Mathieu Van der Poel

[HashRouge]

He gets a pass because he's the only challenger to pocagar and he has a cycling family. If pocagar didn't exist he would have the most active thread in the clinic

I also think he gets a bit of a pass because a lot of us don't watch CX and just ignore his dominance there.

 

[jono]

I also think he gets a bit of a pass because a lot of us don't watch CX and just ignore his dominance there.

Which of the CX peloton, other than van Aert, should even be remotely competitive against van der Poel. He is as technically proficient as the best full-timers, and his motor is obviously much greater than the rest of the field that mostly ride .2 minor Benelux stage races all summer. Even Nys and del Grosso, who are merely "good" roadies and significantly lesser CX technicians dominated everyone else in many races this season. As much as I might wish otherwise, cyclocross is a regional and niche sport.

 

[AmRacer]

Which of the CX peloton, other than van Aert, should even be remotely competitive against van der Poel. He is as technically proficient as the best full-timers, and his motor is obviously much greater than the rest of the field that mostly ride .2 minor Benelux stage races all summer. Even Nys and del Grosso, who are merely "good" roadies and significantly lesser CX technicians dominated everyone else in many races this season.

Exactly

 

[meat puppet]

Apparently vdp pushed 446w for 90min at E3 (Velon CC quoting his insta). Either way huge watts, FTP maybe at 470-480w range. What's his weight again?

Back in 2022 his Strava was public and lanterne rouge poached & analysed the pre San Remo training data.

Mathieu van der Poel's Incredible Improvement | How He Prepared for Milano-Sanremo - Lanterne Rouge

One of the most talented riders of the modern generation, Mathieu van der Poel, will start his season earlier than expected at Milano-Sanremo, the longest race on the UCI calendar. The Alpecin-Fenix star has had rapid improvement in the space of an eight week training block after rehabbing a...

lanternerouge.com

Back then, he held 460w or thereabouts for 13-15min in training in March. Of course, he then came back from a back injury, and has now had several solid years of training.

Yet, having an FTP that exceeds his then 15min power is quite something.

 

[Lequack]

Can he beat Ganna's hour record with those watts?

 

[Red Rick]

Can he beat Ganna's hour record with those watts?

Have you ever seen Van der Poel on a time trial bike? If an oil tanker has that CdA it gets can't dock on any harbor

 

[Mayomaniac]

Have you ever seen Van der Poel on a time trial bike? If an oil tanker has that CdA it gets can't dock on any harbor

Tbf, it's not like Ganna's CdA is all that great.
VDP probably needs one of those magic training weeks in Spain to be competitive for the RVV

 

[Oldman]

Which of the CX peloton, other than van Aert, should even be remotely competitive against van der Poel. He is as technically proficient as the best full-timers, and his motor is obviously much greater than the rest of the field that mostly ride .2 minor Benelux stage races all summer. Even Nys and del Grosso, who are merely "good" roadies and significantly lesser CX technicians dominated everyone else in many races this season. As much as I might wish otherwise, cyclocross is a regional and niche sport.

I feebly tried it and appreciated what part worked for me. It's a good indication of power potential when you are redlined.

 

[Berniece]

Apparently vdp pushed 446w for 90min at E3 (Velon CC quoting his insta). Either way huge watts, FTP maybe at 470-480w range. What's his weight again?

75-78kg

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Tbf, it's not like Ganna's CdA is all that great.
VDP probably needs one of those magic training weeks in Spain to be competitive for the RVV

Well, that's exactly what he's doing. A week in Spain to "reload solar batteries". He will be flying in RVV, won't he?

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Well, that's exactly what he's doing. A week in Spain to "reload solar batteries". He will be flying in RVV, won't he?

We'll see. Spending a week in Spain doesn't seem to have worked for Remco, for instance.

 

[Rob5091]

We'll see. Spending a week in Spain doesn't seem to have worked for Remco, for instance.

