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

[Red Rick]

"I'm still aiming for Tokyo"
"Paris'
"... I just hit my head man"

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Why does he need to "give up MTB"?

Coz it's easy to watch him doing CX

 

[IndianCyclist]

I would say that he needs proper preparation like Pidcock to win. While Pidcock delivered in the 2 most important MTB races, he hasnt and probably has to sacrifice road schedule leading to the important MTB race of 2024 Olympics

 

[kingjr]

Not because of the crash, but because of his lack of actual using a mountain bike at all outside of occasional training since 2019.

Since you somehow end up saying something different every time you respond, I think we better leave it at that.

 

[Netserk]

Why not hold an ITT of a single lap earlier in the day to decide the order. I think they do something similar in skiing?

 

[Red Rick]

Why not hold an ITT of a single lap earlier in the day to decide the order. I think they do something similar in skiing?

Presumably because it devalues World Cup

 

[DNP-Old]

Why not hold an ITT of a single lap earlier in the day to decide the order. I think they do something similar in skiing?

They do that in the World Cup with short track, just not in the World Championships, where the grid is determined by points.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

I mean, it's not their fault MTB has a problem in that your starting position already dictates your chance of winning. If Nino came over to road cycling it doesn't matter where he would start - the chance of winning would be dependent almost exclusively on his skill, his legs, and his team. Just seems to me road cycling is less flawed in that sense, and, I guess the finances and crowds also agree with that.

If road had something had that, would I see their point of view if Nino was bumped over teams like Uno-X and Corretec Selle-Italia, sure.

There are some reasonable arguments in favour of giving the likes of MVDP a decent starting position when he appears at the biggest MTB races, but it's a bit farcical when they change the rules the day before to bump him and Sagan up. Decide on the rules before a season (or Olympic cycle) and stick to them. Would Pidcock still have taken time out of his road schedule to win a MTB race to get a 5th row start here, if he'd known he'd end up there anyway? Maybe, maybe not, but it would be fair to everyone (incl the regular MTB crowd) to know this up front.

Anyway, hope the crash hasn't caused too much damage.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

He just wanted to lie down after that road race of last week. It's all fine.

 

[DaLong]

Imagine Davide Rebellin getting a 20 minute head start on the peloton.

And yeah, I understand why Pidcock signed with INEOS despite doing virtually nothing on the road before then, he got a bump up based on talent and expected consumer demand.

 

[pastronef]

Imagine Davide Rebellin getting a 20 minute head start on the peloton.

And yeah, I understand why Pidcock signed with INEOS despite doing virtually nothing on the road before then, he got a bump up based on talent and expected consumer demand.

you are joking I hope. Giro U23 winner. Roubaix U23 winner

 

[DaLong]

you are joking I hope. Giro U23 winner. Roubaix U23 winner

Yeah, you're right. I was mostly referring to elite level winning, but you're right - the system is more robust and for that I am grateful.

 

[magliaroz]

Imagine Davide Rebellin getting a 20 minute head start on the peloton.

And yeah, I understand why Pidcock signed with INEOS despite doing virtually nothing on the road before then, he got a bump up based on talent and expected consumer demand.

It's the other way around, actually. Pidcock has underperformed on the road, but I don't think many people predicted such a dominance on mtb.

 

[proffate]

If Nino could find a pro tour road team, or even a third rate French team with a wildcard invite, who wanted to sign him and bring him to the TDF despite never doing any road racing, the rules would not have stopped him and I don't think anyone would cry about the spot he was stealing from some journeyman roadie.

 

[samhocking]

Why not hold an ITT of a single lap earlier in the day to decide the order. I think they do something similar in skiing?

For World Cup races they use the short track placings to decide the long track starting positions, but not for Worlds. Had they, Pidcock would have started row number 1 as he got Bronze in the short track.

 

[DNP-Old]

If Nino could find a pro tour road team, or even a third rate French team with a wildcard invite, who wanted to sign him and bring him to the TDF despite never doing any road racing, the rules would not have stopped him and I don't think anyone would cry about the spot he was stealing from some journeyman roadie.

It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to talk and remove all doubt.

 

[DaLong]

It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to talk and remove all doubt.

So you're implying all the elite level roadies would petition and claim that it's unfair? Eh, I just don't see it happening.

 

[DNP-Old]

So you're implying all the elite level roadies would petition and claim that it's unfair? Eh, I just don't see it happening.

No, I am implying that his comparison between mtb and road is ass.

 

[proffate]

So you're implying all the elite level roadies would petition and claim that it's unfair? Eh, I just don't see it happening.

No, ad hominems are what you resort to when you don't have an argument.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

I'm not an expert but could it be that the lack of practice in actual mtb races in the last 4 years (so not just training) made him lose his "feeling" with the discipline? Considering his talent, it's just too crazy to see him crash like that in two important races in a row.

There is something in this; since he won the Lenzerheide World Cup in 2019 (and was probably the best XC rider that season) he's only ridden in 4 XCO races - and crashed in the last 2 of them on the first/start lap. So, 2 full races in 4 years.....nowhere near enough.
Pidcock, whilst not doing a lot, has done a weekend in the French Cup (XCC, XCO) OKK Revolution in Chur, and the Nove Mesto World Cups XCC & XCO.
MvdP's not doing enough on the MTB, particularly the racing....in a technical sport you need practice and racing to keep the skills sharp. Today's crash was just stupid, and shouldn't have happened.

And we often see him make mistakes in his early CX races.....

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

After the back problems he had to make some choices which is why he skipt MTB for a while. That's coming back to haunt him now.

In 2019 he was already doing 2,5 seasons with much more MTB then he is doing now. Which is what enabled him to win some world cups and european championship. He skipped worlds that year because of Harrogate on the road which was then a unique chance to become road wc. But in hingsight he should've gone to Worlds MTB that year...

 

[Cookster15]

After the back problems he had to make some choices which is why he skipt MTB for a while. That's coming back to haunt him now.

Haunt is a strong word. I think he is quite happy to be wearing the rainbow stripes for the next year. Any success in MTB would be viewed as a bonus. Whilst he may be slightly disappointed, I doubt he is losing any sleep.

 

[dazaau]

His crash in Tokyo was the result of bad information, not bad skill.

I'm a huge mvdp fan, but this was mostly on him. It was a weird one. His team mate told him it was being removed, he seemingly just didn't listen to him. Was more a case of being care free with information. No one else thought it was there!

 

[stonerider]

Has anyone else noticed that MvdP loses his front wheel more than other top racers. He loses it in road, CX and MTB races. I believe it's because he has his long arms locked straight at the elbows which causes a higher center of gravity. He needs to work on his body position and keep his elbows bent when entering turns to lower his center of gravity.

 

[kingjr]

I'm a huge mvdp fan, but this was mostly on him. It was a weird one. His team mate told him it was being removed, he seemingly just didn't listen to him. Was more a case of being care free with information. No one else thought it was there!

Of course it was on him, but it had nothing to do with skill.