well the final race has been run and won by the latest comeback kid, vino.  as usual there are shadows of doubt over his victory, but as far as the tipping comp goes, the result on the day is the result for the comp.  basically, if you know someone is doping, then make sure you tip them before they get busted.

anyway, with the top two teams tipping different riders, but only gaining 10 points difference, team bigchainring stayed clear at the end to claim victory.  team globalbean finished strong, but was a good 70 points adrift at the end of the day.  team solwest tipped well in the final 2 races to overtake team rob.a.bank for third place.

on the stage win leaderboard, team bigchainring was the clear leader tipping three winners.  the way this works is that there is prize money for each race and this is split between the winners of the race.  in other words, the more people that tip the winner, the less money you get.

in about 2 weeks the giro starts and we will run another tipping comp for this.  the main difference is that you have to put a new tip in for every stage which is pretty much every day for three weeks.  again, the more people involved, the more money for the winners. 

the final leaderboards are here, but the pay-outs are as follows.  if you are not worried about collecting your prize (due to the small amount) you can let me know and i can roll it into the entry for the next comp.

overall points

	Team Name	UCI Points	Prize
1	Team BigChainRing	440	$100.00
2	Globalbean	370	$50.00
3	Solwest	290	$25.00

stage wins

	Team Name	Prize
1	Team BigChainRing	$20.50
2	Globalbean	$7.50
3	Blessé Festival	$7.50
4	Steak and Chips	$7.50
5	Rob.a.bank	$5.50
6	Team Liquigus	$5.50
7	Red Lantern	$5.00
8	Team Irelande	$5.00
9	EusCadel-Eustralie	$5.00
10	Got no proof	$5.00
11	Solwest	$5.00
12	Team Mountain Goat Wannabe	$3.00
13	Cameltoe Test Team	$3.00
14	Captain Poser & the Canine Shepards	$2.50
15	Les Flambeurs	$2.50

cadel.

full of awesomeness.

for those that missed it last night, here  is a link to the final few kilometres.  the commentary isn’t in english, but all you have to hear is the names. 

so, in the end after a lot of last minute tip changes, only 2 people had confidence in cadel and got the 80 points.  team bigchainring is clearly in the lead, but globalbean is just close enough to steal the win.  to remain fair, those two teams will email me their tips and i will post them to the comments after the closing time.  this will stop them from deliberately tipping the same rider and causing a stalemate.

the last race is on this sunday, and remember there is still dollars to be won for tipping the race winner, so get your tip in.

	Team Name	UCI Points
1	Team BigChainRing	390
2	Globalbean	330
3	Rob.a.bank	266
4	Steak and Chips	250
5	Solwest	230
6	Captain Poser & the Canine Shepards	190
7	Team Liquigus	190
8	Les Flambeurs	190
9	Got no proof	190
10	Red Lantern	182
11	DamnChickens	150
12	Cameltoe Test Team	150
13	Culo Caliente de equipo	136
14	Captain Stinkypants and the Nappies of Doom	130
15	Team Irelande	130
16	Team Mountain Goat Wannabe	100
17	EusCadel-Eustralie	100
18	Hard Nutz	90
19	1 stooge race	90
20	Seguro la Cosa	80
21	Blessé Festival	80
22	Flat Tailwind Specialist	80
23	Team Michael	72
24	L’Escargot sur Velo	56
25	Team Wannabe	0
26	Team Wonder	0
27	Team Voiture	0
28	Heiko’s Team	0
29	Alistar’s Team	0

finally lotto can say that they have had a win this year.  most of the big names were there for the final attack up the last climb to the finishline, but gilbert had their measure and took a convincing win.  there were six tipsters that picked him, but the rest of the tips were a bit hit and miss.  2 races remain with la fleche wallonne on this wednesday and liege on sunday.  get your tips in quickly.

