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

[senna6541]

Frustrating race to say the least. Could have used Pogi there or even Pederson not getting that flat. Race would have been blown up and Remco doesn't get a chance to do his stealth ***. Honestly, kind've weak that Wout is so willing to give up his chances for Remco. As for the MTB, great win for Piddy (great race even made a *** course seem decent enough), but sitting here watching 2019 World Cup replays and kind've a shame that MVDP has basically had to shelve the MTB.

 

[Rou]

MVDP has only 29 race days so far this season. I see no excuse for him to not go to the Vuelta.

 

[Coffeeplanter]

Frustrating race to say the least. Could have used Pogi there or even Pederson not getting that flat. Race would have been blown up and Remco doesn't get a chance to do his stealth ***. Honestly, kind've weak that Wout is so willing to give up his chances for Remco. As for the MTB, great win for Piddy (great race even made a *** course seem decent enough), but sitting here watching 2019 World Cup replays and kind've a shame that MVDP has basically had to shelve the MTB.

Excuse me?

 

[dazaau]

Frustrating race to say the least. Could have used Pogi there or even Pederson not getting that flat. Race would have been blown up and Remco doesn't get a chance to do his stealth ***. Honestly, kind've weak that Wout is so willing to give up his chances for Remco. As for the MTB, great win for Piddy (great race even made a *** course seem decent enough), but sitting here watching 2019 World Cup replays and kind've a shame that MVDP has basically had to shelve the MTB.

Remco was just better. Mvdp just didn't have that next level he brings to big races. Didn't even make the top 10 in the end.

Disappointing but it is what it is.

 

[MJR]

I think vdP's form was just fine this weekend. Winning the Big Ones requires smart racecraft and a bit of luck. He didn't seem to have either of those. It happens. Even the best can't win everything*.

* - funny Pogačar comment goes here

 

[dazaau]

I think vdP's form was just fine this weekend. Winning the Big Ones requires smart racecraft and a bit of luck. He didn't seem to have either of those. It happens. Even the best can't win everything*.

* - funny Pogačar comment goes here

Seemed to ride very smart to me. Did no work, and then went hard on a climb that suited him at the right point in the race. Got a good group, and that should have been it. But it got brought back, which is not the normal way when he goes. Then he was gassed when Remco went, as was everyone else, and then his team mate tried to close the gap, but only held it, and then mvdp tried one more time, but couldn't gap Wout and then slipped down the ranks.

Form was good, but not spring classics greatness.

 

[stonerider]

Form was good, but not spring classics greatness.

Yes, MvdP did not have his spring cycling fitness. If he did, he would have been able to bridge up to Remco without help. Kudos to Remco for his two Gold medals!

 

[Kaptain Kool]

Don't overthink it. We saw in Wallongong that mVdP loses his magic powers if he isn't able to ritually beat on teenage girls the night before. The cockroaches at the IOC probably have some rule against it, essentially handing the race to Remco on a platter.

 

[dazaau]

Don't overthink it. We saw in Wallongong that mVdP loses his magic powers if he isn't able to ritually beat on teenage girls the night before. The cockroaches at the IOC probably have some rule against it, essentially handing the race to Remco on a platter.

You should go look up the definition of slander before you one day learn about it the hard way.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

So, what is his next target? Vuelta? Is another GT really what he wants? Worlds would seem too hilly for him....

 

[dazaau]

So, what is his next target? Vuelta? Is another GT really what he wants? Worlds would seem too hilly for him....

Indeed. Slim pickings from here.

 

[ppanther92]

Remco doesn't get a chance to do his stealth ***.

Well, I like MvdP but lets be realistic - he was just by far weaker than Evenepoel. And thats quite disappointing if this was his big goal of the season. But his Tour was more awful then last year, so maybe he just really stretched the lowballing too much this year. He tried again, riding the whole Montmartre from the front the round after Evenepoel's attack. And he didn't gain a second. He also was not able to drop WvA on explosiveness, nor the rest of the group on a sustained effort. Otherwise, he still should have been able to give Bronze a shot. Simply not strong enough.

 

[Purito91]

If he could have focus only on evenepoel it

Well, I like MvdP but lets be realistic - he was just by far weaker than Evenepoel. And thats quite disappointing if this was his big goal of the season. But his Tour was more awful then last year, so maybe he just really stretched the lowballing too much this year. He tried again, riding the whole Montmartre from the front the round after Evenepoel's attack. And he didn't gain a second. He also was not able to drop WvA on explosiveness, nor the rest of the group on a sustained effort. Otherwise, he still should have been able to give Bronze a shot. Simply not strong enough.

If he could have focused only on evenepoel, the race would have been totally different. I dont think evenepoel was that much stronger. He even was dropped for a few kilometers after van der poel attacked.

 

[scribers]

MVP might be experiencing burnout. He’s raced at an extremely high level since this time last year with only brief down periods

 

[Red Rick]

Presume he goes to Canada.

 

[stonerider]

Presume he goes to Canada.

I doubt it. MvdP doesn't like leaving the European continent. Even when he was MTB riding, he skipped a chance to be world champion because the race was held in the USA. The year Pidcock won the CX World championship was the year it was held in the USA and again MvdP skipped the race.

 

[Peter von]

Hindsight is always 20-20, maybe Netherlands took too much initiative early on allowing the Belgiums to preserve Benoot and Stuyeven for too long while killing off their own doms.

Ultimately I think MVP just suffered a bad roll of the dice last Saturday and the race sailed out of his hands before he could put the hammer down and properly test if he was the strongest or even close to it.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

I doubt it. MvdP doesn't like leaving the European continent. Even when he was MTB riding, he skipped a chance to be world champion because the race was held in the USA. The year Pidcock won the CX World championship was the year it was held in the USA and again MvdP skipped the race.

He also skipped the final World Cup in Snowshoe, where he could have won the World Cup Overall. And after Harrogate, he decided against doing the Test event in Tokyo.......so he rode a minor road race.

He did two CX World Cups in the US in September 2017, which he won, but that is very much a rarity. His trips outside Europe have tended to end in disaster; Tokyo 2021, and Wollongong 2022.

 

[Ricco']

Even in Tokyo he decided to stay as long as possible in Europe, arriving there only a few days before the race and later than the other competitors.

 

[Ricco']

Going by his girlfriend Instagram, looks like he is on holidays (doing some waterskiing) so Vuelta maybe not likely.

 

[stonerider]

I fear MvdP will end up like Peter Sagan, in the later days of his career, if he keeps doing the races his sponsors want him to do. He needs the freedom to choose his own schedule to keep things fresh and interesting for him.

 

[Peyroteo94]

I don't like where his career is going. On the road, he looks more and more like a one trick pony, only is dominant in cobbled classics.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

I fear MvdP will end up like Peter Sagan, in the later days of his career, if he keeps doing the races his sponsors want him to do. He needs the freedom to choose his own schedule to keep things fresh and interesting for him.

Which is what Pidcock is trying to do - keep it fresh by mixing things up. MvdP once said something similar; but maybe he can't anymore. Maybe there'll be a change when the rainbow bands have gone.......

 

[kingjr]

I don't like where his career is going. On the road, he looks more and more like a one trick pony, only is dominant in cobbled classics.

But that's what he has always been? A rider who excels at cobbled classics and classics with several short hills? Where else is he supposed to go from here?

 

[MJR]

Considering he's got six monuments and a Worlds jersey vs one monument to his eternal rival Wout, I'd say his career is going just fine.

Thankfully, we're past the "if he lost some weight, could he win a GT?" stupidity that comes from writers who only follow cycling for three weeks in July.