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

[senna6541]

He knew he should have had that. He’s the most explosive rider in the peloton at the moment.
Hopefully a sign of things to come...

Good to get a big tactical error like that out of the way in a relatively minor race - similar to how he blew it at BP last fall and then got it right at RVV when it counted.

 

[IndianCyclist]

None of the other favs made that error. He would have been reminded of that by his DS. After all it is their job to keep the riders appraised of potential pitfalls. He probably took it casually. Also not having teammates may have also resulted in less alertness. I don't think he listens that much to the team car or bothers about teammates. We saw in the sprint in stage 1 also, he rode Merlier off his wheel when leading him out.
Already the war of words has started between JA and MVDP teams. It is going to get even more acrimonious i suspect.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

he explained today he was indeed frustrated by his own positioning and also surprised they were at the finish faster than he thought.

But mainly frustrated he threw away a chance to win. As roodhooft explained "wins don't get given freely at this level"

 

[hayneplane]

None of the other favs made that error. He would have been reminded of that by his DS. After all it is their job to keep the riders appraised of potential pitfalls. He probably took it casually. Also not having teammates may have also resulted in less alertness. I don't think he listens that much to the team car or bothers about teammates. We saw in the sprint in stage 1 also, he rode Merlier off his wheel when leading him out.
Already the war of words has started between JA and MVDP teams. It is going to get even more acrimonious i suspect.

What is the bolded part about?

 

[IndianCyclist]

What is the bolded part about?

Leferve saying that MVDP is the only leader and DQS have many leaders and Merlier then hitting back in a interview after winning the next day

 

[hayneplane]

Leferve saying that MVDP is the only leader and DQS have many leaders and Merlier then hitting back in a interview after winning the next day

ah so just Patrick Lefevre being salty as usual

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Leferve saying that MVDP is the only leader and DQS have many leaders and Merlier then hitting back in a interview after winning the next day

ah so just Patrick Lefevre being salty as usual

This is incorrect, it was not Lefevere who said this. I think it was Sénéchal, but i'm not sure anymore.

 

[SafeBet]

When in doubt blame Lefevere

 

[Bonimenier]

This is incorrect, it was not Lefevere who said this. I think it was Sénéchal, but i'm not sure anymore.

Yeah, it was Sénéchal before le Samyn, but what he said made no sense. Saying that Alpecin only have 1 rider who can win (becomes even better knowing that Merlier won in the end), and that DQS has different options to win. The other names he gave from DQS were brilliant though, namely Van Lerberghe, Hodge and Cavendish.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

he could've taken that a lot more easier than the way he did

 

[kingjr]

he could've taken that a lot more easier than the way he did

That's always been a problem, in training too, according to his father.

 

[Winnen]

he could've taken that a lot more easier than the way he did

If you can't rely on your sprint you have to try something else.....

 

[SafeBet]

I think we should just be grateful such a champion is honoring races this way. Cycling is never boring when he's riding.
Stunning performance once again.

 

[hfer07]

MVP just stretching his legs ahead of the Classics...

 

[KZD]

I really hope that he is able to recover before the monuments. Its going to be a real battle with WVA.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

so basically, he attacked because he was cold
and then the last 20km he was emptie and cold. and couldnt push 300w anymore.
What a guy

 

[Winnen]

Something I noticed with van der Poel and his interviews after winning a particularly hard race:

• Koppenbergcross 2017: 'never had to dig that deep'
• Dutch championships 2020: 'hardest race I have ever done'
• Binckbank tour 2020: 'never had to dig that deep'
• Tirreno Adriatico 2021: 'never dug deeper'

Maybe van der Poel's perception after a hard race is not that reliable...

But they could be all true.

 

[Spine Concept]

I have a lot of respect for Mathieu and the way he sticks to his guns by racing “unorthodoxly”.

With that being said one must wonder if he’s doing too much without it being really necessary and in doing so, accumulating unnecessary fatigue which can work against his goals for the rest of the season.

He could have waited today and still win.

