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Race Thread

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Logic-is-your-friend

Logic-is-your-friend

Jun 7, 2011
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Ugh, worst possible winner. Sweeck clearly better and stronger, but he had to close a 18s gap that Aerts got "for free".

Pidcock still not being able to really show he's going to be a force to be reckoned with in the near future. Also wondering about Arensman. A few years ago you would have thought he was going to be a "decent" crosser. But then he finished 2nd in l'Avenir somewhat out of the blue two years ago. Now i'm wondering if he's riding CX just to keep fit in the winter or not. Not really making strides as a CX rider though he turned 20 recently. Last year on the road wasn't a success either for him (mainly due to injuries). With his build (he's really tall), i also don't know how realistic is will be for him to become a GC rider, if that 's what he's aiming for.
 
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lemon cheese cake

lemon cheese cake

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Logic-is-your-friend said:
If that's true that's somewhat remarkable. I would have though he would have won one over the past 5 or so years, but now that you mention it... it could be true.
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The only one he's won is the Waaslandcross as a first year elite when it was part of the BpostTrofee. That year the race was part of the series due to the Belgian champs being a Lille, so it took that spot on the calendar. In the rest of its recent history has been a Soudal Classics
 
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Dekker_Tifosi

Dekker_Tifosi

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I see things in perspective. He won here and on Koppenberg before, so it's not like he can't handle these courses, he just needs to be 100%

This time, he came of a 2 week training camp in spain where he only did road training with his road teammates.
To still finish 3rd, even though 3 centuries behind Toon Aerts, is not that bad considering.

He was never going to win everything. That's just almost impossible.
 
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RedheadDane

RedheadDane

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Of course it's because of the trainingcamp - and the 10-hour training ride - but if he wasn't human, it wouldn't affect him. However, can you imagine the scandal it would have caused if it had been revealed that Mathieu Van Der Poel wasn't actually human? If it had been revealed that Adri and Corinne Van Der Poel had just build a second son...
 
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Axel Hangleck

Jan 7, 2017
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To be honest, it wasn't really a shock. The same thing happened in the summer after a training camp in Italy. Went to the Les Gets World Cup, and despite winning the XCC, struggled from the start in the XCO race and ended up 14th....though he did recover slightly in the last 2 laps were he was close to the front runners lap times.
A week later he won the European Title, and soon after won both XCC/ XCO in Val di Sole.
He might still struggle today, but he'll be winning again soon. And as posted above, he has different priorities to the others; Spring Classics and a summer on the MTB.
 
Logic-is-your-friend

Logic-is-your-friend

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The Dutch lady who didn't secure her dog on sunday, is embarrassed and ashamed. She had tied the dog to a post to put something away in a backpack, but the dog was able to struggle free when he saw the riders approach. https://sporza.be/nl/2019/12/16/hond-overijse-het-verhaal/

Dekker_Tifosi said:
https://www.hln.be/sport/wielrennen...et-moest-er-ooit-van-komen~a0adba5e/#comments
Interesting statistic there, of the 36 crosses VDP lost in his pro career, 22 were against Van Aert. Only 3 vs Aerts, only 2 vs Nys...
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Interesting, but not really surprising, and basically a confirmation that van Aert is the only one of the current generation that can really pose a threat in races that Mathieu doesn't lose due to a complete off-day (like the races he lost against Aerts).
 
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Logic-is-your-friend

Logic-is-your-friend

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Dekker_Tifosi said:
Yup, seems like it. You think in a few years Iserbyt and Pidcock could?
Click to expand...
Not the way van Aert did in the first two seasons when they turned pro (or on WCC's). Maybe occasionally put him under pressure, make it more of a test, get a win here or there. But not beat him on a regular basis i'm afraid. Unless he starts to treat CX like Stybar did and cuts down the amount of races and comes in underprepared.

But, should Pidcock and Iserbyt improve, it would make it more interesting at least, because even if Mathieu would still win 90% of the races, knowing there is a 1 in 10 chance he might be beaten, would already be a vast improvement for the viewers. Just knowing there is a chance would be much better than watching a one man show for an entire season.

PS: i'm assuming, the 11 times he lost, not against van Aert and Aerts, were against Nys, Pauwels, Vantornout... in his first pro season?
 
Barkintheeye

Barkintheeye

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Dekker_Tifosi said:
I see things in perspective. He won here and on Koppenberg before, so it's not like he can't handle these courses, he just needs to be 100%

This time, he came of a 2 week training camp in spain where he only did road training with his road teammates.
To still finish 3rd, even though 3 centuries behind Toon Aerts, is not that bad considering.

He was never going to win everything. That's just almost impossible.
Click to expand...

Almost the first time (in a long time) where MVDP just didn't get the technique right. Not only did he look tired but also a little "square" on the bike where he normally looks fantastic (even superhuman). Of course, when it rains it pours, so the technique also gets worse. Nice to see Toon Aerts come out on top. Would also be fantastic if Lars vd Haar gets a win/podium.
 
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