	Team Name	UCI Points
1	Team BigChainRing	360
2	Globalbean	280
3	Rob.a.bank	260
4	Red Lantern	182
5	Team Liquigus	180
5	Solwest	180
7	Steak and Chips	170
8	Captain Poser & the Canine Shepards	160
8	Les Flambeurs	160
8	Got no proof	160
11	Cameltoe Test Team	150
12	Captain Stinkypants and the Nappies of Doom	130
12	Team Irelande	130
14	DamnChickens	120
15	Team Mountain Goat Wannabe	100
15	EusCadel-Eustralie	100
17	1 stooge race	90
18	Culo Caliente de equipo	86
19	Hard Nutz	80
19	Flat Tailwind Specialist	80
21	Seguro la Cosa	50
21	Team Michael	50
21	L’Escargot sur Velo	50
24	Blessé Festival	0
24	Team Wannabe	0
24	Team Wonder	0
24	Team Voiture	0
24	Heiko’s Team	0
24	Alistar’s Team	0

SPARTA AGAIN!!!

racing.  funny how often it is more about tactics rather than how strong you are.  boonen was strong.  really strong, but no-one wanted to work with him to chase down spartacus.  funny, how no-one wanted to help the sprinter pull back a break so that it came down to a sprint finish…anyway, it was a good race and confirms cancellara’s position as one of the best riders in the world.

next race is the amstel gold race this coming weekend.  a race sponsored by a beer company can mean only one thing.  crazy beer fuelled fans lining the course.  this will be a different kind of race so look for riders like the schlecks, sastre or cadel making more of an appearance.

oh, and a big thanks to SBS for giving WA a delayed LIVE telecast of the paris-roubaix.  with the winner actually crossing the line 2 hrs beforehand, it is such a consolation to know that we didn’t get to miss out on a couple of 3 yr old documentaries from the USA and UK.

	Team Name	UCI Points
1	Team BigChainRing	280
2	Globalbean	200
3	Red Lantern	180
3	Rob.a.bank	180
3	Solwest	180
6	Steak and Chips	170
7	Got no proof	160
8	Cameltoe Test Team	150
9	Captain Stinkypants and the Nappies of Doom	130
9	Team Irelande	130
11	DamnChickens	120
12	EusCadel-Eustralie	100
12	Team Liquigus	100
12	Team Mountain Goat Wannabe	100
15	1 stooge race	90
16	Captain Poser & the Canine Shepards	80
16	Culo Caliente de equipo	80
16	Flat Tailwind Specialist	80
16	Les Flambeurs	80
20	Hard Nutz	50
20	L’Escargot sur Velo	50
20	Michael’s Team	50
20	Seguro la Cosa	50
24	Alistar’s Team	0
25	Blessé Festival	0
26	Heiko’s Team	0
27	Team Voiture	0
28	Team Wannabe	0
29	Team Wonder	0

SPARTA!!!!

for those that stayed up last night to watch it on the net, it can be summed up in one word – awesome.  i was so tired after the hills ride, but as soon as spartacus and tommeke attacked on the 20% cobbled climb and left everyone else in their wake, there was no way i was going to bed.  then when cancellara just cruised past boonen on the final climb, it was such an awesome display of power that i made me want to get on the time trial bike.  what this really means is now who do you tip for paris-roubaix next weekend. 

for the tipping comp, there were 6 winners this race, as cancellara was a popular choice.  this meant that team solwest is now equal 1st with team bigchainring on 180 points.  team globalbean is roasting nicely in 3rd spot but only because team captain poser & tha canine shepards failed to get any point even though they tipped boonen.  a check of the records found that they used that rider for the sanremo race and therefore recieved no points this race. 

paris-roubaix is the next race on this coming sunday so make sure you get your tip in.  there are still 4 races left and there is money for getting a race winner correct, so don’t worry if you are behind, you can still get prizes.  just remember if you have already picked a rider then don’t pick them again…i am checking.

	Team Name	UCI Points
1	Team BigChainRing	180
2	Solwest	180
3	Globalbean	150
4	Steak and Chips	120
5	Got no proof	110
6	Captain Stinkypants and the Nappies of Doom	100
7	Red Lantern	100
8	Team Irelande	100
9	EusCadel-Eustralie	100
10	Rob.a.bank	80
11	Captain Poser & the Canine Shepards	80
12	Les Flambeurs	80
13	Flat Tailwind Specialist	80
14	Culo Caliente de equipo	80
15	DamnChickens	70
16	Cameltoe Test Team	50
17	1 stooge race	40
18	Team Mountain Goat Wannabe	0
19	Seguro la Cosa	0
20	Blessé Festival	0
21	Team Wannabe	0
22	Team Liquigus	0
23	Hard Nutz	0
24	Team Wonder	0
25	Team Voiture	0
26	Heiko’s Team	0
27	Michael’s Team	0
28	Alistar’s Team	0
29	L’Escargot sur Velo	0

after race 2 – gent-wevelgem

only 1 team got any points in this race and it propelled team captain stinkypants and the nappies of doom into equal first place with team bigchainring.

