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

[Dekker_Tifosi]

i hope so, that's if he can escape UAE and test negative...

If he can't and has to stay 2 weeks or something this could ruin his entire spring.

 

[yaco]

Doubt MVDP will be riding Omloop - He will need to self isolate for 7 to 10 as a close contact.

 

[KZD]

I hope that he can at least be at the start of Strade Bianche but even if he does he will probably not be at his best shape just like last year.

 

[Spine Concept]

Oh boy. It just might happen.

Seems Mathieu flew back home this evening. Him and four other teammates including Philipsen, Jans, Vervaeke, and Sbaragli got to go home after it was concluded that they weren’t in close contact with the infected staff member.

 

[TomLPC]

What a result.*

Best wishes to anyone with the virus

 

[senna6541]

Great news if he got the hell out. Time to get on with life.

 

[jaylew]

Doubt MVDP will be riding Omloop - He will need to self isolate for 7 to 10 as a close contact.

Apparently not. Looks like we might get to see him there after all. Best of all worlds - we get to see him win a great race in the echelons AND race Omloop.

Mathieu Van der Poel heads home for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

Rickaert, Vermeersch but not Dutch champion came in close contact with COVID-19 positive staffer

www.cyclingnews.com

 

[yaco]

Apparently not. Looks like we might get to see him there after all. Best of all worlds - we get to see him win a great race in the echelons AND race Omloop.

Mathieu Van der Poel heads home for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

Rickaert, Vermeersch but not Dutch champion came in close contact with COVID-19 positive staffer

www.cyclingnews.com

A surprising decision but the medical authorities have far more expertise than me.

 

[SafeBet]

It's great news for anyone not relying on ES to watch bike races.

 

[limak_]

A surprising decision but the medical authorities have far more expertise than me.

Would've been surprising if they had isolated him and ruin his first part of the season just beacuse one of the staff members getting a positive result from a very doubtedly reliable covid test.

Remember for example the story of Matthews being thrown out of the Giro because of positive test?

 

[yaco]

Would've been surprising if they had isolated him and ruin his first part of the season just beacuse one of the staff members getting a positive result from a very doubtedly reliable covid test.

Remember for example the story of Matthews being thrown out of the Giro because of positive test?

It would come out in the next day or two if it's a false positive.

 

[DaLong]

Van der Poel going to Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne according to Alpecin-Fenix Instagram.

 

[Ricco']

Well, the team could probably go for better results with MVDP in Omloop and Philipsen at Kuurne, but what do I know.

MVDP probably didn't want to race a classic as hard as Omloop before Strade Bianche.

 

[DaLong]

According to this article he will be riding for Merlier so I think it could be getting Merlier and Philipsen their shots too. VdP gets all the other big classics so why not use it as a warm-up for the big shows. Alpecin-Fenix seems to be committed to developing all their riders instead of just Mathieu.

 

[Ricco']

I also think that. VDP should be the guy to follow the moves on the bergs and/or if it's windy like some editions, but if it comes down to a group sprint Merlier should be their man.

 

[Spine Concept]

According to this article he will be riding for Merlier so I think it could be getting Merlier and Philipsen their shots too. VdP gets all the other big classics so why not use it as a warm-up for the big shows. Alpecin-Fenix seems to be committed to developing all their riders instead of just Mathieu.

At the end of the day it’s all in favor of Mathieu though. Everything they do these days is for the most ideal prep leading up to Strade.
That he can serve as a super-domistique is more of an incidental (and fortunate) outcome of that preparation.

It’d also be pretty interesting to see who’s the fastest out of Merlier, Mathieu, or Philipsen.

 

[jaylew]

Racing Le Samyn, it seems.

 

[tobydawq]

A bit of a pity, honestly. It's usually a very good race but with him there, the result seems given in advance.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

who knows, maybe he'll attack at 90km and get caught at 1km to go so the result isn't a total given.

 

[Zoef-Lightning]

I think we'll gonna see a famous edition of the Strade Bianchi. A fight between (ex)cyclocrossers. With the two top favorites Alaphilippe en Van der Poel. With Van Aert coming down the Tenerife mountain Teide (but without prior competition, so not a top favorite). With Pidcock. I think the others (Van Avermaet, Benoot, Formolo, Fughlsang, Bettiol en co) will be good too, but will have to recognize their superior in the final.

 

[Oldermanish]

I think we'll gonna see a famous edition of the Strade Bianchi. A fight between (ex)cyclocrossers. With the two top favorites Alaphilippe en Van der Poel. With Van Aert coming down the Tenerife mountain Teide (but without prior competition, so not a top favorite). With Pidcock. I think the others (Van Avermaet, Benoot, Formolo, Fughlsang, Bettiol en co) will be good too, but will have to recognize their superior in the final.

I really hope he wins and wins well. His Le Samyn finish was a classic Rope-a-dope setup for a teammate that is truly brilliant. MVP!

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

So like i said in the Strade topic, his handlebar was probably damaged during KBK when he hit a car on the side the handlebar would break two days later.

Something i've noticed a few times now in multiple interviews/talkshows, is that his dad has a tendency to talk about "us", "we" and "our team", when he talks about Alpecin Fenix. I think all three van der Poels are very well integrated within the team, and i can't easily see them break up. I mean, it doesn't seem like Mathieu moving to any of the big WT teams is happening any time soon.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

no reason to move to a WT team either.

Current team gets invites to all WT races and they can chose what they ride. And he can combine it with MTB and CX.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

no reason to move to a WT team either.

Current team gets invites to all WT races and they can chose what they ride. And he can combine it with MTB and CX.

I know, but the past year there was a lot of speculation about him moving to a WT team with the same bike supplier.

 

[BlueRoads]

So like i said in the Strade topic, his handlebar was probably damaged during KBK when he hit a car on the side the handlebar would break two days later.

Something i've noticed a few times now in multiple interviews/talkshows, is that his dad has a tendency to talk about "us", "we" and "our team", when he talks about Alpecin Fenix. I think all three van der Poels are very well integrated within the team, and i can't easily see them break up. I mean, it doesn't seem like Mathieu moving to any of the big WT teams is happening any time soon.

Good thing if he doesn't move away, but I find parents who talk like that about their children annoying, famous or not. (Okay, I admit, I even sometimes do that myself. Well, I'm annoyed with my habit.)