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

[Savant12]

Now that I think of it. We should further develop these action hero figure names like Ramco, Thunderpoel, Tourminator, Lo Squalo, etc.

Deadpoel because you can't kill him off?

 

[Open Horizon]

He is still leading the XC World Cup, even after the Friday evening XCC race......Would like to see him do the full World Cup, as he'd probably win it; he finished 2nd in 2019, despite missing two rounds.

Can't see him do a full MTB season ever. Or a full CX season ever again, for that matter. Both would take way too big a bite out of his road season, rest periods and altitude camps. His team, sponsors and fans want to see him blow up the TdF up every summer. No escaping that, I'm afraid.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

He enjoys road cycling the least, because his attention span doesn't last 5 hours. And there's no technical stuff he can exploit either.

I think he also said, in 2018, that road is also the hardest to win at. Because it's not about just being the strongest like in CX or MTB

 

[Summoned]

Has there been any indication of when he is thinking of leaving the Tour? If he is interested in stage wins, then the latest I can see him targeting a win would be the stage to Quillan, which might be a stretch. Otherwise, I could see him being done as early as the second weekend, with the stage to Le Creusot being a decent bet for him.

 

[Pantani_lives]

So Alpecin has payed tribute to the Mercier team of Raymond Poulidor. I hope he takes at least as many yellow jerseys as his grandfather!

 

[Zoef-Lightning]

So Alpecin has payed tribute to the Mercier team of Raymond Poulidor. I hope he takes at least as many yellow jerseys as his grandfather!

I hope this is a joke. Poulidor never wore the yellow jersey. So, you hope Van der poel will never take the yellow jersey.... ?

 

[tobydawq]

So Alpecin has payed tribute to the Mercier team of Raymond Poulidor. I hope he takes at least as many yellow jerseys as his grandfather!

So 0?

 

[Netserk]

At least.

So a pretty meaningless statement.

 

[Zoef-Lightning]

At least.

So a pretty meaningless statement.

At least zero yellow jerseys then.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I'm too lazy to look for a McBain "that's the joke" gif.

 

[Ricco']

Maillot Jaune!

Amazing, fantastic, don't have any more words.

 

[dutchdescent]

Thunderpoel strikes for yellow and memory of grandfather

edit: and would be curious to see if he uploads Strava. Those 2 efforts looked overwhelming/ in the Strade category.

 

[tobydawq]

I don't really see what he has done to deserve a thread, tbh...

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

It's always flashes of absolute stunning brilliance combined with mediocre displays. Today was one of the first. So typical with him.

If you ask why people often rate VDP so highly it's because when he wins, it's always something like this. Attacking twice on the Mur de Bretagne. Who even comes up with that lol.

And then the day before and the NC was so mediocre. And the Tour de Suisse was brilliant again.
Brilliance / meh performances.

 

[limak_]

It's always flashes of absolute stunning brilliance combined with mediocre displays. Today was one of the first. So typical with him.

If you ask why people often rate VDP so highly it's because when he wins, it's always something like this. Attacking twice on the Mur de Bretagne. Who even comes up with that lol.

And then the day before and the NC was so mediocre. And the Tour de Suisse was brilliant again.
Brilliance / meh performances.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1409194428233826309

View: https://twitter.com/daniellloyd1/status/1409194428233826309?s=19

 

[Bolder]

It's always flashes of absolute stunning brilliance combined with mediocre displays. Today was one of the first. So typical with him.

If you ask why people often rate VDP so highly it's because when he wins, it's always something like this. Attacking twice on the Mur de Bretagne. Who even comes up with that lol.

And then the day before and the NC was so mediocre. And the Tour de Suisse was brilliant again.
Brilliance / meh performances.

Except his "mediocre" is a level most professional cyclists will never see...

 

[DaLong]

Except his "mediocre" is a level most professional cyclists will never see...

I was going to say, staying in the first pack yesterday is far from mediocre. I think it's unrealistic to expect Thunderpoel to emerge all the time...even if my endorphin receptors say otherwise.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

mediocre as in, vs expectations

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

His interview today softened my heart for the guy...I've always respected the talent, but prefer the more muted attitude of van Aert. Today, he won me over a bit.

Also, Alaphilippe's comments about MVDP's win, after the stage, were pure class.

 

[Spine Concept]

His interview today softened my heart for the guy...I've always respected the talent, but prefer the more muted attitude of van Aert. Today, he won me over a bit.

Also, Alaphilippe's comments about MVDP's win, after the stage, were pure class.

Genuine question. I just wonder how Mathieu's "attitude" is to you as opposed to Wout's "muted" attitude? He's one of the most likable guys in the pro peloton imo. Even between the riders themselves.

OT: Elated for Mathieu. Thoroughly deserved win. You can clearly see how much it means to him. Now that that huge weight is off his shoulders and he has set the record straight for his late grandpa he can start thinking about Tokio.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Genuine question. I just wonder how Mathieu's "attitude" is to you as opposed to Wout's "muted" attitude? He's one of the most likable guys in the pro peloton imo. Even between the riders themselves.

OT: Elated for Mathieu. Thoroughly deserved win. You can clearly see how much it means to him. Now that that huge weight is off his shoulders and he has set the record straight for his late grandpa he can start thinking about Tokio.

yep. Mathieu for some people has a attitude image, while in the interviews he is super respectful and usually downplaying his own chances even

 

[jmdirt]

FREAK!

Congrats young man!

 

[Bolder]

Genuine question. I just wonder how Mathieu's "attitude" is to you as opposed to Wout's "muted" attitude? He's one of the most likable guys in the pro peloton imo. Even between the riders themselves.

OT: Elated for Mathieu. Thoroughly deserved win. You can clearly see how much it means to him. Now that that huge weight is off his shoulders and he has set the record straight for his late grandpa he can start thinking about Tokio.

There's a great American quote that applies to MvdP a bit: "It ain't bragging if you done it."

I think some of the criticism of him goes back to when he was pretty young - he and Wout got into some minor wars of words regarding CX, don't recall the details, but he's not recently come off to me as having an attitude...

 

[Blanco]

Another testament to his growing legend!

 

[DoYouEvenRideBruh]

Now I am curious to see if he's gonna try his legs at a flat stage.