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

[Dekker_Tifosi]

I'm giving you a one-eyed death stare while saying it.

Jeezes. I was kidding. I was trying to hook Senna, who was making all sorts of claims how Van Aert was going to be calling for his mommy, facing MvdP in the TDF.

That said, i do think Van Aert currently is a level above, yep. But i also think we will not be seeing the best Van der Poel this year. Winning RVV was quite a feat, but i think his winter prep was simply not good enough of a base for the rest of the season.

seems you are right. VDP now saying he simply didn't feel good the previous days. Lack of base is catching up.

 

[Ricco']

Already thought that doing 2 GTs back to back without having finished one before and with a suboptimal preseason on the legs would be overkill. Seems it was something like it.

 

[dutchdescent]

Already thought that doing 2 GTs back to back without having finished one before and with a suboptimal preseason on the legs would be overkill. Seems it was something like it.

Totally.

 

[roundabout]

I think nothing can be expected in Longwy and Lausanne after today even though those are a bit different stages in nature.

 

[dazaau]

No MvdP to entertain me. Rog loses 2min. Not a good day for my enjoyment over the next couple weeks

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Mathieu van der Poel duidelijk na kasseienrit: "Ben momenteel een schim van mezelf"

Video Mathieu van der Poel hoopte vandaag een hoofdrol te vertolken in de kasseienrit van de Tour de France, maar de renner van Alpecin-Deceuninck kwam niet in het stuk voor. Na afloop was de Nederlander duidelijk in zijn analyse. “Ik ben momenteel een schim van mezelf en dat is frustrerend”...

www.wielerflits.nl

Well this is ***.

He says he felt even worse than before. He has no clue why. Says even the Giro he rode he didn't have the best feeling (but still good).
Think he should just abandon, rest for a LONG period and rebuild base first. And only go for WC if he absolutely ready.
No point in doing the Tour with this shape

 

[kingjr]

Perhaps he's got Covid? Hearing several stories currently about people with typical Covid symptoms but testing negative.

 

[Red Rick]

Mathieu van der Poel duidelijk na kasseienrit: "Ben momenteel een schim van mezelf"

Video Mathieu van der Poel hoopte vandaag een hoofdrol te vertolken in de kasseienrit van de Tour de France, maar de renner van Alpecin-Deceuninck kwam niet in het stuk voor. Na afloop was de Nederlander duidelijk in zijn analyse. “Ik ben momenteel een schim van mezelf en dat is frustrerend”...

www.wielerflits.nl

Well this is ***.

He says he felt even worse than before. He has no clue why. Says even the Giro he rode he didn't have the best feeling (but still good).
Think he should just abandon, rest for a LONG period and rebuild base first. And only go for WC if he absolutely ready.
No point in doing the Tour with this shape

Van der Poel trying to do a Giro/Tour double without a winter training base, then not knowing why he's *** is peak Van der Poel.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Van der Poel trying to do a Giro/Tour double without a winter training base, then not knowing why he's *** is peak Van der Poel.

Also peak Alpecin. But the Roodhoofts are still portrayed as geniuses somehow

 

[yaco]

Well when you are paid to ride the Giro then you feel you have to entertain and dig deeper than necessary.

 

[Ricco']

I always thought that he should have gone home after the first week of the Giro and try to build a base of form for the Tour. He's been racing and training non stop since Sanremo, as if I'm not mistaken he went in a training camp between Roubaix and the Giro and then another after the Giro.

After 3 weeks racing day in day out and with an interval of a month before the Tour, one doesn't have time to do anything other than rest and recover the body. Or keep training hard and let fatigue build up.

 

[Extinction]

It's the poor base to the beginning of the season, more than anything else I think. At the Giro he wasn't riding for GC, so, in theory, he should have come out of it stronger. Instead the lack of base over the winter wore him down in Italy, I think. Now he is clearly not up to speck and probably will pull out before Paris. It's a pitty really, considering that his opening TT was actually promising.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Post-Giro hangover.

 

[senna6541]

MVDP the enigma - anything, everything or nothing is possible. No winter base to speak of. Had no business winning RVV, but did - clawing on for dear life vs. Pogi and then killing him. Clearly out of gas on that mini peak by PR. Had to go even deeper than usual to get pink at the Giro (recall he hit a max HR of 201). Who knows where it goes from here. He could drop tomorrow, or win. Regardless, my money will be on him for the WC's this fall.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

I've seen him have a bad day before. But never day after day insanely ***. It's a new one.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

Attempting two back to back GTs with his lack of base seemed optimistic. Maybe he'll get better, but if there's no sign of improvement, they should just call it a day with him. I don't see what anybody gains from him just trundling around for 3 weeks, miles away from his best form.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

MVDP the enigma...

I called this months ago.

He could drop tomorrow, or win...

Unlikely.

 

[SHAD0W93]

Attempting two back to back GTs with his lack of base seemed optimistic. Maybe he'll get better, but if there's no sign of improvement, they should just call it a day with him. I don't see what anybody gains from him just trundling around for 3 weeks, miles away from his best form.

Yeah I was surprised he raced the whole Giro with plans on doing the full Tour when he has yet to do a full GT. On top of him being prominent on multiple Giro stages.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Yeah I was surprised he raced the whole Giro with plans on doing the full Tour when he has yet to do a full GT. On top of him being prominent on multiple Giro stages.

He was prominent in the Giro, yet he wasn't dominant. A 100 % MvdP would have won 3 stages easily against that opposition. I thought they wanted to use the Giro to get him into top shape, but clearly that didn't work, whether or not that was their intention.

 

[dazaau]

It's crazy watching a race with MvdP in it and he is the invisible man unable to make any impact at all after stage 1.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

He was prominent in the Giro, yet he wasn't dominant. A 100 % MvdP would have won 3 stages easily against that opposition. I thought they wanted to use the Giro to get him into top shape, but clearly that didn't work, whether or not that was their intention.

thats what he said himself as well. He was good but not great and he often had to let go as first where he didn't expect it.

Could be a lost season if they keep him in the TDF too long. Even if he still won RVV despite all this

 

[Raggamuffin]

Maybe his ‘back issues’ have returned and he/Alpecin are keeping Schtum.
Would explain a lot as I can’t remember a MvdP-like performance since stage 2 of TDF 2021.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Maybe his ‘back issues’ have returned and he/Alpecin are keeping Schtum.
Would explain a lot as I can’t remember a MvdP-like performance since stage 2 of TDF 2021.

Imho it's not his back. Simply a lack of baseform due to his bad winter prep DUE to his back problems.

 

[dutchdescent]

Best he go home and focus on next season.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

As Logic says it's unlikely to be his back; he's been training before and after the Giro on his MTB......(and there was that clip of him launching off a drop....)