Velominati Super Prestige: Vuelta a España 2012
One of the loveliest things about the Grand Tours is that you get a feel, by the nature of the route, of the country’s landscape and physical qualities. Italy is littered with mountains and coasts, France is bordered by mountains with large swaths of open landscape throughout, and Spain is like Tatooine; mostly desert with some rocky outcroppings. I might be oversimplifying here, but it seems like every edition of the Vuelta features a week or two of riders cutting through open desert on a freeway and then finishing it off with some climbs that require a buzz-saw gear to get up. Of the three Tours, this one is my least favorite, but it’s a bike race and I loves me a bike race.
The Vuelta also stands apart as being the event which generally decides the Velominati Super Prestige GC and the personalized Shop Apron that goes with it; in past editions, we’ve even had newcomers to the event debut at the Vuelta and win the overall, as was the case last year with @Nate’s performance. Unless I have that wrong, in which case I don’t really care. The important point here is that even though there is less interest in this event than others, it matters quite a bit to the year-long VSP, so you better be paying attention, corporal.
No fancy prizes on offer as we did at the Tour, but we do have our customary Symbol Pack up for grabs, in addition to second and third places winning a pair of Handlebar Cufflinks each when they come available in a few weeks. So, check the race details, get your picks in by the time the countdown clock goes to zero (5am Pacific time on Saturday), and buckle in for the ride. Regular GT VSP rules apply. Good luck.
@RedRanger
If you can watch the scene of him coming out of the chopper with the towel on his head and they ask him if he remembers the secret sign and he does the universal sign for “panic” – and not bust out laughing, it means your soul is dead. Trust me, I did the research and the numbers support it.
@frank
thats quite the prognosis. I did find the Aids song funny as well as the “dick, pussies and assholes” speech.
@graham d.m.
Looks like the spam filter is being overly aggressive. It usually sorts itself out and I approved your posts. I’ll keep an eye out for more of this happening and please anyone let me know if your posts are disappearing…
There was one post from one user who I did not catch…my guess is it wound up in the VSP DB despite not showing up here…but impossible for me to tell now.
@Bianchi Denti
Herk! I could also be the first Velominati to be stripped of said apron 16 months after the fact because of contaminated Chicken (!?! Or whatever the fuck else it’ll be next time round).
@Mikael Liddy
Fuck it! Good point. Just like Froomey has a Tour in his legs already in 2012. Forget everything I’ve said so far.
VSP PICKS:
1. Contador
2. Purito
3. Froome
4. Anton
5. Uran
@frank
Perfect! Thanks! It’s probably good the spam filter is aggressive with me as my day job is being a Twiiter porn spambot…
@Bianchi Denti
Our lad Klaas Lodewyck is riding the Vuelta. That’s him, yes?
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Purito
3. Contador
4. R Uran Uran
5. Jurgen van den Broeck
@frank
Oddly enough it was publishing the text from my posts, just not the picks. I’ll see whether a switch makes a difference.
VSP PICKS:
1. Clenbutador
2. J-Rod
3. Froome
4. De Gendt
5. Cobo
Wahey, success!
VSP PICKS:
1. Clenbutador
2. J-Rod
3. Froome
4. De Gendt
5. JVDB
I want to put Cunego in there but you just know he won’t feature. Same goes with Gesink.
Froome, Mollema, JVDV, De Gent, Anton, Gerdemann, Henao, someone in that list will cost me points for leaving them out. In fact, since I left them out feel free to use them, after the classics ended my picks have gone to shit, so those guys are a sure bet.
The big sprinters are smart to avoid this one. The points jersey will probably go to a puncher type. Maybe Gasparotto, Gilbert, or Valverde? Rojas, Degenkolb, Bonnet, and Viviani are your fast men for the few flat stages, although the break will be their biggest opponent, not each other.
I am uber excited for the Vuelta this year. A TTT, gobs of mountains, and plenty of hilly classic-esque stage finishes, including a circuit race. To me the punchy stages are the pinnacle of our sport. The high mountains can be dulled by defensive riding, and the flat stages are only good for the final 30 km. But the punchy finish includes tactics, suspense, guts, glory, and explosive power equally as impressive as the fastest sprint.
VSP PICKS:
1. Contador
2. J-Rod
3. Cobo
4. Uran
5. Talanski
I sort of want to see Contador come back and decimate the field, even there’s a part of me that knows I shouldn’t (probably my moral compass).
VSP PICKS:
1. Contador
2. Froom
3. Anton
4. J-Rod
5. Van de Broeck
VSP PICKS:
1. Joaquim Rodriguez
2. Igor Anton
3. Christopher Froome
4. Alejandro Valverde
5. Alberto Contador
VSP PICKS:
1. Ryder
2. De Gent
3. Rodriguez
4. Spanish Steak
5. JVDB
And why are people crying out for Ryder, he’s not even riding the Vuelta. Movistar also have a very strong team and this Vuelta could be a watershed in Quintana’s career.
VSP PICKS:
1. Contador
2. Purito
3. Froomedog
4. Anton
5. Valverde
@Gianni
Indeed it is. Go on, pick him! We all know this is all just a lottery…
I really, really hope Cothodor doesn’t win this one. Froome certainly wants it badly enough, I’m pinning my hopes on him having enough left in the tank. J-Rod come close but not close enough, Flecha will be there by virtue of being Froomedog’s wingman and Cobo will stage a valiant but ultimately unsuccessful defence.
