-
The Cycling News forum is looking to add some volunteer moderators with Red Rick's recent retirement. If you're interested in helping keep our discussions on track, send a direct message to
In the meanwhile, please use the Report option if you see a post that doesn't fit within the forum rules.
Thanks!
Apparently Mathieu read our posts and decided to slow down for a little while todayRicco' said:
Van der Poel beaten for the first time this season. Ends second in GP Mario De Clerq, after he beat Van Aert in a sprint. Lars van der Haar takes the win from a solo effort. He went with two laps to go, with both van der Poel and Van Aert unwilling to close the gap for each other.
Yeah, Lars went at the perfect time. Wout had just brought back VDP's attack and they just gifted him 20-30 seconds. Also one of the only times this year Mathieu didn't take the lead from the gun. I know he won again yesterday but I wonder if he's beginning to come back to the field a bit. Not my favorite course today.
Best races of the season so far today. The first time we really saw them taking it out of each other was at Gieten last weekend, but yesterday was a fight until Vanthourenhout and VDP hopped the hurdles and WVA didnt and then Vanthourenhout had to get off in the sand which gave VDP a gap that neither could close down. Then today, they were virtually shoulder to shoulder for the whole race apart from the first lap where MVDP was slightly behind. It is a shame Sweeck slipped and knocked his chain off, as that would added another dynamic into the race, as well as Van der Haar, Aerts, Vanthourenhout and Pauwels.
Re:
I have to admit, I find the courses in the DVV Trofee more interesting, although I do like Zonhoven and Gieten from the Superprestige, Kruibeke and Hulst from the Brico cross, and all of the Soudal Classics (although the Niel/Jaarmarktcross is a bit strange, and last year they had a 'spiral of doom' which just ruin courses in my opinion)jaylew said:
I've always liked the DVV routes as well. A lot of variety: hills (Kruisberg, Koppenberg), sand (Lille), flat (Hasselt before), usually there's a lot of mud in Loenhout depending on the weather, etc. Despite being the less prestigious of the three rankings.
Lars was really smart, attacking at the right moment, on the asphalt when Mathieu and Wout were keeping a sharp eye on each other. The two greats had just attacked and countered each other.
If the ranking still works with time, the two champs will have to work to bridge the 20" they lost to the jack russell.
One thing surprised me though. As Lars admitted himself, it's his first win in a ranking event outside of the World Cup. He's never won any Superprestige race and it's his first DVV (formerly GvA then BPost Bank) Trophy event victory. It's a coincidence probably that so many of his win till date were World Cup events (and there were quite a few of them, last one Hoogerheide for his return to the top)
But it's always been so. Mathieu always hops the hurdles and Wout never does (reason being a crash as a junior or a U23 if I'm not mistaken).
Lars was really smart, attacking at the right moment, on the asphalt when Mathieu and Wout were keeping a sharp eye on each other. The two greats had just attacked and countered each other.
If the ranking still works with time, the two champs will have to work to bridge the 20" they lost to the jack russell.
One thing surprised me though. As Lars admitted himself, it's his first win in a ranking event outside of the World Cup. He's never won any Superprestige race and it's his first DVV (formerly GvA then BPost Bank) Trophy event victory. It's a coincidence probably that so many of his win till date were World Cup events (and there were quite a few of them, last one Hoogerheide for his return to the top
)lemon cheese cake said:
But it's always been so. Mathieu always hops the hurdles and Wout never does (reason being a crash as a junior or a U23 if I'm not mistaken).
I just read that Van Aert said after the race that it wasn't his responsability to respond to Van der Haar's attack, especially when he had on his wheel VdP. Wth? As far as I remember, Van der Haar's attack came when VdP was leading the group, with Van Aert behind him and after the dutch was attacking the whole previous lap.
And yet he still claimed that he had "raced" for the whole race until then and "it's logical that I should stop just thereafter. That is how he justified that sentence.
He had attacked at the start of that lap, on the asphalt hill if I'm not mistaken and then Mathieu counter-attacked but Wout had to fight to keep up with Mathieu with Lars comfortably on his wheel.
Of course the journalists just remembered that sentence from the Wout interview but he also admitted that it was a silly situation and that Lars made a smart move.
Not really much to say. After all it's a classic in cycling history. Two rivals fighting too much against each other and a third man capitalising on that rivalry.
He had attacked at the start of that lap, on the asphalt hill if I'm not mistaken and then Mathieu counter-attacked but Wout had to fight to keep up with Mathieu with Lars comfortably on his wheel.
Of course the journalists just remembered that sentence from the Wout interview but he also admitted that it was a silly situation and that Lars made a smart move.
Not really much to say. After all it's a classic in cycling history. Two rivals fighting too much against each other and a third man capitalising on that rivalry.
