Race Thread

[ChewbaccaDefense]

Could it be that Wout came into the CX season with his mind already someplace else? Maybe set for the next year's road season? If that's the case clearly both focus and peaking isn't there...

He has already decided to skip the CX WC but also MSR and Strade Bianche and the big focus seems to be Ronde, P-R, Giro and the Road WC.

Road
12-02 Clásica Jaén
14-02 Volta ao Algarve
24-02 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
25-02 Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne
22-03 E3 Saxo Bank Classic
24-03 Gent-Wevelgem
27-03 Dwars door Vlaanderen
31-03 Ronde van Vlaanderen
07-04 Paris-Roubaix
14-04 Amstel Gold Race
04-05 - 26-05 Giro d'Italia (Grand Tour)
03-08 Olympic Games Road Race
17-08 - 08-09 Vuelta a Espana (Grand Tour)
29-09 UCI World Championships - Road Race

I think this for sure.

I'm really excited to watch the women's race today. Everyone is here...hoping Puck, Brand and Alvarado can make things interesting for Fem...but I fear that, like I think will happen with the men's race, the only real race will be for 2nd.

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

Puck looking like she might be in the mix today!

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

Brand is having to burn too many matches to get back after the barriers is going to sink her, I think.

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

What a chase by Puck!!

 

[theyoungest]

I think Brand is right, the barriers made the difference today. Fem can't build on her accelerations at the moment, she constantly has to recover instead of increasing the gap. Which makes for exciting racing.

She's now on a 16 race winning streak. One more and she equals Marianne Vos' record of 17.

 

[jono]

MVDP deciding to play this one on hard mode by shuffling himself to the back.

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

Wout just riding around.

 

[KZD]

Like yesterday, Van der Poel dropping everyone during the third lap.

 

[Aimar16]

How much appearance fees does MvdP receive for this kind of stuff? He is basically destroying everyone.

 

[theyoungest]

How much appearance fees does MvdP receive for this kind of stuff? He is basically destroying everyone.

Somewhere in the ball park of 15-20000 euros. So does Van Aert, btw.

 

[Aimar16]

Somewhere in the ball park of 15-20000 euros. So does Van Aert, btw.

I had in mind a much higher number

 

[Tim Cahill]

Taking the piss unfortunately

 

[theyoungest]

Van Aert and Iserbyt are currently riding faster than Van der Poel. For what it's worth

 

[Axel Hangleck]

This is more like the MvdP we saw in the 2018/19 and 2019/2020 seasons.......and a performance like Koksijde in 2019.

 

[theyoungest]

Toward the end we also saw Van Aert switching on. Suddenly there was some fire in his eyes. His fastest lap was also just 2 seconds slower than VDP's, which isn't too bad.

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

Wout appears to be measuring himself carefully. I am guessing that he knows that fighting to keep up with Mathieu is pointless, but he can still ride within himself, and finish second anyway.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

I think people have forgotten the MVDP was a shell of himself for most of the last two seasons in CX due to the back issues. When he is healthy and on relatively good form neither Wout or Piddy are a straight up match for him other than on a very heavy course (Wout) or when MVDP has the occasional bad day.

he said it himself today after the race... the back issues gone just make a huge difference compared to last year

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Wout appears to be measuring himself carefully. I am guessing that he knows that fighting to keep up with Mathieu is pointless, but he can still ride within himself, and finish second anyway.

thats also what wout said. He said he can't ride a full cross full gas. So he choses his moments. There's no point destroying himself to finish 2nd anyway

 

[theyoungest]

he said it himself today after the race... the back issues gone just make a huge difference compared to last year

If you look at his face during interviews, "hij staat scherp"... I don't think it's just the back issues being gone. He also seems to be in a really decent shape.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

I had high hopes for Sweeck and LvdH today, and I was happy to see them ride so well. LS is strong in the sand, so I thought today would be well suited to his skills, in particular.
By the end of the 4th lap, MvdP had 42 seconds, I think. Add this to the 24 seconds in arrears in which he found himself early on in the race, and he put a minute into the leaders in 3.5 laps. Pretty astonishing, considering he spent part of that chasing.

 

[Barkintheeye]

Antwerpen looks like a course where Van der Poel is always doing well. What I could see he won every time he raced it in the Elite category. The sand, the punchiness and some tricky corners puts him in his forte.

 

[pmcg76]

Really enjoyed the mens racing before the return of the big names, but sadly it has become one dimensional again, especially with MDVP. Not the fault of those guys of course. You just always hope the rest might close the gap a little.

Thought Brand put up a good fight today even though I suspect Fem is a little under her best. If Van Anrooj can get her starts sorted, she will not be far off. Only Brand lost less time to Fem in the 2nd half of the race today and Brand wasn't trying to get around people.

 

[shadowrider]

It's obvious VdP has been training a lot in Spain..... with Evenepoel.

 

[Didinho]

The ultimate cross rider is back, without any issues. Hope he stays healthy. Going to see some races the next weeks. He looks mighty impressive, recovering at the end of every cross.
He's in for a masterclass again this winter and I'm enjoying every second of it.

 

[DNP-Old]

De nieuwe Van der Poel reed zaterdagochtend anoniem rond in… Antwerpen: “Ja, ik sprak met Alpecin-Deceuninck maar ik weet zeker dat ik juiste keuze heb gemaakt”

Albert Philipsen, onthoud de naam. Wat Mathieu van der Poel in Glasgow niet kon - wereldkampioen worden op de weg en de mountainbike - lukte de 17-jarige Deen bij de juniores wel. Philipsen werd grof wild op de transfermarkt. “De juiste ploeg kiezen was de moeilijkste beslissing uit mijn nog...

m.nieuwsblad.be

Albert Withen Philipsen will be racing again in the Danish national championships, Benidorm and possibly Hoogerheide prior to the world championships in Tabor, depending on if he desperately needs points. First, however, he will join Lidl-Trek for a training camp in Spain. Also a certainty he will need be crossing next winter, as he wants to prepare for his WorldTour debut as best as possible, but will return to CX after. Furthermore, he will not join Baloise during the winters, and instead just do CX with Lidl-Trek.