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

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A better question would be which one he can't win. I don't think there are a lot of big 1 day races that he is incapable of winning.
I think there are a few of those he can't win. I think the final kilometer in Strade is too steep for him (assuming he doesn't arrive solo), don't forget he isn't even the best climber of the crossers. Can't see him win FW either. Lombardia? San Sebastian? LBL?

Other than that, he can probably win anything. And obvisously i mean in "normal" conditions. Ofcourse if some freak scenario unfolds, like how Van Avermaet won the Olympics, anything is possible.
 
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Honestly I feel like I haven't seen anything from VdP on longer climbs to say anything. Normally I'd say Vlaanderen, Roubaix, Sanremo and Gold Race are the best ones for him. From there it is a very big leap to competing with the best in Liege. Il Lombardia with the current route is never happening for VdP either.
 
I feel like Strade should also be a race he can win. Van Aert finished 3rd the last 2 editions. VdP is better uphill and those white roads should be a playground for him.
There have been plenty of instances that van Aert was better in longer uphill sections in cyclocross. Even Aerts is often better uphill. I feel you are jumping to conclusions. That final kilometer is really steep after a hard race. This is not an uphill sprint of 200 meters at 6%.
Not saying it's impossible, but if he were in van Aert's place and faced Alaphilippe, Fuglsang, Bardet or Benoot in the final, he isn't winning either. It all depends on circumstances.
 
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Everyone is saying how VdP can't do longer climbs yet he was outclimbing Shurter in every XCO World Cup he entered this year. Those climbs are 3-4 min long at most, but still...I think we are underestimating VdP's climbing ability. Another think is AGR total evevation is 3400m and LBL total evevation is 3700m, both races are 260km long...
 
There have been plenty of instances that van Aert was better in longer uphill sections in cyclocross. Even Aerts is often better uphill. I feel you are jumping to conclusions. That final kilometer is really steep after a hard race. This is not an uphill sprint of 200 meters at 6%.
Not saying it's impossible, but if he were in van Aert's place and faced Alaphilippe, Fuglsang, Bardet or Benoot in the final, he isn't winning either. It all depends on circumstances.
Well I remember that Valverde was beaten by both Van Avermaet and Stybar on that hill, yet he should be best in the world on such ramp. So I would say that Mathieu has a chance for sure...
 
Everyone is saying how VdP can't do longer climbs yet he was outclimbing Shurter in every XCO World Cup he entered this year. Those climbs are 3-4 min long at most, but still...I think we are underestimating VdP's climbing ability. Another think is AGR total evevation is 3400m and LBL total evevation is 3700m, both races are 260km long...
LBL has much longer and harder hill climbs than AGR, though. Just not a lot of them. I would be surprised if MVDP could be competitive there at his current weight.
 
there was a big interview on Ad.nl (dutch algemeen dagblad newspaper) with adri and mathieu.

I'm too tired to translate everything and mostly there weren't surprising things in there. But one thing stood out, he said he was most on the limit in de Brabantse Pijl from all the spring classics. Even though that race was only 200km.

So I think Alaphilippe's accelerations on the hills hurt him much more than he gave the impression. Probably will have a hard time ever winning LBL/FW/Lombardia unless he slims down.
In MTB he became a better climber but that took him 3 years before he could beat Schurter...

In CX he isn't the best climber but in top form he's still with the best..
I say he can win LBL, Lombardia, FW, but not at current weight. And if he loses weight he will probably lose his super sprint.. he already lost a bit of that in CX this season by preparing for the road.

What I mean with all this rambling is -> in the end he will need to make a choice
 
Everyone is saying how VdP can't do longer climbs yet he was outclimbing Shurter in every XCO World Cup he entered this year. Those climbs are 3-4 min long at most, but still...I think we are underestimating VdP's climbing ability. Another think is AGR total evevation is 3400m and LBL total evevation is 3700m, both races are 260km long...
The guy weighs 75kg and he currently has 5.2% fat. He's already skinny as f*ck and the only way he can lose weight is by losing a lot of muscle. If he loses muscle, he'll lose a lot of what makes him so great at what he does. Obviously it's not impossible, but i would be very surprised if he makes that choice. Also, there are MTF at TDF that have an elevation of 3500m, it's irrelevant. Amstel is basically a perfect continuation of the efforts he puts out in CX, short burst efforts, one after another.

I don't think i'm underestimating his climbing abilty, but i'm trying to remain realistic and people shouldn't assume he's an actual demi-god who can defy the laws of physics.

Well I remember that Valverde was beaten by both Van Avermaet and Stybar on that hill, yet he should be best in the world on such ramp. So I would say that Mathieu has a chance for sure...
Fair enough. Though Van Avermaet is actually not a bad climber himself. I guess it depends on who he'd cross swords with in the final.
 
