De Ronde van Vlaanderen (270.8 km), 2024 March 31 (Sunday)

[proffate]

Easily Bjerg's most notable result in a mass start race of his career.

 

[staubsauger]

There were like 5 guys that tried to make the race hard once it was on from 100 kilometers out at the Molenberg.

Van der Poel, Pedersen, Pithie, Lazkano, even if we exclude Van Baarle since his move might have been a TV attack like Alaphilippe then Jörgensen still was around before.

Everyone's oven went out. Only Van der Poel was able to sustain his effort. Even Theuns eventually exploded.

Van der Poel was just by far the strongest rider today. Not just physical strength. Also tactical strength and technical strength.

It's not a coincidence that Van Der Poel was one of the few riders that didn't slip on the Koppenberg. Once it started raining he had an advantage. Because Van der Poel tackles the cobbles nearly as strong seated as he does when he kicks it dancing on the pedals.


The crucial moment was how he used DSM to perfectly position himself into the Molenberg. Shortly before Kragh Andersen & Dillier have that misunderstanding with the bike change. Which makes both of them dissappear. Van der Poel handles that situation just perfect by attentiveness. Opting for DSM instead.

From there on Van der Poel just took every decision correctly. Closing little gaps. Using his returning 2 teammates perfectly. Thinning out the competition on Oude Kwaremont already before someone tries to undercut his attack instead.

The weather conditions then increased his advantages on the rest of the peloton due to his technical skills. Van der Poel rode a perfect race however and handled the burden of the whole race successfully!

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

I guess it depends on the race, but as far as we are talking about Flanders, there is a reason they were 4-0 in favour of MvdP

im mainly talking about RVV and similarly punchy races. PR is indeed a completely different story.

And in a mountain stage in the Tour we only see VDP in a grupetto while Van Aert is leading the front. Like I said , different skillsets

 

[will-10]

Don't care what you say but I'm not really impressed with MVP's win today. Still think Pogacar would beat him today, he was really crascking in the last 15 km.

logged onto the thread and found an asterisk within 15 seconds. i told you guys

 

[Netserk]

logged onto the thread and found an asterisk within 15 seconds. i told you guys

Pogi has ruined the spring by needing to hedge with the Giro against Vingegaard.

 

[armchairclimber]

Side note.... I loved the FPV drone footage today. Amazing stuff. My day job is making telly and this tech is revolutionising what's possible.

 

[will-10]

Pogi has ruined the spring by needing to hedge with the Giro against Vingegaard.

I've gave up counting the asterisks in the post-race pages when I got to 10 and also a few ignores dished out. A successful 5 minutes work

All I can say is, from being lucky enough to be on the roadside today, that was an extremely tough edition with the cold and rain, and the fact the record went again is actually a bit mindblowing.

 

[Netserk]

It's bat-*** insane. Of course, the pace never dropped in the peloton, and the course change helped too.

Omloop fastest ever.
Kuurne fastest ever.
Sanremo fastest ever.
Ronde fastest ever.

I can't wait for Roubaix.

 

[Lequack]

Tom Boonen ‘doesn’t recognise’ Soudal Quick-Step amidst Classics drought​

Former Belgian Classics star appears alongside Patrick Lefevere on a podcast to discuss the team's shortcomings this spring

Global Cycling Network

The Global Cycling Network puts you in the centre of the action: from the iconic climbs of Alpe D’Huez and Mont Ventoux to the cobbles of Flanders, everywhere there is road or pavé, world-class racing and pro riders, we will be there bringing you action, analysis and unparalleled access every...

www.globalcyclingnetwork.com

 

[Krzysztof_O]

So congrats to MVP on third Flandres title! He outclassed his rivals with a 43 km attack. Too bad Wout crashed and Teddy chose another schedule, without them MVP is unequalled.

 

[tobydawq]

It puts into perspective how long ago the Covid break was that Van der Poel has placed in the top two of de Ronde five times since then.

 

[Escarabajo]

Pogi has ruined the spring by needing to hedge with the Giro against Vingegaard.

I disagree. he was not coming back to this race, this year, regardless. The biggest absentee was, of course, Wout.

 

[awavey]

I think people are somehow underestimating VdP performance today. The fastest Ronde ever, in shitty weather, 45k solo. That would be jaw-dropping a few years ago. But somehow, people are underwhelmed by it. Remember, VdP is a rider who normally wins by his explosiveness;

I think because he was the overwhelming favourite, he was expected to win like this, so it's not a shock he did, and clearly the other two riders who might have had a chance werent quite in the same race, I mean Pedersen needs to explain what his race plan thinking was, as what he did seemed the best way to lose the race and completely daft.

