Bonimenier
BANNED
With the same weather conditions it wouldn't be a ride in the park either.The thing is that MSR is not a hard race.
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
In the meanwhile, please use the Report option if you see a post that doesn't fit within the forum rules.
Thanks!
With the same weather conditions it wouldn't be a ride in the park either.The thing is that MSR is not a hard race.
I think people are reading way too much into this, he bonked, simple as. Didn’t eat as much as he should have. Happens. Nothing conclusive can be drawn from it.what happened at the WC ... with MVDP
Nothing is sure on the Via Roma
@RedheadDane : maybe something lost in translation. They build their own courses in the past in the forests or fields to train, but that's not always allowed because often the land is owned by either state or a land owner and you can't just modify stuff.
He literally says he thinks he can win? Cause that seems indeed crazy to me. AGR has a mix of puncheurs and flandriens, Fleche doesn't have that at all. Unless you count Kwiatkowski and Gilbert, and Kwiat blows up on that hill every time he gets there, while Gilbert is still a huge amount lighter and still only could win in his miracle year.I find it particularly interesting that he believes he can compete at Flêche Wallonne as if the finish is like anything he's won before. He weighs rougly 14kg more than Alaphilippe. Personally, i can't believe that he'll finish in the top 10, there (unless he attacks before the climb perhaps) but we'll know in a few months.
He literally says he thinks he can win? Cause that seems indeed crazy to me. AGR has a mix of puncheurs and flandriens, Fleche doesn't have that at all. Unless you count Kwiatkowski and Gilbert, and Kwiat blows up on that hill every time he gets there, while Gilbert is still a huge amount lighter and still only could win in his miracle year.
A younger Sagan is probably the best reference, he got 12th in 2013. He won a few murito's in Tirreno, but these finishes can be highly specific depending on where the steepest parts are and if there's the slightest bit of recovery time.
One thing though is that we have almost no reference for VdPs climbing ability.
Lastly I'd love to know Sagan's weight over the years. Hard to believe for me VdP isn't a bit lighter.
To be honest, i think those CX climbs are a lot more like road climbs than MTB climbs are. And it's not something that has happened once or twice in the past year, it's been rather consistent for four or five years that the crosses with climbs, he sometimes loses the cross, or very often loses time on the actual climb (but has enough of a lead to stay ahead). At the very least he's clearly not dominant there and there are about four riders as good or better. But that's indeed only going by CX, as you said. I can't think of any other steep short climbs as a reference he's done.Yeah I know you keep referring to CX climbing because that's the only recent reference we have. But I don't actually agree it's a good reference for road climbing. I don't think that because Toon Aerts beat him in 1 climby cross this season and Koppenberg in another, that automatically makes Mathieu not suitable for hills on the road.
Also, you would think he'd be not winning on MTB then, but there he was actually easily the best uphill last season (when in form). We had this discussion before but I think Fleche might just be within his limits. LBL is a bridge too far for now.
Would blindly pick Roglic as top 3 favorite.I don't think Van der Poel can beat the likes of Alaphilippe, Fuglsang or Valverde in the Mur de Huy, at the very best he can get a top5. The only way he can win Fleche is if he arrives at the Mur with a small group in which none of the above are present. But that's very difficult.
I actually think someone like Roglic has a better chance of winning Fleche than MVDP
Alpecin-Fenix: Mathieu van der Poel has a choice to make
When he has just won his third title of world cyclo-cross champion and that he claims to prefer mountain biking, Mathieu van der Poel confirms that his versatility is a concern for his career on the road.
Mathieu van der Poel is a talent still in development. But, when he won his third title of cyclo-cross world champion this Sunday in Dübendorf with disconcerting ease, the Dutchman knows that he is facing a crucial choice regarding his professional future. If he is brilliant in this discipline like his father Adrie van der Poel, he will focus on mountain biking for the next Olympic Games while developing his skills on the road, the field of choice of his grandfather Raymond Poulidor. The 25-year-old runner does not hide it, he does not want to sacrifice a certain versatility but, depending on his objectives, he will have to sacrifice one or more disciplines. “It is possible to combine mountain biking and road racing because of the way I practice the latter. But, if you want to participate in the Grand Tours, this is no longer possible, said the Dutchman in remarks collected by Cyclingnews. I think it is possible to combine participation in the classics and mountain biking but it is excluded with a full season on the road. "
Van de Poel has not yet set his goals
With the cyclo-cross world championships behind him, the rider of the Alpecin-Fenix formation will now be able to turn to his start of the road season. The Dutchman will have an adapted program with, in particular the Strade Bianche, the Tour of Catalonia and A Travers les Flandres. "I haven't really set a goal," says Mathieu van der Poel. Obviously, if I could, I would target all these races but I will only participate in six or seven races a day. I want to be in shape for everyone else. But if there are indeed two races where the triple world champion in cyclo-cross intends to shine, it is the Tour de France and Paris-Roubaix for which his team recently received an invitation. "Yes", he spontaneously answers the question of knowing if these two monuments are objectives for him.
The Grands Tours, not necessarily to target the general
But, if he will then devote himself to mountain biking for the Tokyo Olympic Games, the Grand Tours will soon be an objective but, to hear it, it will be more for fun than to make it the heart of his career like many other runners. "Doing a Grand Tour, at least one in my career is on my list but mountain biking is the sport I love so much that giving it up would be difficult," says Mathieu van der Poel. Obviously, I will have to make a decision soon. If, one day, the Dutch runner has the possibility of lining up at the start of one of the three main stage races on the international calendar, he should probably not be bet on him for a final victory. “My grandfather was more of a Grand Tours racer than I was. I'm sure I don't climb fast enough to follow those who are fighting for the general classification, admits the Dutchman with sincerity. If I embark on a Grand Tour, it would be more to try to win stages more than to aim for the general. »Measured ambitions that will have to be confronted with the reality of racing.
First male. Ferrand Prevot did it first.Fun fact:
MVDP is - as of today - the very first rider ever (!) to appear in the top ten of three different UCI rankings simultaneously: Cyclocross, Mountainbiking and Road Cycling.
The latter is new and happened because Mollema and Viviani lost points last weekend.
She was reigning world champion in all three yes. Don't know if she really appeared in the top ten of those rankings at the same though. She didn't race in CX that much, for instance.First male. Ferrand Prevot did it first.
Also, if you like it or not, there's still a big difference between men and women's pelotons. It's way more exclusive in men's cycling to appear high up in two different rankings, let alone three.