Usually this does not go well and ends in torn betting slips, strained friendships and the Broom Wagon sheepishly retrieving Special Hat from the roof of the pub.

When it comes to this year's Vuelta, beginning in Pamplona on Saturday, Special Hat is not even making an appearance. Who will win? Who knows?

Juan Jose Cobo was last year's surprise victor, having tried to quit the sport four months earlier to become an electrician, but this time around is only fourth favourite.

The bookie's man is Alberto Contador. Contador is riding his first grand tour since returning from his doping suspension, no doubt to the enormous relief of our old friend, Professor Hunger Strike. But the formerly three, now officially two-time Tour de France champion has only had this week's Eneco Tour as a warm-up. He looked strong and finished fourth, but is one week of racing adequate preparation for the Vuelta?

Contador, among many others, thinks Chris Froome is the man to beat. However, Froome has just finished second in the Tour de France. He may have the legs for another three weeks at the front, or he may conk out like Rigoberto Uran in a two-way sprint.

Alejandro Valverde? Joaquim Rodriguez? The Broom Wagon has no idea. The parcours is here. SBS's first live stage is next Saturday. Your best bet is probably to sit back in a hat of your choosing and enjoy it.

Missing the lead

Laura Trott, a double gold medallist, was one of Team GB's stars on the track in London. Trott also finished the games as a darling of London's tabloid newspapers after she and fellow Brit track star Jason Kenny, also a double gold medallist, revealed themselves to be an item.

The pair were spotted canoodling behind David Beckham at the beach volleyball. Trott confirmed the relationship via Twitter, and they were quickly dubbed Britain's golden couple.

All of which will have been a total surprise to readers of MSN New Zealand.

MSN NZ were also at the beach volleyball, and published this photo gallery of Trott sitting next to Prince Harry. Harry, MSN reported, had watched Trott win at the velodrome and had been so impressed with her athleticism he asked her to the beach volleyball, where the pair spent the day "laughing and chatting".

"Laura, a double gold medal winner, is certainly Harry's type," the website breathlessly reported. "The prince almost exclusively dates leggy blondes."

Of course Trott, as it turns out, almost exclusively dates Jason Kenny. And Kenny, as can be seen in the photos with a wider view in MSN's gallery, was sitting two seats down from Prince Harry, on Trott's right. That's him in picture no.13. Or as the caption puts it: "Harry and Laura chat to another cyclist".

(via road.cc)

The week in ...

… bling

Alexander Vinokourov bows out of racing with the subtlety for which he is known, with a gold bike and custom Olympic jersey.

… song

If any of Australia's Olympic cyclists are lacking motivation to turn the tables on Great Britain at the 2016 Rio Games, this video of assorted members of Team GB miming to Queen's 'Don't Stop Me Now' should do the trick. Chris Hoy doing his best Superman and Victoria Pendleton in a tiger costume are, the Broom Wagon hesitates to say it, the highlights.

... scoops

A Telegraph photographer lurks in the shrubbery while Bradley Wiggins and his family holiday in Majorca. The results are poor quality pictures of Wiggins having a bite to eat, Wiggins with his top off, and – the article's big scoop – Wiggins enjoying a quick cigarette. "The cycling hero certainly showed he was not out of puff," fnars reporter Andrew Hough.

And to think people say quality journalism is dead.

... explanations

It's sometimes nice to remember cycling isn't the only sport to feature inventive explanations for doping (hi, Tyler Hamilton!). Fatima Yvelain, a regional-level distance runner in France, tested positive for EPO after a recent half-marathon. In her defence, Yvelain claimed medical waste containing EPO had been left near the course. Heavy rainfall washed over the waste and when Yvelain ran past, EPO-contaminated water splashed onto her shorts, resulting in a positive test when she gave her urine sample after the race.

The French Athletics Federation failed to see the funny side and banned her for two years. (via The Inner Ring)

Dispatches from the Twitterverse

Funny, my landscaper just gave me a round of applause. Guess he reads the NYT. He then said "oh, and I have a bill for you..."

— Jonathan Vaughters (@Vaughters) August 13, 2012

My entire body is hating the fact I've started back on the road again. Training for #roadworlds2012

— Rohan Dennis (@RohanDennis) August 15, 2012

Ha @timmydugganjgh: "Signs in the days before bike races are always so negative. They should say, 'Bike race. Expect awesomeness and beer.'"

— Ted King (@iamtedking) August 15, 2012

Classic YouTube

Saxo Bank-Tinkoff boss Bjarne Riis asked the Garmin-Sharp crew if they would do him a favour and take his bike to the Vuelta. As David Millar reports on Twitter, that might have been a mistake. Still, it's far from the worst thing to have happened to a Riis bike. Here's the Dane in the final individual time trial during the 2007 Tour de France.