Mathieu Van der Poel

[AmRacer]

Too bad the Itzulia crash. Had looked forward to see Remco vs Mathieu at Amstel.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Is anyone else finding van der Poel's newfound capacity to time trial the way from competitors at an absolutely ridiculous pace from 40 to 60 km out, pretty much nose breathing, perhaps a touch silly?

When I was younger I used to think of these attacks from a distance and obliterating the field as sublime and wished I could do the same in my local races.

I mean. Van der Poel tried in what... 3 time trials at top level?

TDF - 5th
Giro - 2nd and 3rd

He always had the capabilities to ride solo. Ffs newfound, the guy rode 95% of this CX races in the infamous 17/18 CX seasons solo from lap 1 to finish (1 hour efforts).

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

2010 Paris Roubaix average speed 39.32kmh (the one where Fabian had a motor)

2012 Paris Roubaix average speed 43.4kmh (Last time Boonen won)

2024 Paris Roubaix average speed 47.85kmh (And they had a freaking chicane)

Canc and Boonen don't make top 50 in todays race. Max Walscheid Joey Rosskopf is a superior rider to both of them.

In fact, every rider (even those outside of the time cut) beat Canc, and they also beat Boonen. Both are OTL in today's race.

You do the math.

Is he doping? Are you seriously asking that question?

 

[TrekCyclist]

Today was a lot of tailwind to be fair. And the race was extremely fast from km 1 on.
But still, this kind of solo does leave you wonder. Cancellara is probably sitting at home and thinking, he just rode away from everyone today as I did in 2010, just that the gap was even 1 min larger at the end today.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

I mean. Van der Poel tried in what... 3 time trials at top level?

TDF - 5th
Giro - 2nd and 3rd

He always had the capabilities to ride solo. Ffs newfound, the guy rode 95% of this CX races in the infamous 17/18 CX seasons solo from lap 1 to finish (1 hour efforts).

Undoubtedly MVP has great sustained power (I mean absolute watts, not w/kg), one can't win those attrition races (or do solos) without it. There were some doubts regarding his TT position though.

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

Today was a lot of tailwind to be fair. And the race was extremely fast from km 1 on.
But still, this kind of solo does leave you wonder. Cancellara is probably sitting at home and thinking, he just rode away from everyone today as I did in 2010, just that the gap was even 1 min larger at the end today.

You think a tailwind explains how Joey Rosskopf beats Cancellara and Boonen at the height of their power? Again, are you serious? Plus, Froome already used that excuse, so we need another.

 

[Ripper]

I mean. Van der Poel tried in what... 3 time trials at top level?

TDF - 5th
Giro - 2nd and 3rd

He always had the capabilities to ride solo. Ffs newfound, the guy rode 95% of this CX races in the infamous 17/18 CX seasons solo from lap 1 to finish (1 hour efforts).

Come on man, you know those are not comparable to a steady solo time trial of 40 to 60 km in length. I've enjoyed watching him race for many years, and I am well aware of his cyclocross talents, but steady state for over an hour at warp speed has not been one of them.

 

[rghysens]

I mean. Van der Poel tried in what... 3 time trials at top level?

TDF - 5th
Giro - 2nd and 3rd

He always had the capabilities to ride solo. Ffs newfound, the guy rode 95% of this CX races in the infamous 17/18 CX seasons solo from lap 1 to finish (1 hour efforts).

That tdf tt was 25km or so, with some small hills in it, the giro tt´s were 9 and 16 km (or thereabouts) and raced on rather technical courses.
Bug yeah, " he was always a great tt´er, but didn´t focus on it". Same trope aw with Froome, Vignegaard,....

 

[GuntherL1]

Is anyone else finding van der Poel's newfound capacity to time trial the way from competitors at an absolutely ridiculous pace from 40 to 60 km out, pretty much nose breathing, perhaps a touch silly?

When I was younger I used to think of these attacks from a distance and obliterating the field as sublime and wished I could do the same in my local races.

No. It would have been different if an entire team had chased him, but his team mates countered every attack. He was strong in Tour of Flanders and Roubaix, but not exceptional. Keep in mind that Visma LaB basically came with their b team today. Do you think this race would have been similar with WVA, Jorgenson, Tratnik, Van Baarle and an in form Laporte? Very unlikely.

 

[Ripper]

No. It would have been different if an entire team had chased him, but his team mates countered every attack. He was strong in Tour of Flanders and Roubaix, but not exceptional. Keep in mind that Visma LaB basically came with their b team today. Do you think this race would have been similar with WVA, Jorgenson, Tratnik, Van Baarle and an in form Laporte? Very unlikely.

Check out the speed at which he rode solo.

 

[ontheroad]

No. It would have been different if an entire team had chased him, but his team mates countered every attack. He was strong in Tour of Flanders and Roubaix, but not exceptional. Keep in mind that Visma LaB basically came with their b team today. Do you think this race would have been similar with WVA, Jorgenson, Tratnik, Van Baarle and an in form Laporte? Very unlikely.

When you’re trying to downplay the utter dominance and strength of the ride by stating that the opposition was sub par, you know that it truly was a race of 2 speeds.

These long range solo attacks from both Pogacar and VDP has been very striking. As well as crushing the opposition it has helped kill the spectacle. The classics to date this season have been damp squibs.

 

[Nick2413]

This was one of the more shocking demolitions in a while imo. The peloton is already at warp speed and he was on another level entirely.

 

[Cookster15]

What kind of wattage did he average for those final 60km? Would be very interesting to know.

