I like Brand more than I like Van der Poel. She may not be the most overall talented but she damn sure is the hardest worker. She prepared for a season of racing against 2024-25 Van Empel and apparently, she did it very well.
Del Grosso just looks smoother than Nys, he never looks like he's trying to go fast. Nys on the other hand always looks like he's in a hurry to get to his next crash.
That one was unbelievable! How does someone progress to the point where he is representing a major cycling nation at World Championships and not know the most basic of rules? Or maybe he was channeling Chris Froome on Mt. Ventoux?
I seem to recall when 19-20 year old Van Aert and Van der Poel first raced Elite they were pretty quickly dominating all of those guys. Van der Poel is the GOAT but if he had taken up tennis instead Van Aert would have been the GOAT most likely.
Or you can just go out and ride your bike and still have some day left when you're done. It's not necessarily all about ego to thrive on the competition, but it's no longer competition to just be hanging on the back.