The "MVP" Mathieu Van der Poel Road Discussion Thread

[Der Effe]

Re:

Dont think we need more confirmation that he blew things way out of proportion last week after the crash. He had nothing at all.

What the hell are you on about? You have 5 posts and all you do is troll about Van der Poel. Did he hold hands with the girl you used to fancy in kindergarten?

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Re:

Dont think we need more confirmation that he blew things way out of proportion last week after the crash. He had nothing at all.

What was he supposed to do? He crashed hard, 500 meters from the finishline at 65 km/h. There was no "getting up and trying to win" anymore. Basically, it was useless trying to continue the race, risking further injury. Unless you are insinuating he wasn't in pain after a crash at that speed, and getting another rider crash into him, i don't know what you are arguing. There was nothing to gain by getting up and continuing. How many times have we seen riders trying to continue, just to see they have a broken kneecap, or collarbone. He didn't blow anything out of proportion, as he didn't state he was "broken" to begin with. All he did was wait for an ambulance because he was in pain.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Ignoring the trolls, that was pretty awesome... Attack from 40km out, attack again at 12km, attack again at 9km followed by a solo to the line.

Yeah it was in crappy field but even in a crappy field it's pretty damn hard to hold off a chasing peloton.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Re:

Ignoring the trolls, that was pretty awesome... Attack from 40km out, attack again at 12km, attack again at 9km followed by a solo to the line.

Yeah it was in crappy field but even in a crappy field it's pretty damn hard to hold off a chasing peloton.

I still don't know why Roompot was chasing. Did they have a sprinter? If Boom wanted to make a move, he should have used the cobbles to bridge. But the team was chasing when there were no more cobbles left (i think).

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

They rode for Boy van Poppel I believe, who finished 24th....

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Re:

They rode for Boy van Poppel I believe, who finished 24th....

Ow... I see. I checked the first 20 to see who they could have been riding for.

 

[RedheadDane]

Re: Re:

Dont think we need more confirmation that he blew things way out of proportion last week after the crash. He had nothing at all.

What was he supposed to do? He crashed hard, 500 meters from the finishline at 65 km/h. There was no "getting up and trying to win" anymore. Basically, it was useless trying to continue the race, risking further injury. Unless you are insinuating he wasn't in pain after a crash at that speed, and getting another rider crash into him, i don't know what you are arguing. There was nothing to gain by getting up and continuing. How many times have we seen riders trying to continue, just to see they have a broken kneecap, or collarbone. He didn't blow anything out of proportion, as he didn't state he was "broken" to begin with. All he did was wait for an ambulance because he was in pain.

Did Van der Poel even make a big deal out of the crash himself?
It was the media that made a big deal out of the crash.
It was the media - more specifically the camera crew - that only filmed Van der Poel. And, frankly, if Floris Gerts was as badly hurt as his manager implies, then I'm glad they didn't film him.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

https://sporza.be/nl/2019/03/25/van-der-poel-gp-denain/

Mathieu still bruised from his crash, but falling on cobbles gives less abrasions and burns. Before Denain, he wanted to stay out of trouble and get some racing kms. He's aware Paris Roubaix is still a different callibre race (much longer and with a lot more opposition) and he's happy with his plotted trajectory for this season. It's a varied schedule, and it leaves plenty to explore in the future (i'm guessing like Paris Roubaix, Milan San Remo...).

He also has some kind words for Van Aert. He values his performance in MSR even higher and wonders if they can keep pushing each other to new heights on the road, as they have done in the field.

 

[Ricco']

Fourth in his first WT classic.

Not as strong as Van Aert and Stybar on the climbs, but all around pretty good showing. Could have been on the podium if he wasn't closed two times in the final sprint.

Also, great race by Vermeersch.

 

[Mavic]

Re:

Fourth in his first WT classic.

Not as strong as Van Aert and Stybar on the climbs, but all around pretty good showing. Could have been on the podium if he wasn't closed two times in the final sprint.

Also, great race by Vermeersch.

Was indeed not as strong on the climbs compared to Van Aert and Styby, but had an impressive sprint at the end. Would have certainly podiumed if not more had he not gotten boxed in twice. What a debut. Chapeau.

