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

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To be honest I really don't believe his excuse.
It's quite clear actually, he even leans forward on his bike, as you would expect when you roll off instead of jumping. Except the ramp wasn't there. It really does seem he didn't know, what everyone else knew.

It's unclear how when De Knegt and Vader told him. Maybe he was so 'caught in his own world' he never heard the words.
 
It's quite clear actually, he even leans forward on his bike, as you would expect when you roll off instead of jumping. Except the ramp wasn't there. It really does seem he didn't know, what everyone else knew.

It's unclear how when De Knegt and Vader told him. Maybe he was so 'caught in his own world' he never heard the words.
It's also what he would have done if he messed it up, came in too slow, got tangled in his seatpost and had his weight pushed forward. Rolling a ramp there would have been much slower than taking the drop so it really doesn't make sense that he'd choose to do it. Maybe he messed up the entry and thought the ramp would be there to save him, but I'm not convinced.
 
It's also what he would have done if he messed it up, came in too slow, got tangled in his seatpost and had his weight pushed forward. Rolling a ramp there would have been much slower than taking the drop so it really doesn't make sense that he'd choose to do it. Maybe he messed up the entry and thought the ramp would be there to save him, but I'm not convinced.
i don't think VDP is a liar to be honest.
 
When it happened I thought "oh damn, that's unfortunate" and felt sorry for him, but reading the explanation now... oh well...

I don't understand how you can be that casual, or should I say arrogant, about a race you've been working years towards. He can match with the dutch women about who deserved to lose harder.

When did Pidcock arrive in Japan? I'd be surprised if he hasn't been here for at least a week and reconned the course as much as possible.

Pidcock arrived last week; as did most of the others. And, a lot of them did the test event in October 2019 - but Mathieu didn't after deciding to ride a few road races after the Harrogate Worlds. I thought that was a mistake then - and still do.
 
i don't think it's arrogance. I just think it's general aloofness. He has made really stupid mistakes and errors like that before

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I'm not too sure how much you can blame the coaches for this one? It wasn't their decision VdP came to Tokyo late and Vader had no problems and knew everything he needed to know.
but part of the responsibility lies with the riders themselves

But Vdp didn't known. A candidate for a gold medal. No doubt there has been miscommunication. Like with the Dutch women yesterday . But part of the responsability lies with the riders themselves.
 
His teammate said they discussed it over lunch, after Mathieu had asked why nobody was using the plank.

"Why is nobody using the plank?"

"They're going to remove it for the race."

"Ah right. I'll just use the plank then."

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Based on this and Annemiek's inability to count, I fully expect Dumoulin to rock up to the TT on a kid's trike wearing a Ronald McDonald outfit.
 
But also the organisation is responsable for what happened. During the reconnaissance or warm-up, the course must be exactly the same as during the competition. Only the weather can differ (wind and rain). Otherwise an exploration of the course makes no sense if the course is still being adjusted. Now the organization has made the circuit from less dangerous (during the reconn) to more dangerous (during the race).
 
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But also the organisation is responsable for what happened. During the reconnaissance or warm-up, the course must be exactly the same as during the competition. Only the weather can differ (wind and rain). Otherwise an exploration of the course makes no sense if the course is still being adjusted. Now the organization has made the circuit from less dangerous (during the reconn) to more dangerous (during the race).

I disagree. As someone said earlier in the thread, leaving the ramp could have been a safety problem if some riders jump over it and some don't.

In recon, if people are aware that it's fine, if some riders aren't going all out anyway.
 
Check out Simon Burney's tweets (UCI MTB guy).

They did the same at the test event in October 2019; the ramp is there for practice, so riders can get dialled in on the jump, but have a 'safety blanket'; it is then removed for the race.
Milan Vader says he knew about this, the Dutch coach knew it, but MvdP didn't/ or forgot/ misunderstood.....
 
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this is fully on VDP, having heard the story from all sides.

-None of the others riders made the same mistake, everyone knew there would be no plank
-De Knegt said it multiple times during the team meetings. Even as close back as this morning
-His teammate had a conversation with VDP about this and said there would be no plank.

Yet VDP disregarded all of this, convinced there would be a plank. That seems just 100% on VDP. He only has himself to blame for missing out this way
 

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