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

[LookProGoSlow]

Most Valuable Player again

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Mathieu and Wout have become the best donkeys in the peloton!

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Seems he is following the Tirreno route. Great in leadouts. Nowhere in the stages where he is expected.

That promises much good for the Worlds

 

[Elos Anjos]

Got a penalty for shoulder bumping.

 

[jono]

Got a penalty for shoulder bumping.

Indeed. In a way, it's both too much and too little punishment.

Too much: If a stage winner had done that action that far from the finish line, would the jury have had the stones to relegate for that bump? I think not.

Too little: What punishment is it really to relegate Mathieu when Philipsen and Alpecin get to keep the win that he delivered.

 

[42x16ss]

If Mathieu and Philipsen both make it to Paris Jasper should have a massive lead for Maillot Vert

 

[senna6541]

For all his freakish talent, what makes him truly great is the killer instinct. Kind've reminiscent of the 2018 Dutch Championships where he just muscled his way to the win.

 

[42x16ss]

For all his freakish talent, what makes him truly great is the killer instinct. Kind've reminiscent of the 2018 Dutch Championships where he just muscled his way to the win.

What he did to Pogacar at last year's Flanders was as ice cold as it gets. Brilliant riding

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

also, chances for stage win have become even lower. Normally stage 8 would be a mvdp stage, and he acknowledges that, but he says with the green jersey standings as it is there is a good chance he'll rather watch Philipsen and try to keep him in the fight for green.

Seems like he is on a payback mission for Paris Roubaix.

 

[EddyMazzoleni]

Considering that the only green jersey candidate that can really follow him i WVA, he can attack anyway and just stop riding if Wout is with him. He would be a shae if it spends all the Tour as a domestique

 

[Barnacle Bill]

I've always liked Philipsen so am enjoying seeing him get these wins, but it really is incredible how mvdp is delivering him on these stages, even in less than ideal situations like yesterday. If Philipsen, Jakobsen and Ewan are in similar form (and Ewan looks good right now) it's hard to look past Jasper for the win given the ruthless and skilful powerhouse in front of him.

One could almost say he's taking leadouts to... 'another lvl'

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Nothing against Philipsen, i do think he is currently the best sprinter (as i said back in 2018 or 2019, he is a master in steering and positioning and is not often caught out, so he only needed the speed to start winning a lot... and now he's also got the speed) but i hope Van der Poel doesn't just babysit him the entire length of the TDF. I mean, i get that he does the leadout in some of these obvious sprint stages, but it would be kind of lame if that's all he is here for.

 

[Bolder]

Nothing against Philipsen, i do think he is currently the best sprinter (as i said back in 2018 or 2019, he is a master in steering and positioning and is not often caught out, so he only needed the speed to start winning a lot... and now he's also got the speed) but i hope Van der Poel doesn't just babysit him the entire length of the TDF. I mean, i get that he does the leadout in some of these obvious sprint stages, but it would be kind of lame if that's all he is here for.

Agreed. It's awesome to see but it sort of reinforces my feeling that MvDP is sort of a fish out of water in GTs. His Mur de Bretagne exploits in 2020 was incredible but he also quit after a week. That was enough for me. I don't really want to see him (or Wout, for that matter) as a domestique wasting three weeks of energy. I want to see them dominating classics and winning WCRRs.

I do understand the sponsor obligation to show the colors during the Tour, however. But I don't have to like it.

 

[Berniece]

I hope Van der Poel doesn't just babysit him the entire length of the TDF. I mean, i get that he does the leadout in some of these obvious sprint stages, but it would be kind of lame if that's all he is here for.

Apparently MVDP doesn't really care that much about TDF stage wins for himself

 

[senna6541]

Mixed bag. Love watching him do lead outs. Helluva lot more exciting than watching Wout domestique in the mountains, and it actually showcases his freakish bike handling skills, acceleration and killer mentality. Also, it doesn't take a lot out of him like the *** JV asks Wout to do - minus the huge risks he is taking in the scrum. But even then, MVDP didn't just "join up" on AP. He has basically built the team and has huge sweat equity and $ equity in it. Any WT AP win is a win for MVDP. Of course I want to see him compete for stages, but the main goal is Glasgow and it is good to see that he isn't going to be f'ing around in every break on every stage like he did at the Giro. Just win the WC RR, get a few points in the MTB races and call it a year.

As for the silly whining on WF about his push of Girmay, I'll defer to the greatest racer of all-time:

“If you no longer go for a gap that exists, you’re no longer a racing driver.”​

 

[yaco]

I doubt he's in his best form while the parcours gives him limited chances of winning a stage,

 

[Axel Hangleck]

I'm assuming he's using the race to fine tune his form for Glasgow, similar to Tirreno....

 

[tobydawq]

I'm getting seriously annoyed by all this leadout crap. You have one of the best riders in the world, maybe let him get a shot or two even if Philipsen delivers.

 

[Red Rick]

Still pretty meh. I think they backed the wrong horse on this one.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Calm down boys, this is all about the Worlds. His main rival is doing donkey work for more than 100 km and babysitting Vingegaard all the time. He will be a killer in glasgow.

 

[kingjr]

Still pretty meh. I think they backed the wrong horse on this one.

I don't think he beats Pedersen in this sprint.

 

[Kwaremonster]

I am truelly baffled by how mvdp perfectly makes the most out of his perfect form in the classics, but for the tour is just throwing his good years away. I don't buy that is just a prep race for the world's. That is a race where much can go wrong (and has in the past). Did he truely sit on a mountain for a month to be Philipsens donkey?

 

[KZD]

Still pretty meh. I think they backed the wrong horse on this one.

Sadly Philipsen's green jersey seems to be all that matters for Alpecin.

Van der Poel's one day race victories are enough to make him one of the best riders around but his career would benefit if he had more freedom to chase wins in the biggest race in the world.

 

[Kwaremonster]

The thing is that only diehard cycling fans like us will know he is one of the best in the world. People that only watch the biggest race in the world will barely know his name. But he doesn't seem to care, he literally said this finish suited him but is fine with not winning stages. Fair enough then.

 

[EddyMazzoleni]

Still pretty meh. I think they backed the wrong horse on this one.

But his leadout today did not look as overwhelming as the other days. So far it seems to me he is really good on the flats, but not so much on his terrain.