 

[Stella0596]

Didn't expect him to win, but fourth is still exceeds expectations

 

[KZD]

Great race, he now has the confirmation that he can be a contender in World Tour pave classics

 

[repre]

Re:

Didn't expect him to win, but fourth is still exceeds expectations

He did nothing in this race, mine expectations were higher for him. Maybe he was smart at the end and sprinted well, but in the slightly harder race he wouldn't be there at the end with the best like van Aert.

 

[tobydawq]

Re: Re:

Didn't expect him to win, but fourth is still exceeds expectations

He did nothing in this race, mine expectations were higher for him. Maybe he was smart at the end and sprinted well, but in the slightly harder race he wouldn't be there at the end with the best like van Aert.

Nothing? Really?

 

[jmdirt]

What a stud! Nice ride MVDP!

For those who feel that he did nothing, if nothing else he conquered the wind that battered much of the platoon. He had the head and legs to be in the front.

 

[ThePirate81]

He went through a difficult moment on the steepest side of Kemmelberg,didn't manage to follow Van Aert and Stybar.

 

[Mavic]

Re: Re:

Didn't expect him to win, but fourth is still exceeds expectations

He did nothing in this race, mine expectations were higher for him. Maybe he was smart at the end and sprinted well, but in the slightly harder race he wouldn't be there at the end with the best like van Aert.

You're like the vultures surrounding Evenepoel every time he doesn't meet their personal (ridiculous) expectations. What did you expect? It was already a hard race, no one could make the difference at the end of the day, not Van Aert, not Stybar, not Sagan, no one. Had Van Der Poel gone with Van Aert and Stybar on the Kemmel they would STILL have not made the difference as DQS were closing down every gap. Why should he have even tried to do something and waste energy he could have saved up for the inevitable bunch sprint? Seems more of a smart move seeing as he knew he could rely on his sprint, and he was right. He could have podiumed at the least, had he not been boxed in twice.

Obviously, Wout and Stybar were stronger on the climbs today, and RVV is more selective which definitely gives them the edge for that race over Mathieu. However, to produce such a sprint after a long, hard race is very impressive for his classics debut season. It also suggests that he was "fresher" than most in that bunch at the end. Great debut.

Anyway, it was a great edition today.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Re: Re:

You're like the vultures surrounding Evenepoel every time he doesn't meet their personal (ridiculous) expectations.

There seems to be this ridiculous notion going around, that since Van Aert has been one of the stronger riders this spring, that automatically van der Poel will exceed that by some margin, because he has pummeled Van Aert in CX this (and last) year.

Mathieu made the cut today, and was outsprinted by stronger sprinters, that's all. Not much more for him to do. This course (especially when windy) doesn't lend itself for solo macho behaviour. Going for the sprint was his best bet imho. He actually rode a sane and mature race. This wasn't the same oposition as in Denain.

 

[Der Effe]

If that deb Naesen didn't sprint like he was on prozac, he would've podiumed. Still a phenomenal race by Mathieu though.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Re:

If that deb Naesen didn't sprint like he was on prozac, he would've podiumed. Still a phenomenal race by Mathieu though.

Exactly what did "genius" Naesen do wrong? From the helishot, you can see that it is Degenkolb that forces Naesen to the side. If he doesn't swerve there, they all crash. Then he goes round the bunch on their right, in Degenkolb's wheel, and van der Poel goes around the bunch on the left, and finds himself boxed in and held up by Petit who can't match the speed.

 

[Bolder]

It would be hard to argue that VDP and Van Aert aren't doing as well as could be expected. Sure, no headline-grabbing win yet but geez, to make the elite selection in your first WT race is pretty damn good. Yes, they've got CX fitness but it's still a jump to go from a one-hour race to 200 km-plus over 4-5 hours.

However, I do expect to see one or the other taking a WT victory this spring.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Re:

It would be hard to argue that VDP and Van Aert aren't doing as well as could be expected. Sure, no headline-grabbing win yet but geez, to make the elite selection in your first WT race is pretty damn good. Yes, they've got CX fitness but it's still a jump to go from a one-hour race to 200 km-plus over 4-5 hours.