If he would focus on the road in the future after mtb Olympic for example , he could afford to lose some upper body muscles. He will probably never climb as good as the best gc riders, but at least good enough to have a realistic shot in even the harder 1 day races. He seems to be enjoying himself more in cx and mtb, so I'm not sure if he ever will solely focus on the road.
 
The guy weighs 75kg and he currently has 5.2% fat. He's already skinny as f*ck and the only way he can lose weight is by losing a lot of muscle. If he loses muscle, he'll lose a lot of what makes him so great at what he does. Obviously it's not impossible, but i would be very surprised if he makes that choice. Also, there are MTF at TDF that have an elevation of 3500m, it's irrelevant. Amstel is basically a perfect continuation of the efforts he puts out in CX, short burst efforts, one after another.

I don't think i'm underestimating his climbing abilty, but i'm trying to remain realistic and people shouldn't assume he's an actual demi-god who can defy the laws of physics.


Fair enough. Though Van Avermaet is actually not a bad climber himself. I guess it depends on who he'd cross swords with in the final.
Also wouldn't the extra friction of an MTB and offroad be an advantage to the heavier rider?

In any case, VdPs biggest strenghts are anaerobic. That diminishes really quickly. Even guys like GvA and Gilbert are usually dropped by better climbers
 
Wait… the team he's on will be called Alpecin-Fenix next year?
Same team as this year run by the Roodhooft brothers but different headline sponsors I think. Alpecin were rumours for a long time in connection with mergers of Katusha with this team but the then obviously ICA joined up with them. Circus were always a sponsor for Wanty Gobert but are now a main sponsor. Corendon are owned by Sunweb so maybe they didn't want to support two teams as title sponsors.
 
Same team as this year run by the Roodhooft brothers but different headline sponsors I think. Alpecin were rumours for a long time in connection with mergers of Katusha with this team but the then obviously ICA joined up with them. Circus were always a sponsor for Wanty Gobert but are now a main sponsor. Corendon are owned by Sunweb so maybe they didn't want to support two teams as title sponsors.

Yeah, I figured he wasn't about to change teams, I just hadn't heard about the name change.
 

Google translated:


Evenepoel and Van der Poel's athlete of the year awards are oxygen for cycling

Cycling is not a prodigal sport in general prizes… until runners like Remco Evenepoel and Mathieu Van der Poel arrived.

The former is worth its precocity to burst records in and out of cycling.

If what he did in the San Sebastian Classic raised general admiration and opened the history books of cycling at the beginning, leaving a record of the youngest victory ever seen at the highest level, now his figure transcends being named athlete of the year in Belgium .

Note that this distinction comes in the best moments, in a long time, of the "red devils", a soccer team that is happy to see play.

In the Netherlands, the explosion of Mathieu Van der Poel follows the same parameters.

When he won the Amstel Gold Race in that way, simply exciting, we realized the presence of Mathieu Van der Poel in general spaces, other than cycling.

His comeback in the great Limburg race was the grass of the great stands, even here, on this side of the Pyrenees! and we will never thank you enough.

If what brings us this new generation are recognitions in which cycling did not happen on tiptoe, welcome, what is clear is that both Evenepoel and Van der Poel have only just begun, and if your example, and that of their countries would spread in other places, fostering an eminently sporting culture, it would be better for us.

Suddenly these children what they achieve is one thing, to get excited, and that is a very scarce good in our cycling, where many times you read "I do not run for the spectator and yes for the result" omitting that a victory that reaches the " Potato »has a double or triple value, and this is also appreciated by the patron when he passes accounts to the pasta he deposits in the most beautiful sport in the world.
 
Dumoulin won it in 2017. Cycling is joint 1st for sports winning that award over here. Cyclists win it all the time in Belgium.

They're fresh air, no doubt, but those awards mean *** all. We're an inch away from nominating a darts player just about every year.
 
Interview podcast on AD: https://www.ad.nl/wielrennen/podcast-het-wonderjaar-van-mathieu-met-adrie-en-mathieu~ae8c9b8d/
Reported by Sporza: https://sporza.be/nl/2019/12/31/mathieu-van-der-poel-amstel-gold-race-brabantse-pijl/

Had to go deeper in Brabantse Pijl than in Amstel Gold Race. Having to counter attacks by Alaphilippe and Wellens. His legs really hurt after, he was close to his limit.
In Amstel, he was riding for a top10 spot. Camera's didn't show the cooperation in the chasing group with De Marchi and Lambrecht. He wanted to catch Kwiatkowski, only at the very end did he see Fuglsang and Alaphilippe, and knew they could take them, because their speed was much slower than the chasing group's.

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Bradley Wiggins predicts he'll take gold at the Olympics MTB.

View: https://twitter.com/Eurosport_UK/status/1211950390754914312
 
Many people didn’t think Gilbert could win FW either, until he did. I’d be careful with absolute statements like “it’s never happening” when it comes to Mathieu.

Mind you I’m not claiming the opposite either, I’ll just wait and see what else he pulls out of his bag of tricks.
 

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