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

[jono]

How does the worlds course compare with today?

 

[Axel Hangleck]

6th at the Mountain bike race in Les Gets. Made a great recovery in the first laps before fading away in the last lap when the attacks started up front.

Its an encouraging result but what impressed me the most was how much better technically some of his rivals were, so I wouldn't expect a medal in the Worlds, two weeks from now.

That isn't really a surprise; they train, and race all the time on the MTB - they should be better. He lost so much time on the technical parts - both from lack of much MTB riding time, and not wanting to take any risks - he had to finish the race. Job done. He did get better as the race went on. I think the Worlds are going to come too soon for him. He could do with more time training & racing.

He improved immeasureably from 2016-2019 when he raced regularly on the MTB.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

How does the worlds course compare with today?

It's more technical - but according to Oli on the commentary, they've toned it down since last year, when there was some criticism - and numerous crashes. A race Pidcock won.....

 

[jono]

Mathieu van der Poel dacht aan winnen in Wereldbeker Les Gets

Lees hoe Van der Poel met een sterke comeback in Les Gets zesde werd en wat hij leert richting WK mountainbike. Ontdek zijn verhaal en inzichten!

www.wielerflits.nl

He seems happy about the result. Apparently he had a really poor start, which would make sense, given he actually lost positions, down to about 45th before moving up through the field.

To have even a small chance at worlds he will have to clean that up for sure, but as noted above, his runway is likely too short to make the technical improvements needed. Are field sizes smaller at a World Championships vs a World Cup?

 

[Ripper]

That isn't really a surprise; they train, and race all the time on the MTB - they should be better. He lost so much time on the technical parts - both from lack of much MTB riding time, and not wanting to take any risks - he had to finish the race. Job done. He did get better as the race went on. I think the Worlds are going to come too soon for him. He could do with more time training & racing.

He improved immeasureably from 2016-2019 when he raced regularly on the MTB.

Yes, really nice to see him be a bit more patient and keep the rubber down. A good result given where he has come from and finally, a positive step in his return to XCO racing

 

[Ripper]

Mathieu van der Poel dacht aan winnen in Wereldbeker Les Gets

Lees hoe Van der Poel met een sterke comeback in Les Gets zesde werd en wat hij leert richting WK mountainbike. Ontdek zijn verhaal en inzichten!

www.wielerflits.nl

He seems happy about the result. Apparently he had a really poor start, which would make sense, given he actually lost positions, down to about 45th before moving up through the field.

To have even a small chance at worlds he will have to clean that up for sure, but as noted above, his runway is likely too short to make the technical improvements needed. Are field sizes smaller at a World Championships vs a World Cup?

I think that poor start actually helped him by letting him pace into the race rather than starting full warp speed and possibly making an error and another crash/DNF. Overall, nice to see him finish and finish well

 

[jono]

I think that poor start actually helped him by letting him pace into the race rather than starting full warp speed and possibly making an error and another crash/DNF. Overall, nice to see him finish and finish well

Probably right. He also mentioned in his interview that he felt like he was lacking a bit of punch which I found interesting but perhaps not surprising after two thirds of a grand tour followed by an illness.

 

[KZD]

Today I will say it boldly. I hope this was Van der Poel's last MTB race.

Sure, some will disagree, but as a fan I don't want to see him dragging himself to the line in these races. Even though Van der Poel's road career is already superb, he can still achieve more, more monuments wins and in the final part of seasons, I would love to see him trying to win a second WCRR title in Montreal next year and also trying to win a stage and ideally get the red jersey to complete the GT trilogy.

 

[Rou]

Today I will say it boldly. I hope this was Van der Poel's last MTB race.

Sure, some will disagree, but as a fan I don't want to see him dragging himself to the line in these races. Even though Van der Poel's road career is already superb, he can still achieve more, more monuments wins and in the final part of seasons, I would love to see him trying to win a second WCRR title in Montreal next year and also trying to win a stage and ideally get the red jersey to complete the GT trilogy.

Didn't watch the race. How did he do?

 

[Axel Hangleck]

Today I will say it boldly. I hope this was Van der Poel's last MTB race.

Sure, some will disagree, but as a fan I don't want to see him dragging himself to the line in these races. Even though Van der Poel's road career is already superb, he can still achieve more, more monuments wins and in the final part of seasons, I would love to see him trying to win a second WCRR title in Montreal next year and also trying to win a stage and ideally get the red jersey to complete the GT trilogy.

He wouldn't have won a Road or CX race today; it wasn't an MTB issue - he had an off day, which he sometimes can do, though they're pretty rare.

 

[Wyndbrook]

Unlikely to be his last mtb race, post race comments about racing next years worlds and Olympics. Anyway he likes racing offroad,

 

[gavia88]

so, no more races this season. A bit of a shame. No gravel WC in his home country, no Italian autumn classics, no Paris-Tours to add to his collection of big classics. No European Championship. And the organizers of the newly organized Tour of the Netherlands probably had hoped him to race it.

Can we still speak of a great season for MvdP?? Of course he won CX world championship, Milaan - San Remo, Paris - Roubaix. But after that it was not that great anymore. Although his Tour de France was very very entertaining, in the end he won only 1 stage. And probably missed his only real chance to win the Green Jersey in his carreer. Lost the GC in Benelux Tour. And had an off day at the Worlds MTB. And he will ride no autumn classics.

Can we still speak of a great season for MvdP?? What does the forum thinks?

