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

[hayneplane]

Nice race, but I hope someone else than pog or vdp wins PR.

Unless both riders don’t make the start line I don’t rate the odds of that happening as only Philipsen has won a monument with either MVDP or Pogacar reaching the finish line since 2021 Paris Roubaix.

 

[Netserk]

Christoph Roodhooft whining in an interview with Sporza claiming VDP has been sick and on antibiotics. What a loser.

That is far more plausible than bonking from running low on sugar. And should obviously have made him work less than he did.

 

[KOM]

It's weird with VdP. Even if he was on the limit from far out, he never seemed to struggle to follow Pogacar before the Kwaremont and easily distanced Van Aert and Pedersen multiple times. I was sure him being so much weaker at the end must have been a bonk, cramps or something along those lines. If he was simply spent that was an absolute disasterclass in race management.

He looked bored to me most of the time and i half expected some absurd watt bomb over the last Kwaremont or Paterberg lol

 

[kingjr]

What?

According to an erroneous on-screen graphic

 

[kingjr]

Christoph Roodhooft whining in an interview with Sporza claiming VDP has been sick and on antibiotics. What a loser.

Funny, I was about to ask if he has a history of hay fever following the post-race interview.

 

[tobydawq]

"Hij stuurde me toevallig op 1 april": Mathieu van der Poel werd ziek na de E3 en nam deze week antibioticakuur | sporza

Na de finish gaf Alpecin-Deceuninck een klein geheimpje prijs: Mathieu van der Poel is na de E3 Saxo Classic ziek geworden en zag zijn voorbereiding op de Ronde van Vlaanderen verstoord. "Niets aan te doen", haalde ploegleider Christoph Roodhooft zijn schouders op. "We hoopten op een superdag...

sporza.be

That was not what my question mark was directed at.

I was wondering why - assuming he was telling the truth - sharing that information with us should elicit such a reaction from you.

 

[Netserk]

That was not what my question mark was directed at.

I was wondering why - assuming he was telling the truth - sharing that information with us should elicit such a reaction from you.

I think it'd be better to wait for the day after to say so. Like for Pedersen after Sanremo.

 

[tobydawq]

I think it'd be better to wait for the day after to say so. Like for Pedersen after Sanremo.

Perhaps. It just sounded as though TC would always malign sharing of such info.

 

[hayneplane]

He looked bored to me most of the time and i half expected some absurd watt bomb over the last Kwaremont or Paterberg lol

Must hurt such a flamboyant rider to know that his only path to victory was to ride as conservatively as possible and have to keep holding himself back. Once dropped that appeared to snap the motivation as he flagged mentally as well as physically.

Still a fabulous rider and an insane record of never being outside the top 5.

 

[Tim Cahill]

That was not what my question mark was directed at.

I was wondering why - assuming he was telling the truth - sharing that information with us should elicit such a reaction from you.

Time and a place, going on about it immediately after the race is over comes off as sour grapes, taking away from an opponents victory who had problems of his own, either talk about it last week when it happened or wait a few days.

 

[Lequack]

Lanterne rouge podcast

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00e6DdabLfU

 

[Andy262]

Tees up a great Roubaix. Where there are more chances because no bergs and luck plays a bigger part.

Would like to see UAE get a strong rouleur like Pollitt up the road before Arenberg (ah, there is a critical berg!).

 

[Froome]

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.

Nevertheless, the shape of WVA is getting better week after week.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Nevertheless, the shape of WVA is getting better week after week.

Yep, I think this is a good sign for Roubaix. Should be a great battle here. Would have liked to see Pidcock and Evenepoel in the mix as well.

 

[AmRacer]

Yep, I think this is a good sign for Roubaix. Should be a great battle here. Would have liked to see Pidcock and Evenepoel in the mix as well.

Remco at PR? 🤣
I do hope Remco will race RVV next year, fresh and healthy.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Remco at PR? 🤣
I do hope Remco will race RVV next year, fresh and healthy.

I'm greedy, I can't help it. I want the top guns at every race.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Remco at PR? 🤣
I do hope Remco will race RVV next year, fresh and healthy.

Remco will be smoked and probably break a bone again. Leave him out of cobbled classics, his health will thank him

 

[Pantani_lives]

Fantastic edition of the Tour of Flanders. Pogacar was just too strong for the others, but Pedersen, Van der Poel, Van Aert and Stuyven also gave a splendid performance with a lot of fighting spirit.

For the first time in cycling history six consecutive monuments have been won by only two different riders. I hope this dominance will be broken, because Van Aert, Pedersen and Ganna would also deserve to win one. Winning a monument is harder than ever nowadays.

The atmosphere was good, with the crowds packed along the road. A celebration of cycling.

 

[AmRacer]

For the first time in cycling history six consecutive monuments have been won by only two different riders.

That's mental statistics, but I think the other three monuments will also be shared between Tadej and Mathieu.

 

[Didinho]

This race needs Remco on the Kwaremont. Next year gonna be even better.

 

[Zoetemelk-fan]

That is after they cross the river indeed. And wind doesn't matter there. It's the last 8.5 km. Pogi had ~35" there, after he continuously extended his gap from Kwaremont until then as he was riding against dead riders.

And to me that was what mattered and what I was curious about. But the camera zooming in a few hundred meters after the right turn at Kerkhove it was obvious that all four chasers were more or less toasted compared to Pogi.

(Edit: sry for bumping the thread a bit, had to leave shortly after coverage.)

 

[Netserk]

And to me that was what mattered and what I was curious about. But the camera zooming in a few hundred meters after the right turn at Kerkhove it was obvious that all four chasers were more or less toasted compared to Pogi.

(Edit: sry for bumping the thread a bit, had to leave shortly after coverage.)

It's also a point in the race where the larger the group is, the more dead are the riders. And the more you have to lose from going harder than the others.

So the best chase is most often 2 riders against 1.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Question about bike changes, thinking about Mathieu today. Is a rider's "spare bike" really that much worse than the one they started the race on that it is worth doing a second switch to get back on the original? And if so, isn't that a major indictment of a team's equipment/mechanics?

Or did he have a second mechanical?

That often gets me: surely they can't have done any repairs to the original bike in the meantime, as it has been on a roof rack.

 

[Netserk]

That often gets me: surely they can't have done any repairs to the original bike in the meantime, as it has been on a roof rack.

They repair it before they put it on the roof again.

 

[Red Rick]

This race needs Remco on the Kwaremont. Next year gonna be even better.

I don't think he's made for the Kwaremont, but I wanna see him in RVV as a case study for cobbled hills vs asphalted hills. I can see him struggle at the start of the finale but then get better as the race goes on.