Ronde van Vlaanderen 2025, one day monument, April 6 (men's)

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Salvarani

Oct 15, 2017
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limak_ said:
I mean yeah, that'd be the only reasonable tactics for him, but still I think he'd be dropped by Pogacar.

Also, another thing is that van der Poel was feeling quite confident coming to the race (after MSR win; I know it's totally different race, but still) and after the first climbs, where he clearly felt good. And passive racing is certainly not his instinct.
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If he follows on the last Kwaremont, he likely goes with Pog to the finish and wins the sprint. His best chance to win here, if he himself is not strong enough to drop Pog.

He didnt, so he lost and likely would have lost against Visma/Trek trying to play tactical games. As they had a number of riders that were good today. He would have had to close multiple gaps and had to chase.

If Pog not here, MVDP would have attacked to drop the others.

With Pog here, he knows he has to follow and will work to keep the others behind. So it is just him vs Pog. He sees that as his best chance to win rather than relying on others or risking being tactically outplayed. MVDP raced to win.

In no scenario, with or without Pog, would he like to have Van Aert or Pedersen with him going into a sprint.
 
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Netserk

Netserk

Apr 30, 2011
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Salvarani said:
If he follows on the last Kwaremont, he likely goes with Pog to the finish and wins the sprint. His best chance to win here, if he himself is not strong enough to drop Pog.

He didnt, so he lost and likely would have lost against Visma/Trek trying to play tactical games. As they had a number of riders that were good today. He would have had to close multiple gaps and had to chase.

If Pog not here, MVDP would have attacked to drop the others.

With Pog here, he knows he has to follow and will work to keep the others behind. So it is just him vs Pog. He sees that as his best chance to win rather than relying on others or risking being tactically outplayed.

In no scenario, with or without Pog, would he like to have Van Aert or Pedersen with him going into a sprint.
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Had he not worked before Kwaremont and then been able to survive Pogi's attack there, it would have been no problem to keep the chasers behind them.

It would always come down to whether or not he could survive Pogi on Kwaremont.
 
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Salvarani

Oct 15, 2017
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Netserk said:
Had he not worked before Kwaremont and then been able to survive Pogi's attack there, it would have been no problem to keep the chasers behind them.

It would always come down to whether or not he could survive Pogi on Kwaremont.
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But we dont how the race develops if they dont work to stay away or make it harder for the others to come back each time.

Likely Visma and Trek would have used their numbers long before the last Kwaremont. Van Aert still tried but then it was too late/too close to the final.

They would have used their numbers way earlier and that wouldnt have been good for either Pog nor MVDP. They benefitted both from working with each other. I would probably believe this is what MVDP also said to Pog after the second Kwaremont, as he was seen doing. "We are both isolated. Lets work."

He saw it as his best chance to win and it was.
 
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Netserk

Netserk

Apr 30, 2011
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Salvarani said:
But we dont how the race develops if they dont work to stay away or make it harder for the others to come back each time.

Likely Visma and Trek would have used their numbers long before the last Kwaremont. Van Aert still tried but then it was too late/too close to the final.

They would have used their numbers way earlier and that wouldnt have been good for either Pog nor MVDP. They benefited both from working with each other. I would probably believe this is what MVDP also said to Pog after the second Kwaremont. We are both isolated. Lets work.

He saw it as his best chance to win and it was.
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Great if you care about 2nd and 3rd. The record-holder of the race shouldn't.

He could afford to let it be up to Pogi to control it before the last Kwaremont. Especially with his early crash in mind.
 
S

Salvarani

Oct 15, 2017
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Netserk said:
Great if you care about 2nd and 3rd. The record-holder of the race shouldn't.

He could afford to let it be up to Pogi to control it before the last Kwaremont. Especially with his early crash in mind.
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No, he would have given up the race if he had done what you are suggesting. They both would have lost, instead of both having a chance to win.

Like this is why MVDP himself is seen speaking to Pog after the second Kwaremont. He knows it is his best chance.
 
