Teams & Riders Official Wout Van Aert thread

[noob]

He was crazy good today, definitely, but nothing in his result shows it.

 

[meat puppet]

Do it for the kids!

 

[awavey]

Yep I was thinking how do we gauge that as a success or not. In contention in the race absolutely, bodes well for other races absolutely, no prizes for finishing 4th though and really sprints are turning into a bit kryptonite for him

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Really strong today, even better than I expected. PR could be his time to shine but obviously he will have strong rivals (same suspects as today).

 

[SafeBet]

Please win Roubaix!

 

[ChasingPotatoes]

He looked, at one time, like he was going backwards (Paterberg, Koppenberg, Taaienberg combo).
But he just didn't weaken while others got weaker in the end.
I don't see him ever win RVV, he is just getting too sluggish on the climbs. But he still has that formidable powerful motor, and when well-trained, well-fed and well-rested, he shouldn't worry about the final hour of monuments. He's made for 260K but not those explosive uphill cobbles (anymore). I hope he gets a win at Roubaix, at least once in his career.

 

[Mayomaniac]

He looked, at one time, like he was going backwards (Paterberg, Koppenberg, Taaienberg combo).
But he just didn't weaken while others got weaker in the end.
I don't see him ever win RVV, he is just getting too sluggish on the climbs. But he still has that formidable powerful motor, and when well-trained, well-fed and well-rested, he shouldn't worry about the final hour of monuments. He's made for 260K but not those explosive uphill cobbles (anymore). I hope he gets a win at Roubaix, at least once in his career.

I do think he has lost his explosive kick and sprint. Time to loose some weight after Roubaix to get gc Wout at the Giro?

 

[Red Rick]

His great weakness is steep cobbles and the fact that Van der Poel just cares more about Van Aert losing than winning himself.

 

[Gigs_98]

I think its worth mentioning that even though its 2-0 in the MvdP vs Van Aert battle for Paris Roubaix wins, this is not really representative of their actual strength. In 2023 he got unlucky with a mechanical and last year he was injured. In the Ronde and MSR Van der Poel is just clearly better than Van Aert, but I don't think it's that simple at PR. Van der Poels big strength, those short, devestating acclerations, just aren't as crucial on flat cobbles.

 

[James M]

IMO, WVA can be proud of himself; he surprised me, at least, today, he rode smart too. I want WVA or Pedersen to win Roubaix. I wouldn’t mind it at all.

WVA deserves to go out with a bang and definitely deserves to have a cobble monument on his resume to reflect his strength throughout his career.

 

[jmdirt]

Solid ride today WvA!

 

[hayneplane]

IMO, WVA can be proud of himself; he surprised me, at least, today, he rode smart too. I want WVA or Pedersen to win Roubaix. I wouldn’t mind it at all.

WVA deserves to go out with a bang and definitely deserves to have a cobble monument on his resume to reflect his strength throughout his career.

Rode well and seemed to get better and better in relative level through the race. Just don’t think it suits him in the Pogacar era as in the Boonen Cancellara era of super hard riding for position between the climbs but lesser pace uphill he would have thrived far more.

Good signs that he can be a massive threat next Sunday and has got ascendant firm rather than slipping away at the biggest time as in seasons past where he was flying in E3/GW only to fade in RVV/PR.

 

[James M]

Rode well and seemed to get better and better in relative level through the race. Just don’t think it suits him in the Pogacar era as in the Boonen Cancellara era of super hard riding for position between the climbs but lesser pace uphill he would have thrived far more.

Good signs that he can be a massive threat next Sunday and has got ascendant firm rather than slipping away at the biggest time as in seasons past where he was flying in E3/GW only to fade in RVV/PR.

Absolutely agree—WVA rode very smart, didnt ride out of his comfort zone to many times and stayed to his limit and gambled like he should, it paid of at the end for him, which indeed is a promising sign.

When it comes to Roubaix, we all know anything can happen. The unpredictable nature of those cobbles, mechanicals etc. With lady luck on his side, WVA is more than capable of taking the win imo and I wouldnt mind it at all just cause I think he deserves to go out with a bang if we should get emotional here.

 

[Froome]

and the fact that Van der Poel just cares more about Van Aert losing than winning himself.

I was really disappointed by that attitude of van der poel.

 

[Pantani_lives]

Respect to Van Aert for the courage he showed today! There are two guys who can climb those steep hills faster than he, but he showed determination and fought back time after time. It was also a good race for Visma as a team.

 

[ChasingPotatoes]

I was really disappointed by that attitude of van der poel.

I would respectfully say that this could be seen the other way around.

They race each other for so long, and MdvP knows it's simply better to not have WvA with him deep in the finale, so when he can drop him, he will do so, and when he can keep him at a distance, he will do so. He has been beaten by WvA so he sees him as a serious competitor. I would rather see it as respect that MvdP cares for WvA not coming back, than the other way around.

And it's not MvdP's fault that WvA is most of the times on the receiving end when the big attacks are happening. If WvA can follow, there is no scenario where one would have to be frustrated that MvdP isn't allowing him to come back. It's up to WvA to get rid of MvdP and give him the same treatment.

 

[scribers]

Wout did all of the work to the lead in and MVP disrespected him at the line. low class move to me for what?

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Wout did all of the work to the lead in and MVP disrespected him at the line. low class move to me for what?

To achieve the best result he could.

Is that not the point of a race?

 

[scribers]

if that were true, these guys wouldn't take turns pulling when all of us know they don't have to, to improve their positions ahead of chases. There are peloton dynamics at play. Let's say he loses pogi's wheel, sits in behind wout to finish because everyone can see he's wasted. And finishes on that wheel. Then the post race comments about being sick and crashed and such makes a little more sense. If I'm wout, I think a little differently about him.

 

[jono]

if that were true, these guys wouldn't take turns pulling when all of us know they don't have to, to improve their positions ahead of chases. There are peloton dynamics at play. Let's say he loses pogi's wheel, sits in behind wout to finish because everyone can see he's wasted. And finishes on that wheel. Then the post race comments about being sick and crashed and such makes a little more sense. If I'm wout, I think a little differently about him.

If you're Wout and you're smart and you see Mathieu racing that way you should attack him, because that means he's ***. Otherwise van der Poel rarely shies away from taking a turn. In fact, the race thread is full of criticism of him for stupidly doing too much work.

This sounds like all the whining from American gravel racers whenever someone gets a good result from using tactics instead of riding everyone off their wheel.

 

[scribers]

If you're Wout and you're smart and you see Mathieu racing that way you should attack him, because that means he's **cked. Otherwise van der Poel rarely shies away from taking a turn. In fact, the race thread is full of criticism of him for stupidly doing too much work.

This sounds like all the whining from American gravel racers whenever someone gets a good result from using tactics instead of riding everyone off their wheel.

Making arguments without ad hominem attacks is much more effective

 

[jono]

Making arguments without ad hominem attacks is much more effective

It's the same discussion I've heard a hundred times in a different context. I found it relevant.

Allow me to re-phrase. One's finishing spot can be a result of many factors and doing the most work does not and should not mean opponents let you to finish in front (although MVDP did stop pedaling well before the line).

 

[scribers]

MVP is going to do again next weekend. Unless he can clear solo he’s spending more than his share of time on a wheel

 

[KenFiamingo]

Seems like Visma has WVA's shape trajectory right, still, I wonder what' it would have been if they moved the altitude training a bit earlier, skipping Het Nieuwsblad and start racing as of Milano-Torino/Sanremo. Perhaps it would have served him in terms of explosiveness & intervals.

And i still don't get why they made him skip Gent-Wevelgem.

 

[Lequack]