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

[KZD]

And he won.
World Championships should be almost a certainty now and probably Paris Roubaix too.

 

[Spine Concept]

Great win by Mathieu. Passed this test with flying colors it seems. Hope he wakes up tomorrow feeling good as well so we can see him back on the road! Cycling needs all of its superstars and Mathieu is one of the biggest. Chapeau!

 

[F_Cance]

This guy is such a drama queen. Always acting like there is thing X or thing Y holding him back only to ride like he always does. Not saying there is nothing, but he and his camp sure love to blow things out of proportion.

 

[BlueRoads]

And he won.
World Championships should be almost a certainty now and probably Paris Roubaix too.

Good. We need someone to challenge Wout col Brelli.

 

[Spine Concept]

This guy is such a drama queen. Always acting like there is thing X or thing Y holding him back only to ride like he always does. Not saying there is nothing, but he and his camp sure love to blow things out of proportion.

What are you on about? Mathieu didn't blow anything out of proportion. Can't say the same thing about his camp. He literally said in the pre-race interview that he doesn't feel 100% but that he'd like to test things out and see how his back goes in light of his goals for the rest of the road season. Have you ever had a back-injury? You just never really know until you test it out, and he did.

 

[stonerider]

This wasn't a major race against the big hitters of the sport. Probably at 90% he could win this race so I wouldn't say he'd be good in the big races, UCI World Championships and Roubaix, coming up. Wout looks really good however. MvdP needs to continue doing his core work and focus on his long term career.

 

[Spine Concept]

This wasn't a major race against the big hitters of the sport. Probably at 90% he could win this race so I wouldn't say he'd be good in the big races, UCI World Championships and Roubaix, coming up. Wout looks really good however. MvdP needs to continue doing his core work and focus on his long term career.

Stating the obvious here. The point of this race wasn't necessarily a benchmark for the races against the big guns, but more of a confirmation that his back is healed up enough in order to continue his work towards the bigger goals. I also actually think he didn't race at 100% so it falls within expectations. Mathieu won't start anywhere where he thinks he won't be able to be competitive against the big guns.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

And he won.
World Championships should be almost a certainty now and probably Paris Roubaix too.

not really. He says himself it depends a lot on the reaction of his back the coming days.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

This wasn't a major race against the big hitters of the sport. Probably at 90% he could win this race so I wouldn't say he'd be good in the big races, UCI World Championships and Roubaix, coming up. Wout looks really good however. MvdP needs to continue doing his core work and focus on his long term career.

Yep, winning against Taco van der Hoorn in a race where he had 3 teammates in the chasing group is something else as going head to head with Van Aert and the Belgium supersquad, and the inform Colbrelli and Mohoric... in a race that is a lot longer than this race.

Wait and see. I'm confident that even in this form he could color the finale, but winning? Doubt it considering everyone else will be in super super form. That is unobtainable for VDP in such a short time.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

He won, but I'm not sure too much has changed. All we know is he's alive, and in reasonable (but not top 100% ) shape - it's a far cry from the Worlds & P-R. The next few days will probably tell them.....If he did have any discomfort, he wouldn't broadcast it in the post race interview.

 

[Red Rick]

Yep, winning against Taco van der Hoorn in a race where he had 3 teammates in the chasing group is something else as going head to head with Van Aert and the Belgium supersquad, and the inform Colbrelli and Mohoric... in a race that is a lot longer than this race.

Wait and see. I'm confident that even in this form he could color the finale, but winning? Doubt it considering everyone else will be in super super form. That is unobtainable for VDP in such a short time.

Just get away with Evenepoel and sit on his wheel. Just tell him Van Aert had a 3 flat tires.

 

[Billie]

He said to van der Hoorn that he will ride Impanis (Primus Classic) and Isbergues next week.

 

[robtmitchell]

Whoa, did he drink that big beer?

 

[senna6541]

Hmm, I'm not sure that is a good comparison; Senna, as great as he was purely focussed on F1. You need to compare him to one of the multi disciplined drivers; who raced in almost everything, and were competitive. Andretti, Foyt, Elford, Clark, etc

Good point Axel. I live about 10 minutes from the track where Senna tested a Penske Indy car here in AZ USA (go by it on pretty much every ride I do). I think the level and the $ in F1 was at such a high level during Senna's era (Senna, Prost, Piquet, Mansell, etc.) it made it tough to do anything else. That said, I would have loved to see Senna in a rally car...

 

[senna6541]

Yep, winning against Taco van der Hoorn in a race where he had 3 teammates in the chasing group is something else as going head to head with Van Aert and the Belgium supersquad, and the inform Colbrelli and Mohoric... in a race that is a lot longer than this race.

Wait and see. I'm confident that even in this form he could color the finale, but winning? Doubt it considering everyone else will be in super super form. That is unobtainable for VDP in such a short time.

Yeah, but if he races Worlds he's the super super form favorites' worst nightmare now.

 

[Bonimenier]

Yeah, but if he races Worlds he's the super super form favorites' worst nightmare now.

Colbrelli does not care about the Dutchman.

 

[jmdirt]

His back must have been OK today, plus his training must be going well.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

Good point Axel. I live about 10 minutes from the track where Senna tested a Penske Indy car here in AZ USA (go by it on pretty much every ride I do). I think the level and the $ in F1 was at such a high level during Senna's era (Senna, Prost, Piquet, Mansell, etc.) it made it tough to do anything else. That said, I would have loved to see Senna in a rally car...

You need to google an old article by the late, great Russell Bulgin; Senna was testing rally cars in mid Wales while he was a Lotus driver.

 

[memyselfandI]

His back must have been OK today, plus his training must be going well.

There was this video clip in twitter from podium seremonies. I thought he was bit cautious when he took prize (stature like thingy) standing there. Maybe it was my imagination, but I have compression fracture in my back, that lets me do hard training, all out intervals and whatever mostly. And sometimes not.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Didn't follow the whole health situation closely but is the removal of that ramp still bearing fruit?

 

[Mick Dundee]

There was this video clip in twitter from podium seremonies. I thought he was bit cautious when he took prize (stature like thingy) standing there.

And I was thinking... for heavens sake put down that cuddly bear, flowers, whatever and just lift the trophy!

 

[kingjr]

And I was thinking... for heavens sake put down that cuddly bear, flowers, whatever and just lift the trophy!

But the cuddly toy is the most important. Remember Evans cuddling the lion with tears in his eyes at the Tour 2011?

 

[Mick Dundee]

But the cuddly toy is the most important. Remember Evans cuddling the lion with tears in his eyes at the Tour 2011?

Ahhh... who could forget

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Colbrelli does not care about the Dutchman.

he seemed to care for it when he got countered on mur de bretagne think Colbrelli still has a cold from that one

 

[senna6541]

You need to google an old article by the late, great Russell Bulgin; Senna was testing rally cars in mid Wales while he was a Lotus driver.

Yeah, I've seen the youtube on it. I'll have to check out the article. That '86 Lotus was an absolute monster - as were all the F1 cars that year. Massive balls required to climb in to the cockpit. That onboard of Dumfries driving that beast at the Australian GP in '86 is a bit scary.

 

[senna6541]

Colbrelli does not care about the Dutchman.

And well he shouldn't. Our man Colbrelli is clearly on top form and the super favorite along with Wout while MVDP is at best a wildcard - a joker in the deck so to speak. Of course straight up, Colbrelli has zero chance - see the overhead shot of the TDF stage 2 finale - hunted down and destroyed...