Race Thread

[Red Rick]

I think the #3 and #4 in the race literally did the last 9 laps faster than MvdP and WvA.

The parcours was so not selective it both were pretty much waiting for the sprint.

 

[Volderke]

Wva just said he suffered in the first half of the race. I reckon mvdp was just better today, and Wva didn’t have confidence to start the sprint, something mvdp was surprised about and would have done if he came out of that last curve first. In the end, we can only be happy Wva was good enough to follow (we have seen many races where that wasn’t the case), so we had a race. If not, it would have been a mvdp masterclass / solo from the first round.

 

[limak_]

I also think that MvdP wanted this win and gave this race more meaning than WvA. Wout in the interviews was like "the win would be nice but it doesn't mean that much" while Mathieu was underlining that this had been a very important goal for him and he also expressed that in the post race interview. So also because of that I think it feels good that Mathieu won.

 

[Bolder]

It is absolutely crazy how close these guys have been for what, a decade now? Wout has an edge in pure power, Mathieu better technically, but on a course like today's they canceled each other out.

The one edge that VdP has is the ability to absolutely turn himself inside out; not sure that Wout does to the same degree.

It's a shame for the sport Pidcock wasn't there, and that there weren't 3-4 other real challengers, given the crowd. I hadn't realized that Tullett, for example, was a 2X junior winner, but he's given it up for the road. From the last Pidcock interview I wouldn't be surprised if he gave it up, or just rode a few races here and there. But I guess the notion of never having a real break from the bike isn't all that appealing.

 

[theyoungest]

Out of a possible 7 gold medals in these world championships, Belgium managed to get only one. For the number one cyclocross nation, by far, that's a really poor result.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

It is absolutely crazy how close these guys have been for what, a decade now? Wout has an edge in pure power, Mathieu better technically, but on a course like today's they canceled each other out.


It's a shame for the sport Pidcock wasn't there, and that there weren't 3-4 other real challengers, given the crowd. I hadn't realized that Tulett, for example, was a 2X junior winner, but he's given it up for the road. From the last Pidcock interview I wouldn't be surprised if he gave it up, or just rode a few races here and there. But I guess the notion of never having a real break from the bike isn't all that appealing.

I thought it was a pretty anaemic course; nowhere to make a real difference technically.....the off-camber section is far shorter than where we've seen Alvarado, PFP & Neff crash.

Tulett is actually named on the Ineos MTB team for this season.....which was a surprise to see. I think Pidcock mentioned he's fallen in love with CX again......so hopefully he'll do more.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

I could happily have watched that battle for another half hour, but I don't understand why it lasted as long as it did. They finished lap 2 on 13:20; 9 x 6:40 is exactly one hour, so by what warped version of Maths did they work out that the number of laps to get nearest to the hour would be 10? Although it obviously didn't work out that way, I would suspect that Van Aert would benefit more from greater duration, so it didn't seem like a decision to advantage the home rider. Probably made no difference, and extended the entertainment, but seemed odd.

Would have enjoyed it even more with the course in yesterday's condition, but a great battle. Who was it recently described it as human powered Formula 1?

 

[saunaking]

This just wasn’t a parcours for Wva: he needs mud or sand to plow through.
Mvdp his short range explosiveness on this parcours was a killer combo, nothing to do about it, even if Wva started the sprint first.

nah, mvdp always has his number.
2021 was basically on a beach and mvdp smoked wout

 

[lemon cheese cake]

Tulett is actually named on the Ineos MTB team for this season.....which was a surprise to see. I think Pidcock mentioned he's fallen in love with CX again......so hopefully he'll do more.

It'd be good. If the riders were all up for it and they got their skills up to speed again, then Pidcock, Tulett, Turner, Arensman and Sheffield would be a pretty good cross team.

 

[Nick2413]

When MVDP comes in fresh he still has the edge over Wout even this season. If they raced again tomorrow Wout would probably win. The slow pace also probably helped as they lost ground to the chasers the entire race past lap 2.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Decided to watch this race and it turned out to be a scam. Only two riders competed. If we don't count in the drone. And then at the very end this guy van der Poel cruses around the other.

Congrats.

 

[Volderke]

nah, mvdp always has his number.
2021 was basically on a beach and mvdp smoked wout

conveniently ignoring WvA had a crucial flat in that race, and ignoring all the muddy / sandy races where WvA could drop MvdP, but fair enough.

 

[Volderke]

Decided to watch this race and it turned out to be a scam. Only two riders competed. If we don't count in the drone. And then at the very end this guy van der Poel cruses around the other.

Congrats.

