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

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It is surprising to me that he plans to go to Paris even if in an eco mode. Maybe if nothing goes right in the first two weeks (yellow jersey or stage win) he'll target stage 19. But if the first half of the Tour is successful, why waste energy?
He may just want to finish a tour, it has to be done at least once. However I too am a bit concerned about the potential cost of finishing this year given how close worlds is.
 
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He wants to finish the Tour, go for stages. Time enough in between to take it easy and be fresh for the Worlds. He has only 13 race days, a longer and better preperation now with altitude camps. It works for a lot of teams like this with less racing and more training. He did it before the classics for the first time and we know how that went.
An exciting month ahead for the fans, after a long break.

For the XCC he will still be in super form. Even if he has to start way back and without specific MTB training I expect him to be up there in the top 10.
 
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A lot of people seem to think this is the best preparation. Same goes for Jumbo and Wout Van Aert.
MvdP has shown time and again that he doesn't recover as well as Wout from these stage races. Everyone responds differently to training stimulus. He was crushed after the 2022 Giro and when he rode the Tour in 2021, got the yellow jersey, and rode hard to defend it as long as possible it f'd up his Olympic MTB bid because his mind and body wasn't in the right place.
 
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MvdP has shown time and again that he doesn't recover as well as Wout from these stage races. Everyone responds differently to training stimulus. He was crushed after the 2022 Giro and when he rode the Tour in 2021, got the yellow jersey, and rode hard to defend it as long as possible it f'd up his Olympic MTB bid because his mind and body wasn't in the right place.
That's a rather interesting interpretation of what happened that day.
 
Van der Poel never had the base to ride the Tour de France after the Giro d'Italia. As simple as that.

His spring preparation probably was ideal to be sharp during both the classics and the Giro d'Italia which seemed impossible for years before.

But the light racing & training in spring certainly took it's toll on him when wanted to do back to back grand tours additionally.
 
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I can only hope you're talking about Senna.

He's thinking about riding the NC TT. Will be interesting if he really goes for it in the TDF TT, where he can finish.
Been a bit busy with work lately Logic, and of course things have been quiet around MVDP - which is great for a change. If he can stay healthy and avoid crashes there are big things ahead. Looking forward to watching the race tomorrow on GCN.
 
Have to wonder about his bike and what the change out interval for cassette and chain.. couldn't tell for sure but didn't look like the Shimano service wheel was a perfect fit..personal experience with an almost new chain and cassette and there was a little jumping on the neutral service wheel that was said to be new,unused..
 

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