Maybe Remco has the delusional belief that he does n't need some of the "chemical help" that seems to be available at Spanish altitude camps. He should have a word with Soler's dad.

 

[SorelyBoy]

I’ve always thought MVDP was well dodgy since even before he burst onto the road scene. I might be wrong, but weren’t the Belgians casting aspersions towards him since he was a teenager? Maybe just good old fashioned bitterness but then you look at what he does and it makes you wonder. To be fair, unlike a certain bleach blonde Slovenian, he does seem to be absolutely shattered after every super human effort. And he’s a really nice chap and all that. But still, the way he can sustain those efforts gives me an icky feeling.

 

[Berniece]

I’ve always thought MVDP was well dodgy since even before he burst onto the road scene. I might be wrong, but weren’t the Belgians casting aspersions towards him since he was a teenager? Maybe just good old fashioned bitterness but then you look at what he does and it makes you wonder. To be fair, unlike a certain bleach blonde Slovenian, he does seem to be absolutely shattered after every super human effort. And he’s a really nice chap and all that. But still, the way he can sustain those efforts gives me an icky feeling.

Not sure about Belgians casting aspersions, maybe WVA fans. But purely looking at genetics, MVDP makes sense. Grandfather was an amazing cyclist, his father was a good cyclist. It's not like he comes from nothing, he's basically cycling royalty.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Not sure about Belgians casting aspersions, maybe WVA fans. But purely looking at genetics, MVDP makes sense. Grandfather was an amazing cyclist, his father was a good cyclist. It's not like he comes from nothing, he's basically cycling royalty.

It can't be denied: strong cycling roots in both halves of his genealogical tree!

 

[TheKidsCallMeBoss]

Not sure about Belgians casting aspersions, maybe WVA fans. But purely looking at genetics, MVDP makes sense. Grandfather was an amazing cyclist, his father was a good cyclist. It's not like he comes from nothing, he's basically cycling royalty.

I don't think that's how it works. It's rare for the children of world-class athletes to achieve similar results. In fact, children inherit most of their athletic traits from their mothers. Mitochondrial DNA, for example, is inherited exclusively from the mother.

 

[Berniece]

I don't think that's how it works. It's rare for the children of world-class athletes to achieve similar results. In fact, children inherit most of their athletic traits from their mothers. Mitochondrial DNA, for example, is inherited exclusively from the mother.

Isn't it also related to the father of the mother? Which in this case was Poulidor

 

[TheKidsCallMeBoss]

Isn't it also related to the father of the mother? Which in this case was Poulidor

No, because his mother inherited it from her mother (from MvdP’s grandmother, not his grandfather).

 

[Berniece]

No, because his mother inherited it from her mother (from MvdP’s grandmother, not his grandfather).

I had to ask AI, because I don't know enough about it. Summary:

Contributor	Relation	Contribution
Adrie van der Poel	Father	50% of Nuclear DNA (Power, skeletal structure, mental grit).
Corinne Poulidor	Mother	50% of Nuclear DNA + 100% of Mitochondrial DNA (Aerobic engine).
Raymond Poulidor	Maternal Grandfather	~25% of total DNA (Potential source of Mathieu's X chromosome, several genes related to muscle function and blood oxygenation are located on the X chromosome).

 

[AmRacer]

I had to ask AI, because I don't know enough about it. Summary:

Contributor	Relation	Contribution
Adrie van der Poel	Father	50% of Nuclear DNA (Power, skeletal structure, mental grit).
Corinne Poulidor	Mother	50% of Nuclear DNA + 100% of Mitochondrial DNA (Aerobic engine).
Raymond Poulidor	Maternal Grandfather	~25% of total DNA (Potential source of Mathieu's X chromosome, several genes related to muscle function and blood oxygenation are located on the X chromosome).

Aha, that explains why he's so good, 125 % DNA

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

I didn't know that grit is encoded into DNA.

Would skeletal structure not be far more determined by nutrition? Only layman's observations, but among western Europeans, somatotype seems far more environmental than genetic.