I reckon both of them now fully realize how important their rivalry is for:

1. the attention of the crowd;
2. the attention of the media;
3. the attention of the sponsors;
4. their sponsor deals;

or in the end: the rivalry makes both of them very rich, much more than if one of them wouldn't be there. They even realize that their rival winning is better for rivalry, that's why they don't care too much anymore if they miss a win or 2, as long as both of them win, and they have a race until the end, they have a good business model.

 

[CyclistAbi]

@Volderke

And on top of that for the kicks.

 

[Third Time Lucky]

Who was it recently described it as human powered Formula 1?

Probably MvdP’s biggest fan apart from Roxanne.
He must be stoked right about now and rightly so.

 

[glassmoon]

Wow... MVP went booooom in that finish. Nuclear! Chapeau to both.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Great sprint from Van der Poel to wins this! In these sprints from lower speeds he is the strongest.

just general explosivity.

Also why Wout is better at a mass sprint, higher starting speed and more about pure power. Van der Poel just more explosive.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

He slowes right down coming out of the final corner, almost to a standstill. Slower speed sprint is Van der poel strength (more explosive) . And then he didn't even watch VDP the whole time. He allowed VDP to get the jump on him.

Maybe WVA was too passive but honestly the course didn't allowed the best racing

Van Aert said he was on the ropes the first 30 mins and was merely hanging on for dear life. He couldn't have tried something even if he wanted to. He didn't have the strength today

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

nah, mvdp always has his number.
2021 was basically on a beach and mvdp smoked wout

And Dubendorf was full mud and rain and MVDP blew everyone away in 1 lap.

Yes, Wout is more powerful but the whole MVDP is at a disadvantage at mud crosses myth has long been busted.

 

[senna6541]

Massive win for MVDP - after all the ups and downs over the past couple of years. Hats off to him and his team for getting him ready after that tough patch at the end of the holidays. This win says a lot of about his professionalism and mental toughness. He's a straight up winner and his self-belief in the biggest, most pressure filled races is probably his biggest weapon. Tough loss for Wout, but he's got plenty of chances to turn the tables, starting at SB and on through RVV, PR and then Worlds. Wins at the biggest one day races will define these guys careers- not stage victories, including at the TDF.

 

[RedheadDane]

So, the Elite Women's race was a Jumbo rider ahead of an Alpecin rider, while the Elite Men's race was an Alpecin rider ahead of a Jumbo rider.

 

[Lequack]

Interview with Wout

Van Aert toont zich groots in verlies: "Was gedoemd om als laffe renner in het wiel te blijven" | sporza

Wout van Aert werd op het WK in Hoogerheide tot twee keer toe verrast door Mathieu van der Poel. In de beginfase door een razendsnelle start, in de laatste rechte lijn door een ultiem sprintmanoeuvre. "Ik heb in de eerste ronden serieus afgezien om het wiel van Mathieu te houden én in de sprint...

sporza.be

Also

 

[Volderke]

And Dubendorf was full mud and rain and MVDP blew everyone away in 1 lap.

Yes, Wout is more powerful but the whole MVDP is at a disadvantage at mud crosses myth has long been busted.

Mvdp is the better crosser, having more explosivity and technique. So mvdp is almost always having an advantage. But as you say yourself, Wva has more (diesel)power, so the muddier / more running, the less of a disadvantage Wva has. That’s not a myth, as the results say so.

 

[Pantani_lives]

Congratulations to both titans (and to Iserbyt for being the best of the ordinary people). It's a pity that only one could win today,.

The course was good, with a power part in the first half of the lap and more technical elements in the second half. It was smart of MvdP not to focus on the two jump boards in the final lap, because the difference could never be made there, knowing that the stairs suited WVA better. MvdP's long sprint was impressive, with a huge, sudden acceleration in the beginning.

With five world titles he can start dreaming of Eric De Vlaeminck's record of seven.

 

[Billie]

I could happily have watched that battle for another half hour, but I don't understand why it lasted as long as it did. They finished lap 2 on 13:20; 9 x 6:40 is exactly one hour, so by what warped version of Maths did they work out that the number of laps to get nearest to the hour would be 10? Although it obviously didn't work out that way, I would suspect that Van Aert would benefit more from greater duration, so it didn't seem like a decision to advantage the home rider. Probably made no difference, and extended the entertainment, but seemed odd.

There is a small part between the race start and the first crossing of the finish line (the start of lap 1) so the first two laps took less than 13:20. First lap was 6.28 and second lap 6.37 so if they had only done 9 based on those two lap times they would have been under 1 hour which is why they did 10.