However, I do expect to see one or the other taking a WT victory this spring.

They are a testament to the level that CX reaches. Yes, they are the two best CX riders of their generation, but in a niche discipline of maybe a few hundred elite riders worldwide, among a startlist of 40, it doesn't necessarilly mean much. In road racing however, there are literally thousands of elite riders, a peloton of 200 just in one race. So, not only to make the leap, but to remain two of the very best in a new discipline, among worldbeaters like Sagan, Van Avermaet etc... That's something else entirely. Maybe they aren't the very best yet immediately, but they're f*cking close at least.

 

[Bardamu]

Re: Re:

It would be hard to argue that VDP and Van Aert aren't doing as well as could be expected. Sure, no headline-grabbing win yet but geez, to make the elite selection in your first WT race is pretty damn good. Yes, they've got CX fitness but it's still a jump to go from a one-hour race to 200 km-plus over 4-5 hours.

However, I do expect to see one or the other taking a WT victory this spring.

They are a testament to the level that CX reaches. Yes, they are the two best CX riders of their generation, but in a niche discipline of maybe a few hundred elite riders worldwide, among a startlist of 40, it doesn't necessarilly mean much. In road racing however, there are literally thousands of elite riders, a peloton of 200 just in one race. So, not only to make the leap, but to remain two of the very best in a new discipline, among worldbeaters like Sagan, Van Avermaet etc... That's something else entirely. Maybe they aren't the very best yet immediately, but they're f*cking close at least.

When you're exceptional in a cycling-related discipline it's not crazy to think you'll be good in cycling on the road. We've seen mountainbikers become worldbeaters, don't even start about cyclists from the track. Boom was the best in CX and he became a good rider in the peloton, Stybar was the best after him and became a bit better on the road. But Nys, Albert and others didn't stand a chance on the road. Nys says it's because of the era, but I don't think Nys is a guy we should be taking serious. He sounds bitter every time he opens his mouth.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Can't remember Albert ever taking road racing seriously. As for Nys, i tend to believe what he says. He finished 36th and 41st i believe in P-R. There are guys that finish in spots like that, and end up on the podium, just to drop out of the top 30 again the year later. In a clean peloton, he wouldn't have won (i don't think he would ever have been able to finish a race like that solo, and in a larger group, he'd be beaten in the sprint) but top 10? Sure, i could see it,depending on circumstances, all things equal. But it's no secret that guys like Albert, van der Poel, Van Aert have a bigger engine than Nys had.

PS: lol, as i'm typing, i'm watching an episode of Vive le Velo, where they're talking about exactly this topic.

As for your statement that if you can excell in one discipline, you can excell in road racing... obviously it's all possible. But i think that there are a lot more riders worldwide, that are racing on the track on a pro level, than there are guys doing CX at that level. So it remains a small niche, and more remarkable that there are two 24 year olds, coming from the same discipline, living less than an hour apart, that are taking road racing by storm.

 

[jaylew]

Re:

Can't remember Albert ever taking road racing seriously. As for Nys, i tend to believe what he says. He finished 36th and 41st i believe in P-R. There are guys that finish in spots like that, and end up on the podium, just to drop out of the top 30 again the year later. In a clean peloton, he wouldn't have won (i don't think he would ever have been able to finish a race like that solo, and in a larger group, he'd be beaten in the sprint) but top 10? Sure, i could see it,depending on circumstances, all things equal. But it's no secret that guys like Albert, van der Poel, Van Aert have a bigger engine than Nys had.

PS: lol, as i'm typing, i'm watching an episode of Vive le Velo, where they're talking about exactly this topic.

As for your statement that if you can excell in one discipline, you can excell in road racing... obviously it's all possible. But i think that there are a lot more riders worldwide, that are racing on the track on a pro level, than there are guys doing CX at that level. So it remains a small niche, and more remarkable that there are two 24 year olds, coming from the same discipline, living less than an hour apart, that are taking road racing by storm.

Let's not act like Mathieu just comes from 'cross. He's been racing and getting results on the road for years and is the former junior road world champ.