Lequack

Lequack

Jul 10, 2014
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Just managed to watch the replay of the race, it was too nice weather to not be outside. Great win by Pog, it wasn't until the last attack that we knew if he could drop MVDP, until then he was easily able to follow. And great to see Wout in good form again, as well as Mads winnin a sprint for 2nd in the end. Most of all I loved all the spectators along the road, great crowds.

The attack

https://twitter.com/x/status/1908916358278008871
View: https://x.com/jon_snow_pt/status/1908916358278008871

Gn3U10qWAAApn5m
 
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Peyroteo94

Peyroteo94

Mar 20, 2022
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Rackham said:
Regarding Van Aert, I'd say Visma were good today and Benoot + Jorgenson were a great help. But without them I feel like this one would have played out as per usual after WvA first got into difficulty.

So I'm a bit more cautious regarding heaping praise and hype on his shoulders before Roubaix. The way this race played out helped WvA - a lot. They had the numbers and forced Pog and VdP to isolate themselves.
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Sorry, but it was a crash who put Visma in a prime position. With a strong UAE, Visma would not be relevant in this race.
 
B

Bolder

Jun 25, 2015
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Netserk said:
Had he not worked before Kwaremont and then been able to survive Pogi's attack there, it would have been no problem to keep the chasers behind them.

It would always come down to whether or not he could survive Pogi on Kwaremont.
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Exactly, and having a crash and chasing back on didn’t help. That said, he gets dropped either way on Kwarermont, I thought before the race. Pogacar is unbeatable on hilly terrain.
 
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Rackham

Rackham

Jul 16, 2015
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Peyroteo94 said:
Sorry, but it was a crash who put Visma in a prime position. With a strong UAE, Visma would not be relevant in this race.
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Well my point is based on today's race scenario WvA had teammates around him when it mattered, whatever the reason was. But next week in Roubaix the situation might be different so extrapolating today's result towards next weekend isn't straight-forward regarding WvA's chances.

I'm just being cautious, i.e. I've seen people get carried away and start saying WvA is a favorite for Roubaix now. I'm more reserved in my prediction, that is all.
 
Netserk

Netserk

Apr 30, 2011
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Netserk said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1642462266275557376
View: https://x.com/ammattipyoraily/status/1642462266275557376


https://twitter.com/x/status/1510735436725039110
View: https://x.com/ammattipyoraily/status/1510735436725039110


https://twitter.com/x/status/1642543585106042882
View: https://x.com/faustocoppi60/status/1642543585106042882


https://twitter.com/x/status/1774447755085095108
View: https://x.com/ammattipyoraily/status/1774447755085095108


https://twitter.com/x/status/1908896673767772364
View: https://x.com/ammattipyoraily/status/1908896673767772364
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So speed went up year after year by ~4.13 % cumulatively from 2022 to 2025. I think the power of Pogi and MvdP went up by more over the same period.
 
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KZD

KZD

Feb 21, 2019
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De Ronde lived up to its reputation once more, one of the best races in the world.

There is little left to say about Pogačar frankly at this point only the haters can't admit that he is already one of the best ever. That attack on the last Kwaremont was devastating just like in 2023 and he now has 8 monument wins which means that there is a high likelihood that he finishes the year as the third biggest monument winner ever.

Lidl-Trek did great too, the Dane was the rider that managed to hang on for longer with Pogačar and Van der Poel and his sprint at the end of a hard race was once again deadly, but 2nd was clearly the best he could have achieved today. Stuyven did clearly better than I was expecting, pleasently surprising that he managed to finish in the chasing group.

Van der Poel rode like a champion as usual but today that crash perhaps cost him a bit and so he should have been a bit more conservative with his efforts, I feel that he can still get a fourth Flanders win but Pogačar will likely get there too.

Van Aert with a decent fourth place, he clearly struggles with recovery from these short steep efforts but at least was the best Visma so I think he will play a bigger role in Roubaix, hope that everyone stays healthy and we could have another cracking race there!
 
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Tim Cahill

May 6, 2021
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