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

[Ricco']

Anyone know a thing about the Whoop armwrists? Saw a photo that said 20 strain for his win in the Ronde. And people were saying he didn’t have to go all out because they expected a higher number. So my question, is there a maximum number for strain on it? Or what does this 20 mean?

According to Whoop, the maximum strain that can be obtained is 21.

Strain measures the cardiovascular load that your body takes on during a given day or training session. Strain uses your physiological baselines to quantify how a given training stimulus taxes your body internally.

How is Strain calculated?​

Day Strain starts accumulating from the moment you fall asleep and resets every sleep cycle. Your Day Strain score represents the total stress load your body takes on throughout the day, in and out of training and competition.

Activity Strain is calculated by combining the weighted time you spent in various heart rate zones throughout a training session. Periods of elevated heart rate and movement that are 15 minutes or more and qualify as at least an 8.0 Strain will be auto-detected and logged as an activity. If your activity included significant rest periods and is not auto-detected, use Strain Target in-app to manually start and end the activity or retroactively log the activity later.

How are Strain and Recovery related?​

Strain takes your Recovery metrics, like resting heart rate, into account. This means that when your Recovery is low, you may fatigue quicker, and Strain will accumulate easier. Monitoring Strain based on your Recovery can keep you performing at your peak recoverable volume for extended periods of time. Additionally, on days when you record levels of Strain that are higher than normal, monitor your score and pay close attention to your Recovery score.

 

[dazaau]

Anyone know a thing about the Whoop armwrists? Saw a photo that said 20 strain for his win in the Ronde. And people were saying he didn’t have to go all out because they expected a higher number. So my question, is there a maximum number for strain on it? Or what does this 20 mean?

I'm no Whoop expert, but I feel the only people looking at those numbers for performance are the Whoop marketing team.

(But for comparisons sake his Roubaix win was 20.7 according to said marketing team)

 

[Didinho]

80km ride and 13km/hour run the day after his win. Recovered pretty well I guess.

Is he going back to Spain after every race these weeks? If it works. Better weather to train and less media attention like here in Belgium.

 

[Wyndbrook]

I don't doubt he will Flanders again and become the overall record holder for most wins, but Boonen and Cancellara's two Flanders and Roubaix doubles might be a tough nut.

 

[Berniece]

I don't doubt he will Flanders again and become the overall record holder for most wins, but Boonen and Cancellara's two Flanders and Roubaix doubles might be a tough nut.

He got MSR, Roubaix and WC RR in a season though. But eventually I think people look at the overall numbers and don’t focus on what did someone achieve in a single season.

 

[Billie]

80km ride and 13km/hour run the day after his win. Recovered pretty well I guess.

Is he going back to Spain after every race these weeks? If it works. Better weather to train and less media attention like here in Belgium.

last week he stayed in Flanders but there were some nice days to train outside. This week only rain so he went to spain.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

"I declare today that life is simply taking and not giving, Flanders is mine, it owes me a living."
-Matthieu van der Poel

 

[stonerider]

80km ride and 13km/hour run the day after his win. Recovered pretty well I guess.

Is he going back to Spain after every race these weeks? If it works. Better weather to train and less media attention like here in Belgium.

If it works...keep doing it. He flew in this winter from training in Spain and was killing it at the start of the CX season. He flew in from Spain for MSR and was the only one on the wheel of Pog at the top of the Poggio. He flew in from Spain for E3 and won that race. You don't have to train in miserable weather to be fast...that's old cycling nonsense.

 

[senna6541]

This is what its scary about Van der Poel. He is currently the most successful one-day rider in the peloton but he could have a much better palmares at the same age.

If he had started road cycling seriously a few years earlier, he would likely have already four Ronde wins and one more at Roubaix and/or Sanremo. Then, in the World Championsips, his hunger knock in Yorkshire 2019 (probably wouldn't have happened with a little more experience), the back injury derrailing the preparation for Leuven and also Roubaix 2021 and the freakish incident in Wollongong 2022, under different circumstances he would be at least a double World Champion by now.

True. Although I would argue that his palmares would be even more freakish had he started on the road at 19 or 20. Then again, 6 CX WC's and multiple WC MTB wins is nice to have on your palmares too.

 

[scribers]

I’m chewing on my hat. And it will take quite a while to fully consume it. It tastes terrible.

I’ve questioned mvp all the way since his supreme condition in cross season. And was wrong. He’s hit his main objectives on the season short of Olympics. Nothing can stop him. Except for pogi

 

[KZD]

Absolutely legendary performance from Mathieu today, possibly his strongest ever together with the Worlds last year.

What is scary is that despite winning the WCRR and two monuments last year he is on track to do even better this season as he looks even stronger.

 

[DutchDynamite]

nice time to be a MvdP fan... what a monster

 

[Peyroteo94]

Only a Giro-Tour double can prevent him of winning the Velo d'Or this year

 

[Didinho]

I’m repeating myself but I love it.

Masterclass.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Only a Giro-Tour double can prevent him of winning the Velo d'Or this year

Did you see the stunt the jury pulled off last year?

 

[LookProGoSlow]

I’m chewing on my hat. And it will take quite a while to fully consume it. It tastes terrible.

I’ve questioned mvp all the way since his supreme condition in cross season. And was wrong. He’s hit his main objectives on the season short of Olympics. Nothing can stop him. Except for pogi

Pogi would have a hard time with this beast too.

 

[Spine Concept]

Should this be reiterated? I'll oblige: Best one-day racer on the planet bar NONE. Ask any cyclist what his wildest dream would consist of in terms of one-day races and winning the double Flanders/Roubaix as a world champion in solo fashion for a combined 110km would be right up there.

Legendary racer for the ages. And he's still "only" 29.

 

[JosefK]

Should this be reiterated? I'll oblige: Best one-day racer on the planet bar NONE. Ask any cyclist what his wildest dream would consist of in terms of one-day races and winning the double Flanders/Roubaix as a world champion in solo fashion for a combined 110km would be right up there.

Legendary racer for the ages. And he's still "only" 29.

You know you've hit the big time when a random (evidently non-Dutch) woman in the crowd is so enraged by your dominance, she tries to jam your spokes with a hat.

 

[Berniece]

What a machine, what a season already. Can’t wait to see what he can do at AGR and LBL this year

 

[Spine Concept]

You know you've hit the big time when a random (evidently non-Dutch) woman in the crowd is so enraged by your dominance, she tries to jam your spokes with a hat.

I really hope there are severe consequences for this cowardly act.

 

[Red Rick]

Did you see the stunt the jury pulled off last year?

Pogacar got stolen indeed

 

[Salvarani]

Pogacar got stolen indeed

Sad

 

[Salvarani]

Pogi would have a hard time with this beast too.

We saw that last year

 

[Salvarani]

I’m repeating myself but I love it.

Masterclass.

He looked unbeatable even 150km from the finish.

No way was he losing.

 

[LookProGoSlow]

We saw that last year

Last year is not this year 😉