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Teams & Riders The "MVP" Mathieu Van der Poel Road Discussion Thread

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Unlike cross, MTB and road fan bases don't overlap much, but there are a lot more people following MTB than cross worldwide. I wouldn't say that very few actually care. The base is growing very much, but has the handicap of being held on sundays usually at the same time as the Giro, Tour or Vuelta weekend stages.

That said, although a G-W win would be bigger than an individual World Cup, I wouldn't trade one World MTB Championships or an overall world cup for a G-W. And some of his duels with Schurter of 2019 are there on the top of some of the most spectacular performances of his career.
I simply do not know why hes so obsessed with MTB, even his biggest fans dont give a ***, but I guess he just loves it for some reason. Its a shame to waste time on discipline that very, very few actually care enough to watch outside the Olympics. Would it realistically add to his palmares? Not in my opinion. A win in G-W would be bigger.
Really? G-W is a nice win if you can't win RVV - but when you have a 4,1,2,1 record at RVV like MVDP, a win at G-W don't mean much. And I promise you 99.999% of the population in my country have no idea what G-W is, but a much bigger % of them ride MTB's and would be a lot more impressed by watching MVDP tear up a technical Elite WC XC course for 90 minutes than ride around Flanders for 5 hours.
 
Really? G-W is a nice win if you can't win RVV - but when you have a 4,1,2,1 record at RVV like MVDP, a win at G-W don't mean much. And I promise you 99.999% of the population in my country have no idea what G-W is, but a much bigger % of them ride MTB's and would be a lot more impressed by watching MVDP tear up a technical Elite WC XC course for 90 minutes than ride around Flanders for 5 hours.
And i'm sure people in Japan would prefer to see him put on cat ears and make funny videos in diapers rather than seeing him in a MTB race. Maybe he should do that. Most of them don't know what GW or RVV is either.

What does it matter? He has to do what he likes doing. If he decides tomorrow he wants to become a youtuber or a footballer, so bet it. If he wants to waste time with MTB, so be it. But this is the road section of a cycling forum, so we'd rather see him on the road than on a MTB track or in a Tick Tock video.

By the way, you're a terrible liar, you said Wout and Pogacar should get him while the getting was good. Turns out the getting was never good!
 
Really? G-W is a nice win if you can't win RVV - but when you have a 4,1,2,1 record at RVV like MVDP, a win at G-W don't mean much. And I promise you 99.999% of the population in my country have no idea what G-W is, but a much bigger % of them ride MTB's and would be a lot more impressed by watching MVDP tear up a technical Elite WC XC course for 90 minutes than ride around Flanders for 5 hours.
I'm pretty sure we're in the same country and I don't agree with part of this. I agree that 99.9% of the population has no idea about G-W but that same percentage also has no idea what a XC WC race is. I also disagree that much bigger percentage of them ride mtb's (I mean actually ride mtbs on actual mtb trails and not for commuting or on the road).
 
And i'm sure people in Japan would prefer to see him put on cat ears and make funny videos in diapers rather than seeing him in a MTB race. Maybe he should do that. Most of them don't know what GW or RVV is either.

What does it matter? He has to do what he likes doing. If he decides tomorrow he wants to become a youtuber or a footballer, so bet it. If he wants to waste time with MTB, so be it. But this is the road section of a cycling forum, so we'd rather see him on the road than on a MTB track or in a Tick Tock video.

By the way, you're a terrible liar, you said Wout and Pogacar should get him while the getting was good. Turns out the getting was never good!
Yeah. I have a ton of belief in MVDP, but if I had to bet money straight up at RVV it would have been a very hard call between Wout and MVDP. I wasn't as worried about Pocagar because I couldn't see him dropping MVDP, and the sprint would be heavy towards MVDP - whereas it would be 50/50 Wout vs. MVDP. Also, MVDP's form (for a race like RVV) was still a bit of a question mark.
 
Yeah. I have a ton of belief in MVDP, but if I had to bet money straight up at RVV it would have been a very hard call between Wout and MVDP. I wasn't as worried about Pocagar because I couldn't see him dropping MVDP, and the sprint would be heavy towards MVDP - whereas it would be 50/50 Wout vs. MVDP. Also, MVDP's form (for a race like RVV) was still a bit of a question mark.
Apology accepted :tearsofjoy:
 
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Sprint he lost vs Asgreen? higher start speed... 2019 was ofcourse a group sprint so slipstream etc involved.
Conclusion, don't let speed drop when sprinting vs VDP.
 
