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

[Peyroteo94]

Interesting interview after yesterday's stage
MVDP himself admits he doesn’t understand how GC riders recover day after day. He’s clearly showing his limits in stage racing — he just can’t sustain top form over the course of multiple intense days. He’s a pure one-day specialist, no doubt.

This is where WVA is clearly better than him.

 

[AmRacer]

Without meandering over to the Clinic MVDP really makes a valid point here. It's absolutely bonkers that Pog can match any rider on any terrain on any course day after day after day. He could probably have taken every stage up until today should he have wanted.

With Jonas at his wheel

 

[Unchained]

van der Poel is an outstanding talent.. Not much is discussed about obvious great progress he has made on previous knee and back issues he experienced. Guy looks 100%..He is fun to watch on and off the bike. He has a style that inspiring.. Awesome abilities!!

 

[Kwaremonster]

This guy outside of like 5 racedays per year is far and beyond the most overrated rider in the peloton. It's just that those 5 days per year are enough to make him an all time great

It's like his brother (I believe) said: he won a few races this year alone that would be enough to make somebody else his career.

 

[jmdirt]

I love it when racers try to TAKE the race!

I love it a little more when a big name tries it!

Great ride MvdP! Great ride JR!

 

[SafeBet]

What a champion.

 

[Kedjan]

This is the MVDP I like, being unconventional, surprising us. Most saw it a as crazy move but it became a spectacular stage.

 

[Kedjan]

Average 50kph!

 

[jmdirt]

Average 50kph!

Flat, tailwind, on the gas!

 

[Red Rick]

Stage 6 breakaway. "I don't know why I went in the break"

Stage 9 breakaway. "It was meant to be a joke"

 

[Gratemans]

This is the MVDP I like, being unconventional, surprising us. Most saw it a as crazy move but it became a spectacular stage.

On the one hand, I wouldn't call it spectacular: used to be a time where at these sprint stages, it was always really exciting to watch wether the break just about made it or not (of course, more often not, but every once in a while. they did.)

On the other hand, nowadays nobody seems to care (or dare) to go for the break. Today they did. And it was one of the biggest names that went for it even. So in todays context, it actually was pretty spectacular. Anyway, kudo's to VdP and Rickaert for making the sunday of a couple of million of viewers unexpectedly exciting.

 

[Juan Pelota]

van der Poel is an outstanding talent.. Not much is discussed about obvious great progress he has made on previous knee and back issues he experienced. Guy looks 100%..He is fun to watch on and off the bike. He has a style that inspiring.. Awesome abilities!!

Outstanding talent indeed. If only my Dad was a great pro and maternal grandfather one of the best ever... I might even win a Cat 5 one day.

 

[jono]

Outstanding talent indeed. If only my Dad was a great pro and maternal grandfather one of the best ever... I might even win a Cat 5 one day.

Don't sell yourself short: you could end up a middling cyclocrosser and third tier road racer like his older brother.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Stage 6 breakaway. "I don't know why I went in the break"

Stage 9 breakaway. "It was meant to be a joke"

meanwhile rickaert puking 5 times during the stage because of the effort + calories intake

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

I expect him to finish the Tour now Philipsen is out; though I'd prefer him to do another week and quit - and start preparing on the MTB.....

he was always going to do the full tour nothing to do with philipsen

 

[Kedjan]

Stage 11 should suit MVPD quite well.

Question is if he will try to go in the break or hope the team can chase down the break before the last small climbs starts.

 

[Kedjan]

That was close to an epic win!

Still only one win, but what a tour he has had so far.

Amazing to see Mathieu in great shape in the tour, entertainment value certainly goes up.

 

[dazaau]

That was close to an epic win!

Still only one win, but what a tour he has have so far.

Amazing to see Mathieu in great shape in the tour, entertainment value certainly goes up.

So close, he has entertained that's for sure.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Great ride at the end but missed it by a few seconds. Another near miss in this Tour.

 

[Didinho]

With the Flèche of earlier lighter parcour he could surely have had a go on the Mur de Huy.

Impressive stage once again. He’s making an end of all the talk he’s not made for the Tour.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Mathieu actually thought he was leading on the last climb!

On the final climb, I thought I was in the lead because the radio connection was difficult. There are so many transmitters, and it gets choppy. I thought the group ahead of us was the breakaway, but I quickly realized there were two more riders ahead.

"I didn't feel like I had anything left in my legs" - Mathieu van der Poel on brutal day out at Tour de France

Mathieu van der Poel reported being ill at the start of today's Tour de France stage and was at the back of the peloton throughout the first kilometers. However, the breakaway formation took so much t...

cyclinguptodate.com

 

[jono]

Great ride at the end but missed it by a few seconds. Another near miss in this Tour.

Not his first near miss either. Say what you will about the guy, with his Lamborghinis and private jets, but he has provided much of the entertainment value of the first half of the Tour.

Will he just ride in the gruppetto for the mountain stages?

 

[MJR]

All those armchair experts who like to complain that vdP doesn't do enough at the Tour must be full by now from all the crow they've been eating this year.

 

[Gratemans]

Mathieu actually thought he was leading on the last climb!

On the final climb, I thought I was in the lead because the radio connection was difficult. There are so many transmitters, and it gets choppy. I thought the group ahead of us was the breakaway, but I quickly realized there were two more riders ahead.

"I didn't feel like I had anything left in my legs" - Mathieu van der Poel on brutal day out at Tour de France

Mathieu van der Poel reported being ill at the start of today's Tour de France stage and was at the back of the peloton throughout the first kilometers. However, the breakaway formation took so much t...

cyclinguptodate.com

They had quite an interesting discussion on the Dutch tvshow Avondetappe where they said they've been riding with the same exact same radio systems for at least 15 years now, and they can't handle the water the riders splash over themselves. And they're still those old radio's because according to Vanmarcke (who was a guest) it's just not worth it for a company to research better ones: 40 teams would buy all the radio's and that would be it.

Which made me think: what, those things never break and need to be replaced? And if you keep improving on them, teams won't keep buying them? Because marginal gains and all that..
Also, with all the technology we have today, there currently really aren't better radio's out there? Are these particular radio's only made for cyclingteams? Could be true, but seems really weird to me.

 

[Red Rick]

All those armchair experts who like to complain that vdP doesn't do enough at the Tour must be full by now from all the crow they've been eating this year.

My gawd he won his first stage since 2021 that totally invalidates the criticism he got for his TdF performances in 2022-2024.