Such great racing today, and MvdP is already in his well deserved autumn break…
Mathieu is the rider who could win all the five monuments… Instead, he spends part of every season at MTB races, where they partially ride on really difficult, technical, dangerous courses. But the essence of bike racing is road racing, is the Tour de France mainly. He instead leads out Philippsen, and focuses on MTB racing and the road to Paris 2024 (OGs)…
I think he „wastes“ something.
Mountainbiking is something great, no doubt about it. But if I were Mathieu, with all his talents, I would try to achieve a Top-10 or Top-15 in the final GC of the TdF, every year, instead of chasing MTB gold medals.
Road racing also is fun, and can be thrilling. Hopping around at MTB parcours, partially over 20-cm big stones, might be adventurous, but is actually something he still can do when he has retired. I thought/hoped he would quit the MTB racing scene after his unnecessary Tokyo crash.