And is VdP that far ahead of the rest in men's pro cycling ? That he can just solo that distance, maybe. But the gaps are usually smaller in men's racing, and no one actually made the race that difficult for Alpecin or VdP to control, which again is not usual in men's racing.

It reminds me alot of all those solo Van Vleueten rides & victories, the rest of the riders & teams have given up before the race even starts.

It doesn't take away from the achievement to then win, but I think most fans look to see victories that are harder fought, this felt way too one sided.

Would Wout have won, probably not still, but I don't think he would have finished not knowing if he hadn't done everything he could to beat VdP. And that's maybe the difference in how people are reacting to it.

 

[staubsauger]

Pedersen's race plan can be described quite easily:

"If I run against the wall with my head, the wall is going to break!"

 

[Ricco']

They’re gonna sanction the beer throwers. Looking at videos and try to identify them.

No need to be harsh on them.

Just make them ride the Koppenberg while someone throws beer to them as well. They can go when they successfully reach the top without dismounting.

 

[proffate]

Pedersen clearly sought the element of surprise that accompanies irrational behavior.

 

[proffate]

No need to be harsh on them.

Just make them ride the Koppenberg while someone throws beer to them as well. They can go when they successfully reach the top without dismounting.

Some people pay good money for that kind of treatment, Spartan(tm) racing

 

[veganrob]

[content deleted]

Chewy may have different opinions than you but one thing he is NOT, and that is a troll.

 

[staubsauger]

No need to be harsh on them.

Just make them ride the Koppenberg while someone throws beer to them as well. They can go when they successfully reach the top without dismounting.

Let them drink Martens Pils / Karlsquell / Karlskrone for 1 year instead of Kwaremont / Leffe or at least Jupiler!

Although I think torture is forbidden by law in Belgium!

 

[Andy262]

Tom Boonen ‘doesn’t recognise’ Soudal Quick-Step amidst Classics drought​

Former Belgian Classics star appears alongside Patrick Lefevere on a podcast to discuss the team's shortcomings this spring

Global Cycling Network

The Global Cycling Network puts you in the centre of the action: from the iconic climbs of Alpe D’Huez and Mont Ventoux to the cobbles of Flanders, everywhere there is road or pavé, world-class racing and pro riders, we will be there bringing you action, analysis and unparalleled access every...

www.globalcyclingnetwork.com

Seriously, like why isn’t superboy Remco riding this race

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

They’re gonna sanction the beer throwers. Looking at videos and try to identify them.

Sanction is one of those words that has been 'skunked', by having two contradictory meanings such that it is not clear what is meant. I briefly thought that you were saying that they were giving the all clear to beer throwing.

 

[Barkintheeye]

I think because he was the overwhelming favourite, he was expected to win like this, so it's not a shock he did, and clearly the other two riders who might have had a chance werent quite in the same race, I mean Pedersen needs to explain what his race plan thinking was, as what he did seemed the best way to lose the race and completely daft.

And is VdP that far ahead of the rest in men's pro cycling ? That he can just solo that distance, maybe. But the gaps are usually smaller in men's racing, and no one actually made the race that difficult for Alpecin or VdP to control, which again is not usual in men's racing.

It reminds me alot of all those solo Van Vleueten rides & victories, the rest of the riders & teams have given up before the race even starts.

It doesn't take away from the achievement to then win, but I think most fans look to see victories that are harder fought, this felt way too one sided.

Would Wout have won, probably not still, but I don't think he would have finished not knowing if he hadn't done everything he could to beat VdP. And that's maybe the difference in how people are reacting to it.

I think people tend to underestimate how tough Ronde can be particularly when the conditions are bad. Koppenberg doesn’t look all that bad on TV when the pros are pushing +500W but everyone should try for themselves. When the pros look like amateurs, slow and struggling then it is massively hard. And that was perfect for Van der Poel.

 

[RedheadDane]

Sanction is one of those words that has been 'skunked', by having two contradictory eanings such that it is not clear what is meant. I briefly thought that you were saying that they were giving the all clear to beer throwing.

So, if you - wearing your fancy mod-hat 🎩 - sanctions someone's posting, could that actually mean you're saying that it's okay?

 

[kn0s]

So alot of shitting on Pedersen here as expected, sure Horner is going to go all out "knucklehead" later.

Mads has said he quickly figured he didn't have the watts on the climbs, but the flat was reasonable. That is why he tried to get ahead of things and maybe get a somewhat decent result. He of course didn't get the gap he was hoping for, but he was never going to win this anyway.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Seriously, like why isn’t superboy Remco riding this race

He 's riding Itzulia tomorrow so that was never an option.