unlike the three week tours, these classics are harder to pick than a broken nose.  no-one picked the winner so the stage winnings will jackpot until someone picks it.  and remember, you cannot pick the same rider twice.

to those that didn’t get their tip in, don’t worry as there is still time to make up ground.  first place is only one tip away.  next race is the tour of flanders this sunday.  i will update the startlist as soon as it comes to hand.

	Team Name	UCI Points
1	Team BigChainRing	100
2	Captain Stinkypants and the Nappies of Doom	100
3	Captain Poser & the Canine Shepards	80
4	Culo Caliente de equipo	80
5	Flat Tailwind Specialist	80
6	Solwest	80
7	DamnChickens	70
8	Cameltoe Test Team	50
9	Globalbean	50
10	Steak and Chips	50
11	Got no proof	10
12	1 stooge race	0
13	Alistar’s Team	0
14	Blessé Festival	0
15	EusCadel-Eustralie	0
16	Hard Nutz	0
17	Heiko’s Team	0
18	Les Flambeurs	0
19	L’Escargot sur Velo	0
20	Michael’s Team	0
21	Red Lantern	0
22	Rob.a.bank	0
23	Seguro la Cosa	0
24	Team Irelande	0
25	Team Liquigus	0
26	Team Mountain Goat Wannabe	0
27	Team Voiture	0
28	Team Wannabe	0
29	Team Wonder	0

well the milano-sanremo has been done and won and oscar freire came through with the goods.  there were a few people that didn’t get their tip in time, but don’t worry about that as there are another 6 races to go in this comp.  if you still want to enter, you can do that also as only 11 out of the 28 entries have gained points so far, you won’t be that far behind.

the next race is the gent-wevelgem on sunday so to get your tip in, add to the comments section of the race page here.  i will update the startlist as it comes to hand.  remember, you can’t tip the same rider that you have already used.  so i am guessing that the 4 teams that tipped boonen for the sanremo, don’t think he has a chance of winning roubaix this year.

the current leaderboard is as follows.

	Team Name	UCI Points
1	Team BigChainRing	100
2	Captain Poser & the Canine Shepards	80
3	Culo Caliente de equipo	80
4	Flat Tailwind Specialist	80
5	Solwest	80
6	DamnChickens	70
7	Captain Stinkypants and the Nappies of Doom	50
8	Steak and Chips	50
9	Cameltoe Test Team	50
10	Globalbean	50
11	Got no proof	10

as the european season enters spring, there are a number of one day races that make up what are called “the classics”.  there are seven races around europe and starts this weekend with milano-sanremo.  similar to how we ran the tour de france tipping comp over the past few years, we will be running a spring classics tipping comp which can be found here.

the seven races are –

• Milano-Sanremo
• Gent – Wevelgem
• Ronde van Vlaanderen / Tour des Flandres
• Paris – Roubaix
• Amstel Gold Race
• La Flèche Wallonne
• Liège – Bastogne – Liège

all you have to do to register is send an email with your team name and cough up $10 cash only.  the money goes towards the the prize pool so the more people that enter, the more money there is to win.  the rules are also on the tipping home page, but you basically choose one rider per race and cannot choose the same guy twice.  tips must be in by 6pm on the day of the race.  as these races are spread over a number of weeks, you have lots of time to get your tip right.

we had quite a few people enter the tour tipping last year and it made it more exiting to find out where your guy finished even if they didn’t win.  after this, we will be running a tipping comp for the three major tours as the year progresses.

so, have a look at the tipping pages and get your team name into me before 6pm saturday 20th.

hot on the heels of the vuelta comes the world championships this week in switzerland.  again we will be running a tipping comp and entry will be free.  to be fair to both the guys and the girls competing in this event, you have to put a tip in for both the men’s and women’s road race as well as the men’s and women’s time trial.  the person with the lowest cumulative time will be the winner.

