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

[Netserk]

Is Philipsen also out of Flanders? Not good news for Belgians..no Remco, Van Aert, Philipsen, Stuyven, De Lie.

With just Wellens and Benoot, it looks likely that the podium will be without a Belgian (for the third year in a row, extending the record from last year).

 

[Didinho]

Just seen footage of the cyclo. All the cobble sections are really wet/muddy.

 

[Lequack]

The lack of Wout and Pog will really hurt MVDP's chances. He will have to deal with the pesky Lidl Trek team again.

 

[Nick2413]

The lack of Wout and Pog will really hurt MVDP's chances. He will have to deal with the pesky Lidl Trek team again.

Didn’t Trek lose Stuyven and Pedersen is also banged up? How deep is their squad?

 

[Andre]

Didn’t Trek lose Stuyven and Pedersen is also banged up? How deep is their squad?

Lidl – Trek
Mads Pedersen, Jonathan Milan, Edward Theuns, Daan Hoole, Tim Declercq, Toms Skujins, Otto Vergaerde

 

[Samamba]

60+% chance of rain from 13-14pm onwards tomorrow according to KMI (still could be that it only starts raining deep into the final).

 

[Brullnux]

Didn’t Trek lose Stuyven and Pedersen is also banged up? How deep is their squad?

It'll depend on Skujins, I think, and just how bad Pedersen is banged up. They've also lost Kirsch who was top-10 at E3. Shame, as Pedersen/Skujins/Stuyven/Milan/Kirsch is quite the lineup

 

[jono]

It'll depend on Skujins, I think, and just how bad Pedersen is banged up. They've also lost Kirsch who was top-10 at E3. Shame, as Pedersen/Skujins/Stuyven/Milan/Kirsch is quite the lineup

Looking at the start lists for tomorrow, unless Pedersen is fully recovered I'd suggest Alpecin have more to worry about in squads like Bahrain or Quick Step or even Ineos than Trek. And Visma, of course.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

pretty soon vingo will be compelled to ride as the last visma man standing

Skeletor would show those big ass wannabes how to climb flandrien bergs properly!

 

[Brullnux]

I'd probably agree, Milan is too heavy to actually fight for the win and Skujins will have a good chance of a top 10, even a podium on a good day, but he can't keep up with VDP.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Cancellara says attack is the best form of defence for MVP. I agree. In previous years Pogacar attacked and made most of strong cobble guys look like amateurs, which made the race tactically easy for MVP to control. This year its his turn to make the race brutal.

 

[meat puppet]

Anyhow, the others should just shoot bodies up the road early on. Maybe something sticks, maybe not. But if MvdP gets to the penultimate kwaremont and no one has 2+ minutes it's all academic.

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

I think CX may come back to haunt Mathieu, tomorrow. I'll throw a hat out there to eat, if not. He showed actual weakness last Sunday. Pedersen rode E3 as well, so blaming his weakness on E3 holds less water than some claim.

 

[DNP-Old]

I think CX may come back to haunt Mathieu, tomorrow. I'll throw a hat out there to eat, if not.

Huh?

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

Huh?

I think the effort he put into CX means he is declining in strength right now, not ascending. I think his G-W performance is evidence of that.

 

[DNP-Old]

I think the effort he put into CX means he is declining in strength right now, not ascending. I think his G-W performance is evidence of that.

You realise he followed more or less the exact same CX schedule last season, and that he is on a much, much lighter road schedule this year? This time around without the back issues.

 

[Netserk]

I think the effort he put into CX means he is declining in strength right now, not ascending. I think his G-W performance is evidence of that.

I find that most unlikely.

Unlike Wevelgem, he is well-rested for Ronde and with eyes only on the main prize.

 

[Salvarani]

With just Wellens and Benoot, it looks likely that the podium will be without a Belgian (for the third year in a row, extending the record from last year).

Don’t worry. Lars Craps is ready to flush out a result.

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

You realise he followed more or less the exact same CX schedule last season, and that he is on a much, much lighter road schedule this year? This time around without the back issues.

You realize that right before CX season, his teammates were reporting that he was stronger than they'd ever seen him, and that he did not dominate the previous season, the way he did this season. Maybe the new normal is that you can be in peak shape all year, but I think we may see a flatter MvdP tomorrow than people are predicting.

Like I said, ill throw a hat out there to eat, if I'm wrong. I'm not one who's too worried about being wrong about something. Some people have to always be right, I don't.

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

I find that most unlikely.

Unlike Wevelgem, he is well-rested for Ronde and with eyes only on the main prize.

He almost lost Pederaon's wheel on a climb. Ona climb. Pedersen rode E3 as well. Maybe he will be super strong tomorrow, but I think G-W is a sign that maybe he won't be superman tomorrow. Again, I may be wrong, and it's fine if I am.

 

[jono]

I think the effort he put into CX means he is declining in strength right now, not ascending. I think his G-W performance is evidence of that.

At G-W his main weakness was tactical. He did more work than any other rider, and still dropped everyone except one rival who has a better sprint than him, and had more to prove. Definitely not van der Poel's best race, but with bigger goals a week ahead it's hardly something I'd be concerned about.

As for CX, I don't think that he was at anywhere near to a peak, especially after kerstperiode, nor does he need to be in that discipline unless Wout is racing with 100% commitment, which was not the case this year nor is it likely to be in the future.

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

At G-W his main weakness was tactical. He did more work than any other rider, and still dropped everyone except one rival who has a better sprint than him, and had more to prove. Definitely not van der Poel's best race, but with bigger goals a week ahead it's hardly something I'd be concerned about.

As for CX, I don't think that he was at anywhere near to a peak, especially after kerstperiode, nor does he need to be in that discipline unless Wout is racing with 100% commitment, which was not the case this year nor is it likely to be in the future.

Like I said, I could be wrong, but I'm not convinced that weakness at G-W means he will be peak tomorrow.

 

[DNP-Old]

You realize that right before CX season, his teammates were reporting that he was stronger than they'd ever seen him, and that he did not dominate the previous season, the way he did this season. Maybe the new normal is that you can be in peak shape all year, but I think we may see a flatter MvdP tomorrow than people are predicting.

Like I said, ill throw a hat out there to eat, if I'm wrong. I'm not one who's too worried about being wrong about something. Some people have to always be right, I don't.

You are comparing healthy, seriously training Van der Poel to suffering from a back injury that almost caused him to retire Van der Poel. Of course his team reports he is stronger than ever, because this is the first time ever he is 100% dedicated to road cycling.

In fact, he even mentioned enjoying road training now.

 

[tobydawq]

Looking at the start lists for tomorrow, unless Pedersen is fully recovered I'd suggest Alpecin have more to worry about in squads like Bahrain or Quick Step or even Ineos than Trek. And Visma, of course.

Groupama?

And I don't think Bahrain have a deep squad at all. They have two good riders and five who will be pure pack fodder.

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

You are comparing healthy, seriously training Van der Poel to suffering from a back injury that almost caused him to retire Van der Poel. Of course his team reports he is stronger than ever, because this is the first time ever he is 100% dedicated to road cycling.

In fact, he even mentioned enjoying road training now.

The report was before CX season.