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

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Makes little sense to bother with it anyway if you aren't good enough. He could try in a mountain stage and end, idk, top 40 on a good day. And bother with a TT and end, idk, top 20. And he'd still be soundly beaten by Van Aert (and everyone else who's good at it).
Point being, take CX away and perception would shift completely. Suddenly it's about whether a rider cares enough about something he's not as good at as a different rider. Van Aert caring about CX now turns into a weakness, instead of a strength.

Yeah, but it’s the same rhetoric the other way around as well. People find excuses for their favorite rider(s) all the time. Not exclusively on this forum.

In that case two can play that game. If x reason is true that Mathiue won x race than x reason is also true if he lost it. Same can be said for Wout or other racers.

Which is why I try to stay away from saying those types of things even if there are elements of truths in it for both sides.

Give credit and respect where credit and respect are due and you will get it back. All of the rest who do not do so, are just fanboys and “haters” whose opinion don’t mater anyway. Full stop.
This is exactly what i was trying to address in my previous post. In any case, i like to support riders more than i like to tear down others. I also get a little nauseous reading the clinic forum. Even if 90% of riders that are being "discussed" there, are actually dirty, that still leaves 10% of riders who are clean that get dragged through the mud unjustly, based on nothing but speculation.
 
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I am definitely one of those MVDP "fanboys" who has come to appreciate WVA even more over the last couple of years. No doubt they make each other better and glad they have different goals that sometimes collide and give us the epic battles betweeen two genetic freaks that are as strong mentally as they are physically (and both seem to be good guys as well). It's also pretty cool they've been racing each other since they were kids. Wout is clearly the better all-around road racer based on his TT and mountain performances - and overall value to a professional elite level road team. MVDP's #1 goal as a bike racer is to win an Olympic Gold medal on the mountain bike. Doesn't get much different than that, and I hope they both continue to forge their own paths. As an MVDP fan I fear WVA in any race because he's the one guy who can match him straight up. Honestly though, the fact that I even care about MVDP or WVA at all (given I'm American) is a bit odd. Most folks here have no idea who either of them are, and even if they do they have very little interest in them - including cyclists...
 
I don't recall seeing any "fanboys" diss Wout, or that Wout had been disrespected in general. Mvdp has had a few more transcendent moments that might have overshadowed Wout's mere brilliance...



This is mostly true -- if both are going for the win. Obviously there are many more races in which Wout can compete -- TTs, hillier one-day races and now multiday stage races.



But who really wants to see MvdP working for others? I recall a lot of traffic last Tour bemoaning the fact that Jumbo was using their first- or second-best rider as a domestique. We saw a glimpse in the 2019 Tour of what a less-fettered Wout can do in a three-week race until his crash. He could dominate the green jersey and probably win every ITT, plus pick up a rolling stage win or three if he wanted...just as long as he didn't have to pull as part of a train and could take it easy for some of the mountain stages.
It's not about what we want to see; it's about the possibility of he or a teammate winning the biggest prize in their profession. Success means the team gets paid, the riders get paid which is the point of being a pro and they all have a legacy few have. If either of those riders choose not to dedicate and potentially compromise a large part of the season to a GT; fine. Their agent will tell them that their ultimate reputation and long term payoff will be defined by performances at the largest venues. If they excel it'll add to their considerable reputations. If not it could actually cost them long term endorsements so we need to allow that they make business decisions that they're lucky to consider.
Three weeks is a long time to prove yourself and avoid crashes.
 
Normally he would ride it, but with the Olympics in mind and having done a CX season he should rest in time.
He has a tough schedule this year, especially with the Tour and XCO/Olympics congestion. With that in mind I would skip Amstel and rest up.

As much as I'd like him to race Amstel again to see if he can make the decisive move this time around instead of having to play catch-up, there's always next year. Olympics only comes around once every 4 years so I'd definitely give that the priority. It also helps that he's already won Amstel.

Let's see what they decide.
 
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He has a tough schedule this year, especially with the Tour and XCO/Olympics congestion. With that in mind I would skip Amstel and rest up.

As much as I'd like him to race Amstel again to see if he can make the decisive move this time around instead of having to play catch-up, there's always next year. Olympics only comes around once every 4 years so I'd definitely give that the priority. It also helps that he's already won Amstel.

Let's see what they decide.
He can skip Roubaix now as well:)
 
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Shite. That's disappointing. Was really hoping that he would ride Amstel after today's defeat. Pretty average classics season by VdP when taking his immense potential and great early form in Strade in account. No cobblestone wins and no attempt to try to defend his victory in Amstel.

Its not average because he scored a big win in Strade and Paris Roubaix is still to come in the end of the season. And the fact that he doesn't go to Amstel has to do with the mountain bike World Cup races in May.
 
Shite. That's disappointing. Was really hoping that he would ride Amstel after today's defeat. Pretty average classics season by VdP when taking his immense potential and great early form in Strade in account. No cobblestone wins and no attempt to try to defend his victory in Amstel.

Hard to be at your best all year-round.

A very good result today, but both him and Van Aert may have some difficult decisions to make in the future on what to prioritize.

Or maybe take the whole summer off, but that means not riding the Tour etc for example.

They need a longer break to rest and maybe just train. An off-season both physically and mentally.

They been doing both disciplines for about 2 years going on 3 in a larger scale. Starting to take its toll a bit I feel like.
 
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Its not average because he scored a big win in Strade and Paris Roubaix is still to come in the end of the season. And the fact that he doesn't go to Amstel has to do with the mountain bike World Cup races in May.
Yep, I would say it's pretty average. The guys has potential we've barely seen in professional cycling the last decades, and he actually seem to be in fantastic form, but mayby peaked a couple of weeks too early.

Edit: I love the guy, and was really disppointed that he didn't win today. So I rate him really, really high, and the expectations are equally high.
 
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I still think that massive Tirreno effort has left it's mark - he hasn't quite been the same since that race. The snap when he accelerates hasn't been there - and he had nothing left at the end today.

I thought he'd win after the Kwaremont, and would put Asgreen under pressure on the Paterberg - however, after that I wondered whether his normal sprint would be there.......
...it wasn't.

Anyway, a nice rest and onto the MTB......and we find out were he is in that discipline, after 18 months away from it.
 
A very good result today, but both him and Van Aert may have some difficult decisions to make in the future on what to prioritize.

Or maybe take the whole summer off, but that means not riding the Tour etc for example.

They need a longer break to rest and maybe just train. An off-season both physically and mentally.

They been doing both disciplines for about 2 years going on 3 in a larger scale. Starting to take its toll a bit I feel like.
Yep, I agree. I hope they'll drop or play down their CC and mountain bike commitment in the coming years.
 
The acceleration on Kwaremont was blistering IMO, but he just couldn't sustain it and when Asgreen was as good as him on Paterberg, I started to believe in the unthinkable.

But yes, i definitely think going so incredibly deep in T-A hurt him and Wout.
Wout's also been hurt by his weight. He's started this season heavier looking than the restart last year. My thoughts are he needs to rethink his classics preparation, as his weight is more important than he thinks for races like the Ronde. The GC training likely also did not help.
 
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