• The Cycling News forum is looking to add some volunteer moderators with Red Rick's recent retirement. If you're interested in helping keep our discussions on track, send a direct message to @SHaines here on the forum, or use the Contact Us form to message the Community Team.

    In the meanwhile, please use the Report option if you see a post that doesn't fit within the forum rules.

    Thanks!

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

Page 131 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
In 11 racing days this season, Van der Poel has 4 wins including a monument, a WT classic and a GT stage win and the leaders jersey plus a podium in another monument.

This is shaping up to be his best season so far which is a dream scenario after back injury earlier in the year.
Well it's also going to be his longest road season ever as all others contained about 30 race days (in which he scored incredibly).
 
  • Like
Reactions: jmdirt and KZD
Mathieu's max heart rate during today's sprint was 201 bpm.

For comparison his max HR from this year's Poggio was 195, during Roubaix 194, in the '19 Amstel sprint 197.

Screenshot-20220506-232549.jpg
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: senna6541
While Putin is trying to conquer an entire country, us Belgians have been busy as well it seems.
FSGWIAcXMAAIsi8


By the way, the cork didn't hit him in or above his eye as the article wants you to believe, but on his shoulder. The champagne that followed shortly after, did hit his eye. If you watch the footage in slow motion you can tell. But i guess it could have ended worse than it did.

PS: seems like they updated the article. Lame.
 
In 11 racing days this season, Van der Poel has 4 wins including a monument, a WT classic and a GT stage win and the leaders jersey plus a podium in another monument.

This is shaping up to be his best season so far which is a dream scenario after back injury earlier in the year.
Definitely. But I'm still waiting for a season where his preperation is absolutely optimal, and where he is in top shape for most of the central weeks during the spring classics season. In that kind of scenario, I think he could be able to win at least two momuments and possible two or three semiclassics in the same spring.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: jmdirt
Wasn't peak VDP though. His best 5m effort was still Mur de Bretagne which was 551W compared to yesterdays measly 506W 5 min power
I had a theory about this. Drafting is so strong at 5% gradients you can't do 6.7-7.5W/kg or whatever is ideal for 6-7 minutes while drafting cause that probably equates to way too high W/kg for the domestiques doing the pacing.

Van der Poel did like 6.7W/kg yesterday. Pog and Rog can do that for like twice as long. Doesn't mean they would win because they would have to attack and eat wind the entire way. In fact considering Van der Poel averaged ~12W/kg for the final ~8% of the climb he was only doing like 6.3W/kg for the first 5-6 minutes of it.

So in all it's not a great climb for a pure W or W/kg test. I don't think any of the climby boys would beat this, but I'm curious what W/kg Roglic does when he does like a 30 second sprint at the end of Giro del Emilia.
 
While Putin is trying to conquer an entire country, us Belgians have been busy as well it seems.
FSGWIAcXMAAIsi8


By the way, the cork didn't hit him in or above his eye as the article wants you to believe, but on his shoulder. The champagne that followed shortly after, did hit his eye. If you watch the footage in slow motion you can tell. But i guess it could have ended worse than it did.

PS: seems like they updated the article. Lame.
Some Moto GP/SX/MX riders wear their goggles for the bubbly spray to keep corks and bubbly out of their eyes. Even (USA) pro athletes wear goggle for locker room celebrations.
 

No MTB for this season, a shame but I can see the thinking behind it.
 

TRENDING THREADS