- Feb 20, 2012
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Does Pogacar have a better chance of beating MVDP 1v1 after a hard finale, or maybe a group of a hard-charging Wout and Pedersen, because he and Mathieu took it relatively easy?
Maybe not such an easy question, but I know van der Poel isn't afraid of making the sprint a bit more complicated.
But MVDP won't be with Pog at Paterberg anyway.
yes absolutely that would have been the more sensible race choice, but theres always the risk everyone else knows that, and could try and counter it push you harder, maybe you make a mistake, get a puncture at the wrong moment, theres no guarantee it would work a second time, and thats always going to cloud your thinking if you are already away. and Im sure he was probably thinking well its a bit like that stage from the Tour last year isnt it, or just one long training ride effort.
and its one of those things once youve decided youve got to stick with it as the kms start ticking down its harder and harder to go back.
I dont know its crazy isnt it, if the chasers had caught him, we'd all be saying how daft he was to go alone for so long, because its obvious its the wrong thing to do, and yet he still won, and its still the wrong thing to do.
- Aug 31, 2019
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To me this seems like an absolute horrible take. Abrahamsen was carrying that Tour break from the start of the stage. He’s not a typical wheelsucker and did his fair share today. Also him being completely cooked and clearly losing the sprint shows that he wasn’t playing games or “managing his efforts” today.
- May 5, 2010
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In the post-race interview Hagenes and Vermeersch both were stoic about their lack of comitment. That's bike racing, I didn't want to close said one, nor I, said the other. How can you just give up on any chance of First? Well, their hard-headedness ensured they would lose. Unbelievable.
did a Nibali. there's a fan video of him getting a big tow from the team car
Best post race interview.. Both podium leftovers said same thing " we played around " " he didn't want to pull, I didn't want to pull, that's racing "
- Jul 8, 2017
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T
The fact that they didn't even seem to care about such lame and losing attitude is pure insolence.
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Netserk
BANNED
- Apr 30, 2011
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he contributes plenty and still gets beaten in the sprint . thats the perfect companion
- Dec 28, 2010
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Yeah, at least in the races I've seen, Abrahamsen is usually the main driving force in the group. The Norwegian De Gendt. So I've either missed those races where he's been 'toxic', or @skippo12 has looked away every time Abrahamsen did a turn.
Van der Poel was actually very strong today. He lost barely any time in the last 20k to 3 of the top 15 rouleurs in the world working together.
The gaps in these kind of races depend more on race dynamics than personal strength. (E.g. without the Vermeersch mech they might have been together until Paterberg, where MvdP would have dropped him and then won by 90 seconds).
As for the tactics of the different teams, they are questionable/bad as almost always. Especially the habit of teams to start blocking/disrupting the chase just because they have a minor contender up the road that is gonna be dropped any moment is just ridiculous.
The gaps in these kind of races depend more on race dynamics than personal strength. (E.g. without the Vermeersch mech they might have been together until Paterberg, where MvdP would have dropped him and then won by 90 seconds).
As for the tactics of the different teams, they are questionable/bad as almost always. Especially the habit of teams to start blocking/disrupting the chase just because they have a minor contender up the road that is gonna be dropped any moment is just ridiculous.
- May 5, 2010
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So, since 2020 - when there was no race - Asgreen has won once, WVA has won twice in a row, and now MVDP has won thrice in a row.
Next year, a new guy will win, and he'll go on to win four times in a row.
Please, do not quote me on this!
Unless you do it in 2030, after my prediction has come true.
Next year, a new guy will win, and he'll go on to win four times in a row.
Please, do not quote me on this!
Unless you do it in 2030, after my prediction has come true.
I don't think that it has really sunk in how embarrassing that looked.. Alberto Contador or his equivalent announcer, gasped and laughed out loud at the chase as MvdP just kept chugging along... And when Florian actually started his sprint it was half hearted at best..
- Nov 16, 2013
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- May 3, 2010
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After a long solo by MvdP people sometimes complain that it was boring, but there will be no such complaints today. What you don't see on television is the role of the wind, which came mostly from the front left in the final 30 km, and the rain came earlier than expected. A solo rider against a group always has a disadvantage in such circumstances.
MvdP made one tactical error: to drop his teammate Edward Planckaert so soon. He could have saved energy by letting him work until the Eikenberg. In the final 2 km he had to rely on his four pursuers not working together.
The fools! They reduce the gap to 3 seconds, just to start slowing down. None of them wanted to close the remaining gap, because the guy who closes it will always be beaten in the sprint. There's also a psychological factor. MvdP is a champion who believes that he can win. Those other four also know how to ride a bicycle, but they have a little voice in their head saying, "No, you can't possibly beat Van der Poel. That just won't happen!" If you don't believe you can win, you won't win.
Kudos to Stan Dewulf for riding such an aggressive race. The moment when he tried to follow MvdP on the Paterberg was brilliant, and he made the top 5. Debutant Tibor Del Grosso was another stand-out, because he did excellent defending work in the background. In a year or two I see him competing for the win in races like these.
As the E3 winner you'd think that MvdP now has a 24% chance to win the Tour of Flanders. However as the Omloop winner he has a 0% chance to win, so he might as well stay home next Sunday. These are statistical facts!
Cheerio after a good bike race!
MvdP made one tactical error: to drop his teammate Edward Planckaert so soon. He could have saved energy by letting him work until the Eikenberg. In the final 2 km he had to rely on his four pursuers not working together.
The fools! They reduce the gap to 3 seconds, just to start slowing down. None of them wanted to close the remaining gap, because the guy who closes it will always be beaten in the sprint. There's also a psychological factor. MvdP is a champion who believes that he can win. Those other four also know how to ride a bicycle, but they have a little voice in their head saying, "No, you can't possibly beat Van der Poel. That just won't happen!" If you don't believe you can win, you won't win.
Kudos to Stan Dewulf for riding such an aggressive race. The moment when he tried to follow MvdP on the Paterberg was brilliant, and he made the top 5. Debutant Tibor Del Grosso was another stand-out, because he did excellent defending work in the background. In a year or two I see him competing for the win in races like these.
As the E3 winner you'd think that MvdP now has a 24% chance to win the Tour of Flanders. However as the Omloop winner he has a 0% chance to win, so he might as well stay home next Sunday. These are statistical facts!
Cheerio after a good bike race!
Ethan Vernon got a win and a second at another race.. Guy looks great. He 2 wins already this year. Same as highly paid Girmay
- Jul 8, 2017
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