It’s like he loves punishing himself and die a thousand deaths otherwise the win isn’t “worth” it.

I’m just concerned about the long-term effects and, in turn, the longevity of his career.

 

[jmdirt]

I have a lot of respect for Mathieu and the way he sticks to his guns by racing “unorthodoxly”.

With that being said one must wonder if he’s doing too much without it being really necessary and in doing so, accumulating unnecessary fatigue which can work against his goals for the rest of the season.

He could have waited today and still win.

It’s like he loves punishing himself and die a thousand deaths otherwise the win isn’t “worth” it.

I’m just concerned about the long-term effects and, in turn, the longevity of his career.

I love the way he races! IMO, worry about the race that you are in not the one that you MIGHT be in next week.

 

[jmdirt]

Something I noticed with van der Poel and his interviews after winning a particularly hard race:

• Koppenbergcross 2017: 'never had to dig that deep'
• Dutch championships 2020: 'hardest race I have ever done'
• Binckbank tour 2020: 'never had to dig that deep'
• Tirreno Adriatico 2021: 'never dug deeper'

Maybe van der Poel's perception after a hard race is not that reliable...

But they could be all true.

At the end of a race, the brain goes into auto pilot.

 

[Blanco]

Something I noticed with van der Poel and his interviews after winning a particularly hard race:

• Koppenbergcross 2017: 'never had to dig that deep'
• Dutch championships 2020: 'hardest race I have ever done'
• Binckbank tour 2020: 'never had to dig that deep'
• Tirreno Adriatico 2021: 'never dug deeper'

Maybe van der Poel's perception after a hard race is not that reliable...

But they could be all true.

They were all true at that time...

 

[Spine Concept]

I love the way he races! IMO, worry about the race that you are in not the one that you MIGHT be in next week.

I understand where you're coming from, and I like the way he races too, but it's not about that. I would want him to have a long and fruitful career.

He can still worry about the race he's in currently by dialing it back and knowing that he is strong enough to out-kick or out-sprint pretty much anyone at the end if needed and still realize his goal of winning the race.

I'm not saying he should stop doing long-range attacks altogether as that's just in his character and he'd be going against who he is which will take the fun out of racing for him and, in turn, for us. But sometimes it's just not necessary imo, and he'd be much happier for it when his next big target rolls around.

 

[Ripper]

I have a lot of respect for Mathieu and the way he sticks to his guns by racing “unorthodoxly”.

With that being said one must wonder if he’s doing too much without it being really necessary and in doing so, accumulating unnecessary fatigue which can work against his goals for the rest of the season.

He could have waited today and still win.

It’s like he loves punishing himself and die a thousand deaths otherwise the win isn’t “worth” it.

I’m just concerned about the long-term effects and, in turn, the longevity of his career.

Given TP, this might not necessarily be true. The instinct of going from afar when you are not a GC threat is fairly ingrained. TP did not chase him so much as he saw an opportunity to put time into WVA. That would still have been the case regardless, and it may or may not have turned out much differently.

I do understand what you're saying though.

 

[Spine Concept]

Given TP, this might not necessarily be true. The instinct of going from afar when you are not a GC threat is fairly ingrained. TP did not chase him so much as he saw an opportunity to put time into WVA. That would still have been the case regardless, and it may or may not have turned out much differently.

I do understand what you're saying though.

I completely agree. Hence “could’ve” won and not “would’ve” won.

 

[jmdirt]

I understand where you're coming from, and I like the way he races too, but it's not about that. I would want him to have a long and fruitful career.

He can still worry about the race he's in currently by dialing it back and knowing that he is strong enough to out-kick or out-sprint pretty much anyone at the end if needed and still realize his goal of winning the race.

I'm not saying he should stop doing long-range attacks altogether as that's just in his character and he'd be going against who he is which will take the fun out of racing for him and, in turn, for us. But sometimes it's just not necessary imo, and he'd be much happier for it when his next big target rolls around.

I don't disagree with you, but you never know what tomorrow holds...