Race Thread

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Jan 11, 2010
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yes I am. I know I'm exagerating. I don't like him.
I think most races with Pogacar are boring as hell as well, in fact last year I couldn't be bothered to watch a lot of them since I already know the result beforehand.

But that doesn't mean I think Pogacar should quit cycling to become an alpine skier. It's not his fault he's so much better than the rest.
 
Jan 11, 2010
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I think he could, if he focuses more on cyclocross... he's probably still physically the best of the rest, although not as good as he was a few years ago. But technically he's never been great and without a lot of races he's quite bad. Someone with not as much power like Del Grosso can follow him because he loses a second in every corner.
 
Jan 31, 2021
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Yesterday would have been a walk in the park for MvdP also if not for the two punctures.
Today was raced very differently by the rest of the field, also partly because of those punctures. But once MVDP got away the pace went out of the group entirely, as can be seen by how much the group increased in size from lap 3 to the later laps of the race.
 
Jan 31, 2021
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I think he could, if he focuses more on cyclocross... he's probably still physically the best of the rest, although not as good as he was a few years ago. But technically he's never been great and without a lot of races he's quite bad. Someone with not as much power like Del Grosso can follow him because he loses a second in every corner.
If VDP quits CX (I have my doubts) and WVA increases his focus and commitment (ditto), unless Wout won 5 consecutive seasons he'd be trying to complete the set in his late 30s. How many more injuries will he have added to his collection by then? How much stronger will Nys and del Grosso be by then?

Moreover, if Wout maintains or improves his overall fitness to the level required to accomplish this, he will still be concentrating on Roubaix and Flanders, which he and his coaches seem to believe is incompatible with a proper cyclocross season.

I guess in a purely theoretical sense, if Mathieu abandons the sport, Wout "could" become a CX specialist and go on an unprecedented WC run, but he won't and likely shouldn't do so.
 
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Oct 3, 2021
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You could make a case for either Pieterse, Alvarado, Brand, or Fouquenet being the favourite for the women's race at the world championships. That's certainly different from a few weeks ago.

At some point it looked like Chladonova was going to ride straight through the pack to number 1, but in the last lap the tank was empty.

the only thing is Brand didnt race today because of calf pain, and it didnt sound like she was quite where she expected to be feeling wise during yesterdays race, which isnt great with no doubt wanting to get out on the bike this week before worlds when she probably needs to rest abit more.

so still one of the favourites, but certainly not the favourite anymore imo. which absolutely a change from a few weeks back
 
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Nov 14, 2009
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the only thing is Brand didnt race today because of calf pain, and it didnt sound like she was quite where she expected to be feeling wise during yesterdays race, which isnt great with no doubt wanting to get out on the bike this week before worlds when she probably needs to rest abit more.

so still one of the favourites, but certainly not the favourite anymore imo. which absolutely a change from a few weeks back
Could Brand have been carrying a lot of fatigue from a Spanish training camp? If so, she should rest this week and do some shorter, intense efforts to stay sharp.
 
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Jan 11, 2010
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If VDP quits CX (I have my doubts) and WVA increases his focus and commitment (ditto), unless Wout won 5 consecutive seasons he'd be trying to complete the set in his late 30s. How many more injuries will he have added to his collection by then? How much stronger will Nys and del Grosso be by then?

Moreover, if Wout maintains or improves his overall fitness to the level required to accomplish this, he will still be concentrating on Roubaix and Flanders, which he and his coaches seem to believe is incompatible with a proper cyclocross season.

I guess in a purely theoretical sense, if Mathieu abandons the sport, Wout "could" become a CX specialist and go on an unprecedented WC run, but he won't and likely shouldn't do so.
It's purely theoretical anyway, as MVDP won't quit cyclocross and Van Aert will keep wanting to win a Monument... but the question was whether he could, and that's what my answer was about.

Maybe if in the next one or two years it becomes clear that he simply doesn't have it in him anymore to win Flanders or Roubaix, he might actually do it. But then MVDP still has to completely retire from CX.
 
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Sep 9, 2012
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Any news on Wysure?
No fractures, just bruises on his left elbow and forearm and on his right lower leg. Worlds apparently not at risk.
 
May 3, 2010
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Is MvdP the best cyclo-crosser of all time?

If he wins his eighth world title on Sunday there will be a very strong case to say yes. He will have the highest number of world titles and world cup races by then. De Vlaeminck, Van Damme, Zweifel, Liboton and Nys also have a lot of victories, sometimes against more international competition, and generations are hard to compare, but given his sheer dominance, with more than twenty consecutive wins and a victory rate over 90%, completely overflowing the competition, one can say that he deserves the title of all-time best - if he wins on Sunday.
 
