• The Cycling News forum is looking to add some volunteer moderators with Red Rick's recent retirement. If you're interested in helping keep our discussions on track, send a direct message to @SHaines here on the forum, or use the Contact Us form to message the Community Team.

    In the meanwhile, please use the Report option if you see a post that doesn't fit within the forum rules.

    Thanks!

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

Page 80 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.

His birthday is in January, should we have a whip-round to get him these, so that he can bring ramps with him?


I expect to hear my octogenarian father-in-law, who uses a mobility scooter, complain about the lack of ramps, but not a WC cyclist.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dekker_Tifosi
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
i don't think VDP is a liar to be honest.
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.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sandisfan
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. So I totally "get" how something he's even been told about could slip his mind in this instance.

I just feel really bad for the guy tbh (considering it was "the" objective he craved).
 
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 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.
 
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

This is key - if it was such an easy mistake to make as has been suggested by some, why did nobody else in fact make it?
 
I am not emotionally involved in this race. Read the news and went and watched the replay. In general when a big favourite can't compete to the best of his abilities. That always takes away some appeal. If organiser had the ramp there and after removed it. I do find that a bit strange.

Still it is what it is and on the plus side this are likely not the last Olympics Mathieu van der Poel will compete at and have a real shot for the medal.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sandisfan
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?
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.
Maybe he can throw Benelux Tour in there as well
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sandisfan
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?
Looks like nothing went according to plank.
Lame prank...
 
As I understood his reasoning, he heard about the ramp being removed in the test event, but he didn't hear specifically that it would be removed during the event this time. Still his own fault, but I can kind of understand that confusion. I don't know what he discussed with the coach though, he might have mentioned it in less uncertain terms.
 
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 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.
 
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.
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.
 
"Why is nobody using the plank?"

"They're going to remove it for the race."

"Ah right. I'll just use the plank then."

giphy.webp


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.
When Murphy is in town for anything Dutch on two wheels in Japan: https://twitter.com/niekkimmann/statuses/1419635120261124104
 
  • Wow
Reactions: OldCranky
Tom Dumoulin has said he will use an MTB for Wednesday's TT because he thinks they'll remove the start ramp without telling him and doesn't think the Cervelo will take the landing! The Dutch mechanics have advised him to use an 11-21 straight cassette as the course profile looked pretty flat from the aeroplane coming into Tokyo. They threw the Tokyo Roadbook away as they know the course from the time they didn't bother with a recon just looked at Google Maps with a few Oranjebooms!
 

TRENDING THREADS