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Going by MvdPs winter, I'm reasonably sure he did not have the training base to be in top shape for very long. So he got a peak off for De Ronde and that was it.

We'll see if after some rest he can do a good Giro/Tour double (with perhaps disgracing the Giro by going home after a week).
 
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Matheiu is clearly much better suited to flanders than roubaix. Super punchy and explosive on hills. Today a decent ride with bad legs.
Did you forget last year’s race? His ability on the pavees is exceptional and he absolutely has the engine to win the race. He has not been at his best since De Ronde, he was subpar in Amstel as well.
 
Had to watch the race on Peacock (NBC) and MVDP may not have had the legs (hardly saw him or heard his name), but I'll be damn if his old man isn't the strongest 60+ year old dude I've ever seen. I follow him on Strava and he is putting in some serious saddle time, but still. To jump in PR last minute and be near the front that long...He was going so strong Phil even confused WVA with him one time - "Adrie Van Aert..."
 
Going by MvdPs winter, I'm reasonably sure he did not have the training base to be in top shape for very long. So he got a peak off for De Ronde and that was it.

We'll see if after some rest he can do a good Giro/Tour double (with perhaps disgracing the Giro by going home after a week).
This. I suspect that he was able to follow Pogacar at Flanders due to his freshness, but hasn't had the training and racing load to adapt to the exertion needed for regular racing yet.

He looks promising for the Giro though
 
Interesting interview he gave at Wielerflits. Well not really the first part, was much of the same (no legs, base probably too small), but then they went on about the Giro.
He requested to ride it himself, and his own main reason is trying to get stronger to riding GT's. He says I'm 27 and I haven't finished a grand tour yet.
He's trying to get stronger.

To be honest, this is what I said when people where making comparisons with WvA.. WvA has had a base of several Tour de France's now. Asgreen, Van Baarle, etc all his competitors have ridden multiple GT's. Heck even Pidcock now finished a Vuelta. IT's about time he rides a GT and I don't think riding 2 GT's with a month rest in between is bad for him. It might be the next step he needs
 
Interesting interview he gave at Wielerflits. Well not really the first part, was much of the same (no legs, base probably too small), but then they went on about the Giro.
He requested to ride it himself, and his own main reason is trying to get stronger to riding GT's. He says I'm 27 and I haven't finished a grand tour yet.
He's trying to get stronger.

To be honest, this is what I said when people where making comparisons with WvA.. WvA has had a base of several Tour de France's now. Asgreen, Van Baarle, etc all his competitors have ridden multiple GT's. Heck even Pidcock now finished a Vuelta. IT's about time he rides a GT and I don't think riding 2 GT's with a month rest in between is bad for him. It might be the next step he needs

It would probably be good for him to start and finish a GT, so long as he rides smart. Given that AF will probably not have a GC contender, that leaves him free to stage hunt. I'd love to see him mop up a few transitional stages.

I do think that PR is perfect for him because of his bike handling skills. Maybe not necessarily a totally dry race but in a wet race he probably has 2 minutes in hand just from all the cornering and cobble/mud sections. Yesterday he was just that little bit over/undercooked but I expect a PR win in the future, dammit...
 
Interesting interview he gave at Wielerflits. Well not really the first part, was much of the same (no legs, base probably too small), but then they went on about the Giro.
He requested to ride it himself, and his own main reason is trying to get stronger to riding GT's. He says I'm 27 and I haven't finished a grand tour yet.
He's trying to get stronger.

To be honest, this is what I said when people where making comparisons with WvA.. WvA has had a base of several Tour de France's now. Asgreen, Van Baarle, etc all his competitors have ridden multiple GT's. Heck even Pidcock now finished a Vuelta. IT's about time he rides a GT and I don't think riding 2 GT's with a month rest in between is bad for him. It might be the next step he needs
Could be, but I don't buy into GTs being that much of a growth thing that mcuh.

I do hope he just picks his stages and doesn't go balls to the wall every stage. Try to win a stage in both.

The thing I dislike about doubling GTs is it really fucks with the fall season, with a Worlds route that's good for him.
 

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