Doubling down while everyone says otherwise seems much more embarrassing to me.He probably just forgot in the moment and is now a little embarrassed so he's just making out he did not know at all.
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Doubling down while everyone says otherwise seems much more embarrassing to me.He probably just forgot in the moment and is now a little embarrassed so he's just making out he did not know at all.
Also re mr @King Boonen . VDP doesn't blame the organization. Don't let the CN headlines fool you. He really thought the plank would be there and it wasn't. I think he's well aware this is his own mistake of not listening. He hasn't said a bad word at all at the organization. Not one
Fair enough, I don't speak Dutch so I can only go off what others have said, what I've seen on Twitter and the confusion over whether the ramp was there through all of training or some of it. I'm starting to wonder if it'll be left in for the women's race and that added to the confusion.i don't think VDP is a liar to be honest.
Pidcock was quoted as saying he backed off from MVDP when he noticed he was slowing down going over the jump saying 'i knew that wasn't going to end well'If he had been rolling down the putative ramp, and Pidcock close behind him did the jump, they could easily have both taken each other out.
This would fly if loads of riders crashed out there, or the other Dutch rider didn't say that he told MVdP the ramp wouldn't be there. Knowing the course is the most obvious thing he has to do, there really is no excuse when everyone else knew. That points to him being the problem, not the poor person who's likely going to get blamed.I think it's at least understandable to make these sorts of mistakes, especially considering the context (stress & foreign country).
And I don't think it's coincidental this "inattention" happened to another Dutch rider (after yesterday's women's race debacle), i.e. I figure there's some sort of gaping hole in the Dutch team with regards to chaperoning their Olympians correctly.
Whether MvdP knew about the ramp or not, I can only imagine there's a million things he's got on his mind & each step in the Olympic village requires far more focus than the usual "roll out of hotel bed, jumb on bike" habits in Europe.
I just feel really bad for the guy tbh (considering it was "the" objective he craved).
this is fully on VDP, having heard the story from all sides.
-None of the others riders made the same mistake, everyone knew there would be no plank
-De Knegt said it multiple times during the team meetings. Even as close back as this morning
-His teammate had a conversation with VDP about this and said there would be no plank.
Yet VDP disregarded all of this, convinced there would be a plank. That seems just 100% on VDP. He only has himself to blame for missing out this way
it was already stated before the olympics that after the mtb race he would go back to road. I think there will be a rest period (also to recover from injury) and then a build up to Road RR + Roubaix.So, what's next in his programme (assuming the crash didn't cause major injuries)? Any chance of trying the 3-peak and go to Val di Sole and Flanders in an attempt to hold 3 world championships at the same time? Or the focus will go solely to Flanders WCh and Roubaix?
Tomorrow under 81 kilos... weren't you who suggested the switch?So, what's next in his programme (assuming the crash didn't cause major injuries)? Any chance of trying the 3-peak and go to Val di Sole and Flanders in an attempt to hold 3 world championships at the same time? Or the focus will go solely to Flanders WCh and Roubaix?
Lame prank...Looks like nothing went according to plank.
I want to report this postLooks like nothing went according to plank.
This would fly if loads of riders crashed out there, or the other Dutch rider didn't say that he told MVdP the ramp wouldn't be there. Knowing the course is the most obvious thing he has to do, there really is no excuse when everyone else knew. That points to him being the problem, not the poor person who's likely going to get blamed.
Several non-Dutch riders thought she had won a gold medal too. Pretty sure Lizzie Deignan even congratulated her on the Gold in her post race interview.I specifically mentioned the fact this problem happened in the Dutch team, which after yesterday's horrible mishap in the women's road race seems like a pattern.
I mean who on earth thinks they're going to win gold when someone else has finished over a minute ahead already? A Dutch rider. Who instinctively thought for xyz reasons a ramp would be on the course in the MTB race? A Dutch rider.
Both errors seem totally "out there" whacko stuff yet they happened. So I don't think anyone is at fault per se, but if blame is to be assigned (judging by what we know about both incidents), I'd say the organization of the Dutch team itself (& how well they look after their Olympians in the village & prepare them for the events) is probably high up on the list.
Bricking it for the team sprint.Bodes well for the TT.
"Everybody for his/herself" seems to be the philosophy in the Dutch camp.
When Murphy is in town for anything Dutch on two wheels in Japan: https://twitter.com/niekkimmann/statuses/1419635120261124104"Why is nobody using the plank?"
"They're going to remove it for the race."
"Ah right. I'll just use the plank then."
Based on this and Annemiek's inability to count, I fully expect Dumoulin to rock up to the TT on a kid's trike wearing a Ronald McDonald outfit.
I agree with respect to the women's race. Not sure it was the coaches fault with respect to vdP?The second day in a row, a terribly amateurish dutch team. With two coaches who are totally incompetent. But also with the responsibility of the Dutch female riders yesterday and Vdp today. Typical Dutch arrogance and knowlegde.
I was thinking the same thing. For something that has been a very vocal focus for many years, sponsor obligations notwithstanding, everything else preparation wise seem to be rather cavalier.they took a very strange approach to his big goal of the past 5 years. So I'm a bit afraid it will end in a dumpster fire. But we'll see tomorrow how it'll play out.
It can go hit or miss
Bricking it for the team sprint.