Or maybe it’ll all go to shit…
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Purito
3. Clentador
4. Flecha
5. Cobo
VSP PICKS:
1. Contador
2. Froome
3. J-Rod
4. Anton
5. Kessiakoff
VSP PICKS:
1. Froomedog
2. J-Rod
3. Clenbutador
4. De Gendt
5. Purito
Don’t want Contador to win but reckon he will at least podium :-( Hoping that Froomedog will still have some legs left in him.
VSP PICKS:
1. J Ro
2. Cobo
3. Bertie Beefsteak
4. Froome Froome
5. Iggy Pantson
I’m not choosing contador out of some sort of confused principle. He’s served his time so should come back with clean slate. But I just can’t back him to win.
This means he’ll probably win…
VSP PICKS:
1. froome
2. uran
3. j rod
4. gesink
5. de gent
Sigh…I’m so inept at picking for these Grand Tours. Not going to overthink this one.
VSP PICKS:
1. Contador
2. Froome
3. Rodriguez
4. Anton
5. Cobo
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Contador
3. Gesink
4. Van De Broeck
5. Nicolas Roach
No room for Froome…
VSP PICKS:
1. Steak boy
2. Rokkit Rod
3. Cam Meyer
4. Jurgen VdB
5. Invisible Denis
VSP PICKS:
1. Contador
2. Froome
3. JRod
4. Menchov
5. Talansky
VSP PICKS:
1. Rodriguez
2. Froome
3. Valverde
4. Contador
5. Uran
VSP PICKS:
1. Froomedog
2. Clenbutador
3. De Gendt
4. JVDB
5. Sergio Heinzbenio
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Contador
3. Rodriguez
4. Cobo
5. Anton
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Contador
3. Talansky
4. Van den Broeck
5. Rodriguez
VSP PICKS:
1. Contador
2. Froome
3. Rodriguez
4. Van den Broeck
5. De Gendt
VSP PICKS:
1. froome
2. contador
3. jvdb
4. jrod
5. cobo
Cobo sucks
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Contador
3. j Rod
4. VandenBroeck
5. Talanski
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Contador
3. J Rodriquez
4. Van Den Broeck
5. Sergio Luis Henao Montoya
VSP PICKS:
1. Clenbutador
2. JRod
3. Menchov
4. VDB
5. Valverde
Cobo sucks.
@eightzero
He also looks like dick wearing his helmet like this. its a crime!
@RedRanger
Crikey. Violation of the 3 point system and the goldilocks principle. No gloves, no cycling eyewear. Dick.
@eightzero now compare to this stud:
I don’t know about anyone else, but I miss that HTC kit. Sure looks like class to me!
VSP PICKS:
1. Contador
2. Froome
3. Jurgen VDB
4. Krueziger
5. Igor Anton
A couple changes here
VSP PICKS:
1. A. Contador
2. De Gendt
3. J. Rod
4. Froome
5. Van den Broeck
As much as I hate to say it, Clenbutador is going to win by a huge margin. He’s the new “angry stomach”
VSP PICKS:
1. el Pistolero
2. J Rod
3. Gesink
4. Zommy Froomy
5. Duran Duran
VSP PICKS:
1. Alberto ‘Mr. Fabulous’ Contador
2. Joaquin ‘Blue Lou’ Rodriguez Oli
3. Alejandro ‘The Colonel’ Valverde
4. Johan ‘Too Big’ Van Summeren
5. Antonio ‘Bones’ Piedra Perez
VSP PICKS:
1. Contadorrrrr
2. Froome
3. Purito
4. JVDB
5. Boom
Even without an analysis from @ChrisO, I can see pretty much the same 5 or 6 riders in almost all picks. Maybe it will come down to whoever selects the correct outsider.
Based on this logic, Capecchi is going to win me an apron! So Eros replaces the crashing carrot.
Or it could be Mollema by the time picks close. Or Gadret. Or Jerome Pineau. Or…
VSP PICKS:
1. Contador
2. Purito
3. Froome
4. Uran
5. Capecchi
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Contador
3. Talansky
4. Purito
5. Van Den Broeck
Contador cannot not win this. He has targeted this as the only GT he can win this year. Last year he won the Giro, while waiting to find out he could ride the tour. Ultimately he lost the tour to Cadel due to the Giro, a crash early on and DQ.
Froome was awesome at the tour, but rode the tour.
Rodriguez was the best climber at the Giro and has had time off to be competitive.
VDB was a real contender at the Tour, but was unlucky on the stage that finished at la Planche des belles filles and was poor in the TTs, this shouldn’t disadvantage him relative to J Rod though, but with the tour in his legs I can’t see him on the podium really.
De Gendt as an outside pick for 5th place. He had a reasonable Giro and showed himself to be strong in the mountains.
VSP PICKS:
1. Contador
2. Froome
3. Rodriguez
4. Van den Broeck
5. De Gendt
VSP PICKS:
1. Froome
2. Contador
3. Cobo
4. J-Rod
5. Uran
@frank
Hey Frankie nice choice of the article photo.Loved those Cannondales with Campagnolo 11 before Liquigas moved to Sram.