 

[laarsland]

Generational talent.

So do you spend more of your chips thinking about what he would win if he truly committed himself to the road? Of do you keep them placed in thinking it's awesome he rides multiple branches (more or less) greatly?

(and if he was to put all it road racing, would the loss of the other branches of cycling affect him adversely thus diminishing or in worst case reversing the gains on the road?)

 

[Blanco]

so, no more races this season. A bit of a shame. No gravel WC in his home country, no Italian autumn classics, no Paris-Tours to add to his collection of big classics. No European Championship. And the organizers of the newly organized Tour of the Netherlands probably had hoped him to race it.

Can we still speak of a great season for MvdP?? Of course he won CX world championship, Milaan - San Remo, Paris - Roubaix. But after that it was not that great anymore. Although his Tour de France was very very entertaining, in the end he won only 1 stage. And probably missed his only real chance to win the Green Jersey in his carreer. Lost the GC in Benelux Tour. And had an off day at the Worlds MTB. And he will ride no autumn classics.

Can we still speak of a great season for MvdP?? What does the forum thinks?

Of course it's a great season.
Can he do even better? Of course he can!

 

[Berniece]

Can we still speak of a great season for MvdP?? What does the forum thinks?

He won 2 monuments, lost 1 due to illness, wore the yellow jersey and won stages at TDF. He's had a great season.

 

[AmRacer]

He won 2 monuments, lost 1 due to illness, wore the yellow jersey and won stages at TDF. He's had a great season.

If he was ill or not, hadn't Pogi been racing he would have done a solo win. So he was at his best but lost to the 🐐

 

[jono]

If he was ill or not, hadn't Pogi been racing he would have done a solo win. So he was at his best but lost to the 🐐

He was not.

 

[jono]

Generational talent.

So do you spend more of your chips thinking about what he would win if he truly committed himself to the road? Of do you keep them placed in thinking it's awesome he rides multiple branches (more or less) greatly?

(and if he was to put all it road racing, would the loss of the other branches of cycling affect him adversely thus diminishing or in worst case reversing the gains on the road?)

What more do you think he would accomplish on the road if he dropped his other pursuits? I think he's won every major race he reasonably could at least once. It's not a few months of CX or a few weeks of MTB each year that is keeping him from being a GC guy or winning Liege or something.

 

[laarsland]

What more do you think he would accomplish on the road if he dropped his other pursuits? I think he's won every major race he reasonably could at least once. It's not a few months of CX or a few weeks of MTB each year that is keeping him from being a GC guy or winning Liege or something.

I think you let MVDP be MVDP to keep his flame as strong as it can be. A bored MVDP constrained to the road against his will won't be much fun.

 

[Peyroteo94]

so, no more races this season. A bit of a shame. No gravel WC in his home country, no Italian autumn classics, no Paris-Tours to add to his collection of big classics. No European Championship. And the organizers of the newly organized Tour of the Netherlands probably had hoped him to race it.

Can we still speak of a great season for MvdP?? Of course he won CX world championship, Milaan - San Remo, Paris - Roubaix. But after that it was not that great anymore. Although his Tour de France was very very entertaining, in the end he won only 1 stage. And probably missed his only real chance to win the Green Jersey in his carreer. Lost the GC in Benelux Tour. And had an off day at the Worlds MTB. And he will ride no autumn classics.

Can we still speak of a great season for MvdP?? What does the forum thinks?

He won 2 monuments and lost one to the best classics rider in the world. His season was a success there.

 

[dazaau]

He wouldn't have won a Road or CX race today; it wasn't an MTB issue - he had an off day, which he sometimes can do, though they're pretty rare.

Yes that's the main reason. But I don't think he would have won anyway. If he wanted to win why was he doing a stage race recently when after the tour he could have exclusively focused on MTB at almost no cost since he isn't going to worlds (or anything else notable) for the rest of the season.

 

[senna6541]

I'd like to see him ride everything because any race or stage is worth watching if he is in it. But focus on getting at least one more PR and RVV and then the only other road targets should be those he can fit in around a robust MTB season from now until the Olympics in 2028. The guy obviously loves riding and racing the MTB and it's really the last big challenge out there for him - which makes a lot more fun too. So he should have at it.

 

[Barkintheeye]

I'd like to see him ride everything because any race or stage is worth watching if he is in it. But focus on getting at least one more PR and RVV and then the only other road targets should be those he can fit in around a robust MTB season from now until the Olympics in 2028. The guy obviously loves riding and racing the MTB and it's really the last big challenge out there for him - which makes a lot more fun too. So he should have at it.

Maybe that yet I wonder if not a complete focus on MTB is required for him to be truly successful in that discipline. A successful 2026 season could be CX WC, then MSR, P-R and RVV and then total MTB focus?

 

[gavia88]

I wonder if he is not to heavy for MTB currently. There is always quite some climbing involved. Maybe win 1 more CX WC, 1 more Flanders, 1 more Roubaix and than focus on MTB. I guess he needs to loose some weight and getting the technique back (he lost places every downhill). Winning WC and Olympics in MTB would make his career perfect.

 

[senna6541]

Maybe that yet I wonder if not a complete focus on MTB is required for him to be truly successful in that discipline. A successful 2026 season could be CX WC, then MSR, P-R and RVV and then total MTB focus?

Sounds good to me, especially given the 2026 WC road race course in Montreal likely has too many sustained climbs?