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

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Perfect course + peak shape = total domination. Best Mathieu I have ever seen in a bike race, and he has done lots of crazy stuff during the years.

I for one wish he was more visible throughout the the season apart from only the biggest of targets, but it is what it is. Reason I say that is because I watched with a friend who admittedly isn't super hardcore, but still knows his cycling - said he felt a bit 'meh' because he won't show the jersey off a bit more during a season. It resonates a bit with me, but I definitely don't feel meh after a champion like him just dominated the best riders in the world like this.

The thing is. Mathieu was more visible during the season in the past, but that cost him his main goals.

Pick and choose

 

[Ricco']

Honestly, if he wants to maximize his results, the approach taken this year must also work very well for 2024, with the Olympics having a very similar date in the calendar to this WCH RR.

Would only cut back on (part of) the cross schedule and start the season sooner, maybe doing some extra flandrien classics and Amstel. Then TdF as a build up for Olympics.

Focus on the Ardennes and LBL could compromise him for Paris, would leave it for 2025.

 

[Riek s]

The Olympics look like a good parcour for MVDP. A bit more climbing with mostly about 1k @ ~6.5%, but i think it is still within the scope of what he can win if he is in his peak.

 

[DaLong]

Does indeed look fairly ideal for him...though jeez just looking at it makes me tired.

 

[Red Rick]

Try not to miss Evenepoel move for 270km.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Try not to miss Evenepoel move for 270km.

yup Evenepoel a lot more danger on a more straightforward route. Almost the king on any kind of rolling terrain if it doesn't contain 1500 corners

 

[Valv.Piti]

Try not to miss Evenepoel move for 270km.

Didnt you watch him today? Petr Keleman > Remco

 

[Red Rick]

Didnt you watch him today? Petr Keleman > Remco

I don't see 80 30s hill reps and I don't see a parcours nearly as technical as today either. There will be 4 man team as well, so the washing machine that destroyed Evenepoel today is gonna be a lot smaller to begin with.

Also Pogacar is a lot more dangerous when all the hill reps are mostly 1 minute or longer.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

I don't see 80 30s hill reps and I don't see a parcours nearly as technical as today either. There will be 4 man team as well, so the washing machine that destroyed Evenepoel today is gonna be a lot smaller to begin with.

Also Pogacar is a lot more dangerous when all the hill reps are mostly 1 minute or longer.

Dutch team must be smart. Just throw around some rumors about Evenepoel leaving to Ineos or if he's at Ineos next year rumors of him joining TDT Unibet and emotionally destabilize him before the race

 

[Ricco']

Evenepoel should also be with a Tour on his legs fighting for GC until the end, if everything goes according to plan, so he might also not be fully fresh for that.

 

[skippo12]

Honestly, if he wants to maximize his results, the approach taken this year must also work very well for 2024, with the Olympics having a very similar date in the calendar to this WCH RR.

Would only cut back on (part of) the cross schedule and start the season sooner, maybe doing some extra flandrien classics and Amstel. Then TdF as a build up for Olympics.

Focus on the Ardennes and LBL could compromise him for Paris, would leave it for 2025.

What about the WCRR? Try to defend the title or just skip it because the course favors better climbers.

 

[KZD]

Next goal: Liege

Agree that Van der Poel should add Liège to his spring schedule and make it one of his goals but for me his biggest one next year should be the Olympic road race. Only happens every four years and the route should suit him really well so I hope for a similar planning to this year, riding the Tour as a leadout for Philipsen and trying to win a stage followed by a peak for the OGRR. Then, at the end of the season he will have the chance to get one more year in rainbow jersey in Zürich.

 

[Bolder]

the true goat.

Nobody can accelerate on a hill like that after 250km+ nobody.
The fact he also ridden away almost 2 minutes despite a crash. Probably would have been 2m+ without the crash.
So much better than guys like Van Aert, Pogacar. UNREAL

A Pogacar who was 100% focused on the WCRR and hadn't gone over his limit in the Tour could have hung with him today. But we'll probably never see that.