Sep 1, 2023
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Is MvdP the best cyclo-crosser of all time?

If he wins his eighth world title on Sunday there will be a very strong case to say yes. He will have the highest number of world titles and world cup races by then. De Vlaeminck, Van Damme, Zweifel, Liboton and Nys also have a lot of victories, sometimes against more international competition, and generations are hard to compare, but given his sheer dominance, with more than twenty consecutive wins and a victory rate over 90%, completely overflowing the competition, one can say that he deserves the title of all-time best - if he wins on Sunday.
Mathieu races CX part time.
 
Jan 31, 2021
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Is MvdP the best cyclo-crosser of all time?
He will never achieve some of the counting stats of some other riders due to not riding a complete CX season, apart from his early careeer. But the duration of his dominance (nearly a decade) is substantial, and the degree (level compared to the rest of the field) of dominance is unmatched, as far as I am aware.

That makes him the GOAT, for me.

It's purely theoretical anyway, as MVDP won't quit cyclocross and Van Aert will keep wanting to win a Monument... but the question was whether he could, and that's what my answer was about.
I think even in this pure hypothetical, I'm not convinced Wout would be able to race at a level higher in cyclocross than Nys and del Grosso for at least half a decade. Those two, especially TDG, appear still to be on the way up.
 
Nov 5, 2013
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Is MvdP the best cyclo-crosser of all time?

If he wins his eighth world title on Sunday there will be a very strong case to say yes. He will have the highest number of world titles and world cup races by then. De Vlaeminck, Van Damme, Zweifel, Liboton and Nys also have a lot of victories, sometimes against more international competition, and generations are hard to compare, but given his sheer dominance, with more than twenty consecutive wins and a victory rate over 90%, completely overflowing the competition, one can say that he deserves the title of all-time best - if he wins on Sunday.
Yes. As much as I hate that answer, I don't think any of the other greats could hold his wheel when he decides to go, unless the course was exceptionally muddy.
 
Feb 24, 2015
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Is MvdP the best cyclo-crosser of all time?

If he wins his eighth world title on Sunday there will be a very strong case to say yes. He will have the highest number of world titles and world cup races by then. De Vlaeminck, Van Damme, Zweifel, Liboton and Nys also have a lot of victories, sometimes against more international competition, and generations are hard to compare, but given his sheer dominance, with more than twenty consecutive wins and a victory rate over 90%, completely overflowing the competition, one can say that he deserves the title of all-time best - if he wins on Sunday.
Clearly yes. He started winning races as early as the 14/15 season being only 19 years old. His dominance over a decade is massive despite coming up against generational talents like Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock. As always it's impossible to compare generations but modern cyclocross is so much faster and intense even compared to what CX was in the early 2000. When compared to De Vlaeminck CX just looks like another sport. Kind of like when comparing tennis, alpine skiing, ice skating or many other sports in the 1970s with today's performances. Surely equipment make up a large part of the enhanced performances but athletes abilities and capacities have also improved dramatically.
 
Apr 28, 2010
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How is it even still a question who the CX GOAT is?

Mathieu has 7 elite CX world titles (ties the all-time record and the heavy favorite for the record-breaking 8th title), holds the all-time World Cup wins record (51), and his career win rate is absurd (around ~75% wins in many datasets, and over 95% in recent winters).
He’s doing it in the modern era while often racing only partial CX seasons and still shows up and dominates wherever he starts.
Even Sven Nys has recently called him the best to ever do it and that he's glad he wasn't born in this era. What more is there to say?
Moreover, Nys got those 50 WC wins at age 39, Mathieu is 31. What will the numbers look like 5 years from now? The absolute GOAT, full-stop.
 
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Mar 4, 2011
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How is it even still a question who the CX GOAT is?

Mathieu has 7 elite CX world titles (ties the all-time record and the heavy favorite for the record-breaking 8th title), holds the all-time World Cup wins record (51), and his career win rate is absurd (around ~75% wins in many datasets, and over 95% in recent winters).
He’s doing it in the modern era while often racing only partial CX seasons and still shows up and dominates wherever he starts.
Even Sven Nys has recently called him the best to ever do it and that he's glad he wasn't born in this era. What more is there to say?
Moreover, Nys got those 50 WC wins at age 39, Mathieu is 31. What will the numbers look like 5 years from now? The absolute GOAT, full-stop.
I agree except for one thing . . . the use of the GOAT acronym, for which I would support a word ban ;) It's of course not a problem how you use it here, but its overuse is ubiquitous. And like a genuine goat, using GOAT tends to prod, poke, and provoke. :)