the women’s time trial is to be held on wednesday so you need to have that tip in before the race starts (evening our time).  thursday has the men’s time trial with the women’s road race saturday and men’s on sunday.  you can put in one tip at a time or all 4 events at once.

the long lists are attached and the final starters will be made from within these lists.  i will update the final lists as they come to hand.

mens longlist         womens longlist

womens tt startlist    mens tt startlist

to enter your tip, use the comments section below.  the main prize will be some tray of baked goods and the glory of guessing right and beating your peers.

results

final standings

Paul	12:05:10.8
Lisa	12:05:52.6
Matthew	12:07:16.4
Peter	12:10:13.0
Lorraine	12:11:12.2
Davina	12:14:25.8
Gus	12:16:13.9
Jonny	12:23:13.7
Scott	12:26:16.9

 

Lisa
Women’s TT	Amber Neben (United States Of America)	00:36:55.8
Men’s TT	Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland)	00:57:55.7
Women’s RR	Marianne Vos (Netherlands)	03:33:44.0
Men’s RR	Damiano Cunego (Italy)	06:57:17.0
TOTAL		12:05:52.6
Jonny
Women’s TT	Kashchyshyna Oksana (default)	00:39:53.9
Men’s TT	Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland)	00:57:55.7
Women’s RR	Nicole Cooke (Great Britain) DNF	03:43:38.0
Men’s RR	Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway)	07:01:46.0
TOTAL		12:23:13.7
Peter
Women’s TT	Christiane Soeder (Austria)	00:36:54.4
Men’s TT	Lars Boom (Netherlands)	01:02:20.6
Women’s RR	Emma Johansson (Sweden)	03:34:32.0
Men’s RR	Cadel Evans (Australia)	06:56:26.0
TOTAL		12:10:13.0
Lorraine
Women’s TT	Kristin Armstrong (United States Of America)	00:35:26.1
Men’s TT	Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain)	01:02:46.1
Women’s RR	Emma Johansson (Sweden)	03:34:32.0
Men’s RR	Oscar Freire Gomez (Spain)	06:58:28.0
TOTAL		12:11:12.2
Gus
Women’s TT	Emma Pooley (Great Britain)	00:37:23.2
Men’s TT	Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland)	00:57:55.7
Women’s RR	Nicole Cooke (Great Britain) DNF	03:43:38.0
Men’s RR	Damiano Cunego (Italy)	06:57:17.0
TOTAL		12:16:13.9
Scott
Women’s TT	Emma Pooley (Great Britain)	00:37:23.2
Men’s TT	Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland)	00:57:55.7
Women’s RR	Default	03:43:38.0
Men’s RR	Default	07:07:20.0
TOTAL		12:26:16.9
Paul
Women’s TT	Kristin Armstrong (United States Of America)	00:35:26.1
Men’s TT	Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland)	00:57:55.7
Women’s RR	Emma Johansson (Sweden)	03:34:32.0
Men’s RR	Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spain)	06:57:17.0
TOTAL		12:05:10.8
Davina
Women’s TT	Kristin Armstrong (United States Of America)	00:35:26.1
Men’s TT	Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland)	00:57:55.7
Women’s RR	Marianne Vos (Netherlands)	03:33:44.0
Men’s RR	The Cav (DNS)	07:07:20.0
TOTAL		12:14:25.8
Matthew
Women’s TT	Mazaga Iturriagaechevarriua (Spain)	00:39:10.6
Men’s TT	Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland)	00:57:55.7
Women’s RR	Marianne Vos (Netherlands)	03:33:44.0
Men’s RR	Cadel Evans (Australia)	06:56:26.0
TOTAL		12:07:16.4

the course

time trial

 

 

  

Start / Finish: Mendrisio
Length of course: km 16,6
Height difference: 120 m

 

 

  

 road race

 

 

 

 

well it is time for another grand tour as the pros line up for the vuelta this coming weekend.

we will be running another tipping comp and have set up a new tipping home page.  same rules apply as the tour tipping comp and there is a page outlining them.

you can now access all the pages easily using the page menu above, so register your team name by adding your comments to the vuelta home page.  cost will be $10 and there will be prizes for each category.

good luck.