 

[magliaroz]

Next goal: Liege

He already did LBL in 2020 and was really really good. He slept big time in a decisive moment, otherwise he could have won it. 100% should try it again.

 

[DaLong]

He already did LBL in 2020 and was really really good. He slept big time in a decisive moment, otherwise he could have won it. 100% should try it again.

Yeah his tactics have improved hugely in the past 3 years. Don't see him making that type of mistake, hyper focused it seems.

 

[Valv.Piti]

I don't see 80 30s hill reps and I don't see a parcours nearly as technical as today either. There will be 4 man team as well, so the washing machine that destroyed Evenepoel today is gonna be a lot smaller to begin with.

Also Pogacar is a lot more dangerous when all the hill reps are mostly 1 minute or longer.

Yeah well that was a joke. I expect Remco to be a lot better obviously

Already looking forward to Paris. What do we know about Zurich next year, anyone?

 

[Red Rick]

Yeah well that was a joke. I expect Remco to be a lot better obviously

Already looking forward to Paris. What do we know about Zurich next year, anyone?

I don't think the route is out, but IIRC it's supposed to be hilly but not mountanious?

Or there was some proposal and I've tried to ban it from my memory

 

[Valv.Piti]

I think hilly routes with the riders we have are much, much better than medium mountains like Innsbruck for example so everyone of the big 6 (big 4 when it comes to one day racing) can realistically contest a win and riders like Pedersen and Laporte are in with a shot as well.

You have to make a kinda shitty routse to get terrible racing these days in a one day race such as WCRR. In comes Abu Dhabi though...

 

[Aimar16]

A Pogacar who was 100% focused on the WCRR and hadn't gone over his limit in the Tour could have hung with him today. But we'll probably never see that.

Yeah, it would have been pretty much even if the April version of Pogacar had been in Glasgow

 

[Red Rick]

I think hilly routes with the riders we have are much, much better than medium mountains like Innsbruck for example so everyone of the big 6 (big 4 when it comes to one day racing) can realistically contest a win and riders like Pedersen and Laporte are in with a shot as well.

You have to make a kinda shitty routse to get terrible racing these days in a one day race such as WCRR. In comes Abu Dhabi though...

Innsbruck I won't judge because of that *** murito in the final. That destroyed the racing pretty badly.

I think it's just in the nature of circuits that medium mountain circuits turn out bad because circuits with one climb will have quite a bit of flat inbetween or it's just climb-descent all day. And if a middling sized climb is hard enough for the best in the race once there's no real need to make it as hard as today.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Nah, Pogacar I think is marginally better than Mathieu in Flanders since the last 50 are so hard, but a race such as today is definitely much, much better for Mathieu and he should win against Pog in 7-8/10 times

 

[Red Rick]

Nah, Pogacar I think is marginally better than Mathieu in Flanders since the last 50 are so hard, but a race such as today is definitely much, much better for Mathieu and he should win against Pog in 7-8/10 times

I don't think Pog is very far from his best here. It's too hard for that. The hills in De Ronde are just much harder

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

What about the WCRR? Try to defend the title or just skip it because the course favors better climbers.

it's gonna be in zürich so I expect it to be too hard. Skip then

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Nah, Pogacar I think is marginally better than Mathieu in Flanders since the last 50 are so hard, but a race such as today is definitely much, much better for Mathieu and he should win against Pog in 7-8/10 times

mainly because of the Kwaremont though, since it's longer. On Pater, Koppen, Taaien I'd rate Mathieu better still

 

[Red Rick]

mainly because of the Kwaremont though, since it's longer. On Pater, Koppen, Taaien I'd rate Mathieu better still

He got dropped on the bottom slopes though. And the accumulated fatigue is because of the other hills.

Unipuerto Kwaremont he never gets dropped IMO.