- Sep 26, 2020
- 25,615
- 28,235
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Not really. I haven't checked, but I doubt any more credible bookmakers will let you bet on it.
Not really. I haven't checked, but I doubt any more credible bookmakers will let you bet on it.
- May 5, 2010
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he's alone again. please kill me. it's baffling. I have enough since months
What could possibly be baffling about the best rider ever winning easily?
there's not even a race. too easy. fine, he's the best. time to set other goals. leave the discipline alone now
- May 5, 2010
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- 30,628
- 28,180
It's the smart thing to do, but if everyone else was racing full gas instead of letting Mathieu go and looking at each other in the race for 2nd the gap would be much smaller.
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.
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.
- Feb 21, 2019
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Exactly the same top4 as yesterday but today was a walk in the park for Van der Poel.
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.
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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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.
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.
Armchair Cyclist
Moderator
- Mar 22, 2010
- 15,590
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No fractures, just bruises on his left elbow and forearm and on his right lower leg. Worlds apparently not at risk.
"WK lijkt niet in gevaar te komen": team deelt geruststellende update over Joran Wyseure na zware valpartij in Maasmechelen | sporza
Brute pech voor Joran Wyseure een week voor het WK veldrijden. De Belg raakt bij de start van de Wereldbeker in Maasmechelen betrokken bij een zware valpartij. Wyseure blijft even op het asfalt liggen, waardoor gevreesd werd voor een zware blessure. Die liep hij volgens zijn team niet op. "Er...
- May 3, 2010
- 4,499
- 4,606
- 21,180
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.
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.
- Oct 16, 2025
- 73
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I would say yes, only negative is that MvdP is not 100% dedicated to cross.
Positive is that he is a better more complete rider.
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