He didn't hop in Eeklo, in the first race of the season. Although in both US world cups, he did. Waterloo were definitely not full height (probably 20cm), although Iowa may have been (UCI full height is 40cm). He also hopped the hurdles/barriers/planks/gates (call them what you want) in Gieten, which I think were full height.Echoes said:
Last season he only hopped the planks when they were low (Essen, they were lower at the sides), or when he needed to (Antwerp, which was a fast course). Despite being better at 20cm or even 35cm, he still had a hairy moment at Waterloo:
https://youtu.be/c-necF-FLBc?t=22m3s
Brico Cross Kruibeke is starting.
And for once, the thing people are talking about isn't the Van Aert/Van der Poel duel. It's the first cross season as an U23 of the amazing prospect Tom Pidcock. And it's going to be already on the elite race!
And for once, the thing people are talking about isn't the Van Aert/Van der Poel duel. It's the first cross season as an U23 of the amazing prospect Tom Pidcock. And it's going to be already on the elite race!
Victory #8 in 9 races for MVP on the legendary Zonhoven. Exciting 3 first laps, but afterwards it was more of the same. Good duel between Van Aert and Van der Haar for 2nd, with David Van der Poel in a great 4th place, one of the best races I've seen him doing.
Zonhoven remains one of my favourite courses. For the people who don't know it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg1-GcGehlk
Mens race starts after 90 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg1-GcGehlk
Mens race starts after 90 minutes.
It's great indeed, but courses with sand need battles like this:
https://youtu.be/2ulhSSbdZGM
That VdP move at 1 minute is my favourite cyclocross moment since I started watching.
https://youtu.be/2ulhSSbdZGM
That VdP move at 1 minute is my favourite cyclocross moment since I started watching.
David is not a mug, really. A bit inconsistent, though. I remember he had a very good month of December during the 2014/15 season, his first one as an elite rider. I saw him in Namur back then. Mathieu raced the U23 race with Wout that day and Wout won but then was Mathieu elite World Champion. David was 12th in Namur (Kevin won the elite race) but he did perform very well in a few other crosses that month. Also he's a Junior World Cup winner at a time Mathieu was already performing in the novice category. Insiders already knew that the little one had bigger talent but David certainly was already a decent prospect.
So the Koksijde WC races - and Live only on Eurosport player, and no commentary. Marvellous. Who thought signing with Eurosport was a good idea?
There was nothing wrong with the YouTube coverage.....
How to grow a sport - NOT!!
There was nothing wrong with the YouTube coverage.....
How to grow a sport - NOT!!
Epic cross at the Koppenberg! Van der Poel won, crushing Aerts and Van der Haar on the last lap (Van Aert cracked with 3 laps to go). He himself was completely knackered once he finished, couldn't go one metre further!
Re:
Also, this is MvdP's first Koppenberg win. He sure didn't get this one easily.
Yes, this was the first race this season that kept my interest till the end. The riders crumbling just after the finish line was something to behold :surprised:Ricco' said:
Also, this is MvdP's first Koppenberg win. He sure didn't get this one easily.
Bit of a stupid question; is the finish line always on asphalt?
And I thought it was a set amount of laps, taking however long it would... not a set amount of time, using however many laps it takes... (if that made sense.)
And I thought it was a set amount of laps, taking however long it would... not a set amount of time, using however many laps it takes... (if that made sense.)
Vanthourenhout not happy to be pipped for 3rd place
- bike throw strop
after a pat on the back from Aerts.
:redface:
Re:
MvdP is a machine!
I think that there is a rule about the start finish being 'straight and packed' or something like that (asphalt is really packed). I'm pretty sure that the set time for UCI elite men is 60 minutes. At the Euro champs today MvdP finished in 57:35 so I'm assuming that they calculated approximately how many laps the elites could do in 60 minutes, and then set the number of laps.RedheadDane said:
MvdP is a machine!
TRENDING THREADS
-
-
Paris - Roubaix 2024, one day monument, April 7- Started by Dreginald
- Replies: 2K
-
-
Tour of the Alps 2024 (April 15 - 19)- Started by Devil's Elbow
- Replies: 363
-
-
Volta Ciclista a Catalunya 2024 (March 18-24)- Started by Devil's Elbow
- Replies: 2K
-
De Ronde van Vlaanderen (270.8 km), 2024 March 31 (Sunday)- Started by Netserk
- Replies: 1K
Latest posts
-
Liege Bastogne Liege-7 hour monument, Sunday, April 21, 2024- Latest: RedheadDane
-
Teams & Riders The Great Big Cycling Transfers, Extensions, and Rumours Thread- Latest: Armchair cyclist
-
-
-
-
-
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram