Polka-dot jerseys for the Tour. There will be no points awarded towards these two jerseys, but the leader of the competition of these jerseys will have the honor of commenting with a Green or Polka-dot jersey badge throughout the competition and the winner will earn the right to comment with that badge until next year’s Tour. The contestant who picks both the final Green and Polka jersey winners correctly will win a Velominati Logo bumper sticker. Tie-breakers will go to the first contestant who posts their entire lineup (all 5 GC picks plus Green and Polka-dot jersey winners). Given that this sub-competition has no points, pick substitutions will only be granted under the DNF regulations of the VSP; no rest-day substitutions are allowed.
Sub-competitions will be conducted while the Tour is underway for specific stages. These stages will be chosen a few days prior to the stage being held and will be selected based on the current race conditions with the aim of choosing the most decisive and exciting stages of the race, so check back often to make sure you don’t miss out. Sub-competitions will be held in separate editions.
Good luck!
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When Armstrong said "carnage", that was no exaggeration. Gesink out with a broken arm. VdV out with broken ribs. I'd not be surprised if more are gone tomorrow morning, including Farrar. His elbow wound looks deep and nasty. Just about all of them banged up. And now they have to race on cobbles. Thanks you gods of cycling!
Unfortunately, though, it appears it will be clear tomorrow in Northern France.
Juliet Macur of the NYT says Farrar will start Stage 3: "...has a broken left wrist and a sprained left elbow, but will start Tour's Stage 3."
http://twitter.com/JulietMacur/statuses/17823172492
...but y'know a night's rest and all can make a difference (positive or negative). I can't fathom how much Rule 5 juice you have to drink to make that feel OK on cobbles.
@ben Indeed. Further, if Farrar can win sprints with that arm all busted up, we'd have to consider moving him to apprentice hardman status. His case will be one of the interesting cases. Losing Farrar will change the shape of the Tour, I would think.
@Canarypunk
You are both right! just watched an interview with Mr 60 who said that A Grimpeur had to take TWO bikes today from his teammates (although it was Breschel on the footage I saw).
Check out the photo Little Robbie tweeted of his elbow.
http://twitpic.com/22q5pn
Loved his nippy little acceleration at the line to make sure he made the most of any points that might have been on offer. At least he tried to observe Rule 5.
Faboo the Fairy (that's right Ben) was having a hissy fit at blokes going a bit faster at the line. Don't know why - by then his job was done. Cancellara (no doubt at the behest of Mr 60) conned the whole fucking peloton in my view.
As you say Frank, they better Rule 5 it tomorrow. And am sure they will because the ASO will no doubt have read the riot act to all Team DS' as their TV footage (which is their key asset) was turned into crap for a day.
@Marcus
Thanks for clearing that up! Yes: I saw Breschel on the footage; missed the Fuglsang swap.
Still haunted by Jens's face as he brought the Grimpeurs back to the pack. That was some very impressive riding. Got home from work"”41 celsius with the humidex"”put bike in garage, saw road bike, thought of Jens, dropped backpack inside, changed, and poured on the pain. I think I lost about 3kg in sweat and seem to be missing a lung...
I can't find confirmation that Gesink is out. But if he is I think I've got until the start of Stage 3 to make changes. I accordingly substitute Kreuzinger for Gesink and leave other picks unchanged (in light of the Piti Principle and the fact that it is nigh impossible to plausibly claim that Geink's wiothdrawal changes the dynamics of the race sufficiently to justify tinkering with the other picks).
To save you looking back through posts, Frank, revised line-up (assuming FGesink is out) is as follows:
1 - Bertie
2 - A Grimpeur
3 - Kreuziger
4 - F Grimpeur
5 - Big Tex
Why do I get the feeling that we I may be making some more substitutions tomorrow ... ?
Very sad to see Banged and Felled get so banged and felled. I have some sympathy for the neutralisation. Yes, they all knew the descent was coming and could've ridden more conservatively. Yes, it played into Bjarn's hands more than most. And, maybe, yes, a bit of oil on the road is one of those things you just have to man up and accept every now and then. Then again, yes, we as spectators might also have to accept that rider-enforced shows of solidarity are also going to happen from time to time. On balance, I'm Ok with the decision. This time. With the benefit of armchair hindsight, it might have been better for them all to agree that (i) they would go extremely slowly until even the likes of Banged and Felled had got back on, and (ii) that the sprinters would then be allowed to get going once more? But I guess it's pretty difficult to reach any sort of agreement when the DS's all have to get into the back seats of their cars in order to see the screen ...
Sorry Geof. Uhm, see Velonews, "Stockeau masscare". They don't say he is definitely out. My mistake. They just say his arm is broken.
@david
Thanks, David. You'd think that any sane person with a broken bone (not to mention a penchant for spilling and snapping) would pull out. But sanity is not necessarily an advantage in this sport. Frank, if he DNS's then I change as above. If he starts, I don't.
Oh, damn. Look at this post race interview with Riis. There's a freakin' smirk on his face.
Today maybe his greatest achievement as a director.
@david http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc4jBCMVvUo