 

[the delgados]

You know things are bonkers when race organizers introduce a chicane in a bike race.

 

[Ripper]

What kind of wattage did he average for those final 60km? Would be very interesting to know.

It would be interesting to know. That said, on the following motorbike I saw all I needed to see. I mean, his bike handling is absolutely amazing, but even more so when you see the speed he is railing the corners on cobbles. He's tapping out 50 kph. Flat out nuts

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

When you’re trying to downplay the utter dominance and strength of the ride by stating that the opposition was sub par, you know that it truly was a race of 2 speeds.

These long range solo attacks from both Pogacar and VDP has been very striking. As well as crushing the opposition it has helped kill the spectacle. The classics to date this season have been damp squibs.

Excellent post. And teh 2nd speed is fast as f**k, as well.

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

It would be interesting to know. That said, on the following motorbike I saw all I needed to see. I mean, his bike handling is absolutely amazing, but even more so when you see the speed he is railing the corners on cobbles. He's tapping out 50 kph. Flat out nuts

The one thing I will give him, is that with current tubeless tires and pressure knowledge, you can rail on turns in ways you couldn't before...that doesn't bridge the gap, but it is a significan advantage.

 

[hfer07]

One way to look at MVP's latest performance is by a way of comparison to what Cancellara did back in 2010 with the infamous RVV-PR double where thermonuclear attacks took place against Boonen - those were really eyebrow raising performances that brought up the "motor-aid doping" discussion......
fast-forward to today's- Do I see MVPs performance suspicious? while He was way superior against his competitors, his "2 real competitors Pogacar & WVA for RVV were out and down, and then P-R with the absence of WVA along with a super-strong team & teammate Phillipsen at his disposal, the entire race seemed under control.........

but then again: MVP broke the record for both the fastest RVV & P-R in just one week...... hmmm

 

[Ripper]

One way to look at MVP's latest performance is by a way of comparison to what Cancellara did back in 2010 with the infamous RVV-PR double where thermonuclear attacks took place against Boonen - those were really eyebrow raising performances that brought up the "motor-aid doping" discussion......
fast-forward to today's- Do I see MVPs performance suspicious? while He was way superior against his competitors, his "2 real competitors Pogacar & WVA for RVV were out and down, and then P-R with the absence of WVA along with a super-strong team & teammate Phillipsen at his disposal, the entire race seemed under control.........

but then again: MPV broke the record for both the fastest RVV & P-R in just one week...... hmmm

Yes he did, and with much of that his own personal TT. LOL.

And yes, it does somewhat remind me of Canc. With the only exception being that Canc staying away a'la TT was something easier to believe given he was known for his TT capabilities. Not that I think he did not have some form of assistance, or find other aspects of his exploits utterly unplausible.

 

[ppanther92]

You think a tailwind explains how Joey Rosskopf beats Cancellara and Boonen at the height of their power? Again, are you serious? Plus, Froome already used that excuse, so we need another.

I don’t think putting prime Cancellara or Boonen in todays race, they would finish OTL (if thats your argument). There are more factors in average speeds. But ofc this era is extremely fast and we get records left and right.

 

[hulkgogan]

Vermeersch's ride was definitely a red flag, for sure. In fact, the whole of Alpecin was a bit lol. As LR said, they took a bunch of random kermesse racers and made them into a Classics super team. Keilich, Reisebeek, Planckaert. Who are these guys?

 

[Põhja Konn]

I don’t think putting prime Cancellara or Boonen in todays race, they would finish OTL (if thats your argument). There are more factors in average speeds. But ofc this era is extremely fast and we get records left and right.

Exactly, Boonen and Canc in todays peloton would have access to the same ingredients that make current bunch generally go significantly faster than that of a decade ago. With speeds being up across the board, not just for MVDPs and Pogs of this world, there has to be some significant ingredients at play that are known and available to at least the most of the WT peloton.

That in itself is not really compatible with some new super drug or method theory. The entire point of doping is to get an edge over your competion, not sharing what you've discovered with the rest of the peloton. A new drug would suit better for explaining some of the more extraterrestrial looking individual or team performances from the big 6 or current VismaLab team in last few years, but is largely useless when it comes to finding the reason of peloton-wide increase in average race speeds. If something new and powerful was so widely known and used, more than a little info would trickle out in this era of social media and around the clock news coverage, without a shadow of a doubt. Yet nothing of note has reached the surface.

 

[Netserk]

If something new and powerful was so widely known and used, more than a little info would trickle out in this era of social media and around the clock news coverage, without a shadow of a doubt. Yet nothing of note has reached the surface.

I don't think so. You hear nothing about the pharmaceutical advances in football and basketball.

 

[Ripper]

Vermeersch's ride was definitely a red flag, for sure. In fact, the whole of Alpecin was a bit lol. As LR said, they took a bunch of random kermesse racers and made them into a Classics super team. Keilich, Reisebeek, Planckaert. Who are these guys?

To be fair, kermesse racing is totally nuts and really not that off the pace of many a world tour race.

That does not take away from your point though, which I otherwise completely agree with. AD we're just hilarious ... who would have thought they could completely control any race?

 

[Ripper]

I don’t think putting prime Cancellara or Boonen in todays race, they would finish OTL (if thats your argument). There are more factors in average speeds. But ofc this era is extremely fast and we get records left and right.

I think the point was that today's racing is so cray cray that it makes those guys, who looked nuts at the time, look like parking lot Crit chumps.

Edit: in other words, just to dramatically demonstrate the difference in speeds.