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

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Spine Concept

Spine Concept

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senna6541 said:
Again, if he doesn't make a fluky mental (nothing to do with physical stress from racing the MTB) error at the Olympics there is no reason he wouldn't have come into the WC on absolute top form for the road WC's. It's not like he's racing that many MTB races through the year. He came off the block of MTB races late in the spring right in the Tour Swiss and was unbeatabable - then right into TDF in top form. Elite pro road racing is by far the most dangerous/wearing of the 3 disciplines - if anything, he's minimizing his chances of burnout/serious injury by not being a slave to the system.
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Time will tell if you’re right. And I truly hope you are.
 
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Dekker_Tifosi

Dekker_Tifosi

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Meh. I think 3rd is probably really good after that horrible preparation.

But still... if he was 100% or if he didn't do that much work.. but then again, if he didn't do that much work he wouldn't even have sprinted for the first place anyway.
Feel a bit like Sagan 2013-2015. Making the finals of big races but rarely winning because of it
 
Red Rick

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Dekker_Tifosi said:
Meh. I think 3rd is probably really good after that horrible preparation.

But still... if he was 100% or if he didn't do that much work.. but then again, if he didn't do that much work he wouldn't even have sprinted for the first place anyway.
Feel a bit like Sagan 2013-2015. Making the finals of big races but rarely winning because of it
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I don't really buy that he wasn't 100% today or at least close enough to it.

Today was tactically super hard tbh and Van Aert for example got it completely wrong too. At first there was nothing to do tbh because Moscon was in a winning position already, and it's arguable that they weren't caught by the Van Aert group cause VdP kept riding.

Maybe we should take into account that in Roubaix you can't fly on every secteur and that he bit off more than he could chew when dropping the Van Aert group completely and gaining like 30s on a single secteur, etc. But it was a very uncharacteristic Roubaix and he got caught between a rock and a hard place.
 
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Salvarani

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Red Rick said:
Oh yes, it was Van der Poel instead of Rowe who caused that.
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Maybe he could have changed his line earlier to avoid Rowe.

MVDP was infront and saw Rowe, Im not sure the others behind him did. He then changed direction at the last second and there was just nowhere to go for the ones behind. Rowe appeared out of nowhere for them. They were in the dark.

At least that is what Im guessing the poster means by that, I can understand his point if so.
 
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Netserk

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Salvarani said:
Maybe he could have changed his line earlier to avoid Rowe.

MVDP was infront and saw Rowe, Im not sure the others behind him did. He then changed direction at the last second and there was just nowhere to go for the ones behind. Rowe appeared out of nowhere for them. They were in the dark.

At least that is what Im guessing the poster means by that, I can understand his point if so.
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I think that is just smart riding. The riders on his wheel are responsible for not having a better vision.
 
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Salvarani

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Netserk said:
Moving around another rider late is not driving those on your wheel into a wall. He did no harm to them.
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He had the best vision and turned really late, leaving the others no time to react.

But it could also be he was just so focused that he just managed to avoid it himself.

I just articulated from the perspective the others were trying to point out.

I never said he is at fault, that it was with intention or anything of the sorts. So we could end this right now. I just said I understand where they were coming from, not that I agree.
 
Ripper

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Netserk said:
Moving around another rider late is not driving those on your wheel into a wall. He did no harm to them.
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Van der Poel can be a bit last minute in his reactions. That makes sense to some extent when you see his skill set. But it is a bit inconsiderate of those around you. Folks who are excellent bike handlers but a little less considerate of those when riding in a group are quite noticeable in races, speaking from first hand experience.
 
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jaylew

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F_Cance said:
just can't stand this guy. Not the first time he indirectly contributed to a crash by changing direction in the very last second despite seeing it early enough.
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That is utter nonsense. Firstly, the way Rowe was weaving you couldn't be sure which side you needed to pass on until late. Secondly, VDP didn't make a sudden move and cause the crash - that was Colbrelli

https://twitter.com/x/status/1444672665499979778
View: https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1444672665499979778
 
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Netserk

Netserk

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Ripper said:
Van der Poel can be a bit last minute in his reactions. That makes sense to some extent when you see his skill set. But it is a bit inconsiderate of those around you. Folks who are excellent bike handlers but a little less considerate of those when riding in a group are quite noticeable in races, speaking from first hand experience.
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Then those on his wheel should keep a bit of a distance to him, if they are not as quick to react.

This is nothing like swerving dangerously or braking suddenly in a bunch.
 
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SafeBet said:
From a fan point of view he's a true gift to the sport, no doubt about it, but at some point in his career he'll need to realize hero-cycling only takes you this far in the big races.
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Yeah but he was 3 meters from hero/legend today. Pairing wins at this PR with his SB freak show would be two rides for the ages in one season. My head agrees with you but my heart prefers the impulsive MvdP
 
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