It is easier said than done to get a perfect leadout on Cipressa. As I said, other teams will try to disrupt. This year was still better than last year. Narvaez was really impressive, a good addition to the team.
This. The peloton was completely in pieces and full of empty legs. Pogi only needs to worry in dropping everyone.
My logic tells me that is the equivalent of telling MvdP just to stay in the wheel of pogi in LBL, he is physically incapable of doing it. MSR and RVV is sort of meeting in the middle, that's why it's so entertaining. But if physics really is a thing as Pogacar says, then RP should be much, much worse than MSR.
I think this ignores that VdP and other specialists can probably gap Pogacar while cornering on cobbles, so then the draft is gone. I don't think being defensive and reactive will get him far in Paris Roubaix, maybe a top ten of something.
No but his (relative) lack of skills are. We saw what happened when Ganna was in the front group at Paris-Roubaix, he lost so much time on each corner that he was spent by the end, and that's while being a monster roleuur. Pogacar is better at this than Ganna, but when MvdP goes all out on cobbles you need better skills and more experience than Pog to follow. You can't just follow and hope for the best, he has to control it himself.
People talk like Pogacar is a bad bike handler. Maybe he is not on the level of MVP but he is better than (for example) Ganna. I'm not saying he will win but I'm sure he won't be worse than most cobbled specialists (Ganna, Pedersen, etc).
But people forget he won with a 3 minutes gap because Gianni and Phillipsen were neutralizing every single attack and cooperation. Alpecin completely dominate PR last year.
Ganna isn't a cobbled specialist. And being good on cobbles is not the same as being a good bike handler, it's a different skill (though they do overlap). Even Nibali wouldn't be able to cope with the cornering of someone with a lot of experience on cobbles – only Pidcock can, really, and that comes from his MTB and off road background. All it takes is for MvdP to take a corner with slightly more intensity than Pogacar can cope with and it's a 3 metre gap that means with the added power van der Poel has, he's gone, as the draft is no longer there to aid Tadej. You underestimate how hard Roubaix is technically, and the difference this makes
Nibali and Pidcock don't/didn't have the engine to be competitive in PR. He's probably not beating MVP but he is younger, one day MVP will be gone.
And still he managed to do a strong 300 m sprint where Ganna and Pog never stood a chance. And for MVDP to hang with an all out attack by Pog when almost everyone else lost at least 40s says something about MVDP's shape. I think he is more ready than ever to take on Pog in Flanders. I say it's 50-50, but that's me.
I still think 2023 RVV and 2023 MSR tell us a lot. But I just hope for no crashes to see another duel of this great rivalry.And still he managed to do a strong 300 m sprint where Ganna and Pog never stood a chance. And for MVDP to hang with an all out attack by Pog when almost everyone else lost at least 40s says something about MVDP's shape. I think he is more ready than ever to take on Pog in Flanders. I say it's 50-50, but that's me.
The group behind was so shell shocked at being so much further behind than they could comprehend that they looked bedraggled and demoralised. In those circumstances I think it showed that when the selection has been made on strength the attackers can stay away and build on the descent and flat between Cipressa and Poggio.
If he opens a gap, he will gain easily 15 seconds in 2.5 km to his closest opponent.
Another way to look at it is that in 2023, MVP won much more comfortably and then clearly gave up in Flanders. So in 2025, he's been on the edge in the race that's easier for him...And still he managed to do a strong 300 m sprint where Ganna and Pog never stood a chance. And for MVDP to hang with an all out attack by Pog when almost everyone else lost at least 40s says something about MVDP's shape. I think he is more ready than ever to take on Pog in Flanders. I say it's 50-50, but that's me.
I would prefer to see him in E3 testing MVP to RVV and give up on AGR and FW in order to compete in PR.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram