PG Spring Classics - Strade Bianche - Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri Edition

Dante studying the form

Now I have some good news and some bad news and being the obvious optimist I am, we'll get the bad out of the way first.

Everything had started well. Dante agreed to be interviewed and give his thoughts on Saturdays race. Details were exchanged and a time was set. Unfortunately that was as good as it got. After the initial pleasantries', I mentioned that I hadn't realised that his first name was actually Durante and I asked if he ever got called Jimmy. "Who are you calling big nose?", he responded, clearly upset. I tried to apologise and even though he finally accepted that it was meant as a play on the name Durante and had nothing to do with his huge hooter, the damage was done. Ever the gentleman and a man of his word, he instead offered a short poem (by his standards) that would relay both his feelings and thoughts on the race and who he might put a sneaky fiver on. I was hardly in a position to do anything but gratefully accept. Thankfully he agreed to supply his work in English.

So before you read the verse of Dante, here is the course and whilst you’re consuming his phenomenal poetry, I’ll have a think about how I should have waited until Paris Roubaix so he could have described to me his Nine Circles of the Hell of the North.

The Course

A Prelude to the Dusty Ballet:

In the Tuscan heartland, where the gravel roads of white whisper,

Athleticism and artistry, beckons once more.

Nature paints the landscape with its rustic brushstrokes,

Contenders, names etched in the annals of cycling lore.

Strade Bianche, promising a saga of grit and glory,

Echoing the footsteps of champions past.

Riders forge their own path towards immortality,

Confronting the challenge that the parcours has cast.

Clouds of dust that hang like incense in the Tuscan air,

Float above the verdant hills and golden fields.

Where every rise and fall is a stanza in the poem of perseverance

Lyrically agnostic whilst the tension builds.

These men of sinewy muscles honed to perfection,

Fighting for each inch with each push of the pedals.

Whilst in Siena, anticipation will swell like a crescendo,

For the winner who triumphs as the dust settles.

The Favourites

Dante sent his very very short list and again in verse. I had to check as it seemed out of character but he assured me it was fine. Just a new passion he'd picked up chatting to Edward Lear.

There was a young champ, Pogacar.

Who everyone knew was a star.

He stayed with the pack,

Until the time to attack.

And then he just said, "au revoir".

So Jimmy is sticking with the favourite which is exactly what I'd expect from a Guelph. I on the other hand say bugger that. Let's talk about 2nd and 3rd. Personally for my four picks, I'll be on a hungry Irish waffle iron made of steel.

Here's your startlist.

The Rules

In this game, only the race results matter. You're not committed to keeping the same riders throughout the series, you make fresh picks before every race. Our overall competition is just the sum of individual race scores. You're eligible for the overall even if you miss some races.

Pick 4 riders for the upcoming race. The order of your picks doesn't matter. All of your riders can score.

Riders score points down to 10th place. Less popular riders score more points than heavily-picked favourites. See below for scoring details.

The strict entry deadline is the official start time of the race, the neutralized roll-out or Départ Fictif. Be warned - if your post is timestamped one minute late your entry won't count! So do remember that there's no disadvantage to getting an entry in early, even the day before, because you may always change your picks up until the deadline. Feel free to rethink your picks when it emerges which riders are more or less popular with other players. If you make changes, post your revised 4 picks in a reply to your original post.

The Scoring