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

[Oldman]

GREAT race today MvdP!

Its crazy when a racer wins E3 solo (after 70K/43K) and the talk is about him being "washed, having a bad performance...". REDICULOUS!

Chalk up a win by a tactically devious CX racer. He rope-a-doped the pursuers into arguing just long enough to catch a breath. Classic saving tactic for a good sprinter as long as there is enough rope before the finish and a group of greedy competitors that would rather sit and get 2nd than be blamed by their DS for dragging everyone to MvPs wheel; only to get 5th place. It doesn't always work but I doubt anyone will forget how Mathieu won this one!

 

[Oldman]

This finish is somewhat of a bookend win to an early conquest he made by closing a large finish gap while two leaders "strategized" their sprint. They paused long enough and couldn't have known MvP's closing speed until he blew by them with 200 meters to go.
Can't remember the exact race but it was an opportunistic beatdown by a "new comer" to the road from CX.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Then in my 60kg etalon w/kg this would be 6.2+ w/kg for 90 minutes or a raw Index of 100+!!

Assuming 7 kg bike mass 5.94 w/kg for a 75 kg guy is about the same w/kg bike included (so VAM on double digit climb) as 6.07 w/kg for a 60 kg guy. Anyway, I would think MVP is heavier than 75 kg, this w/kg is impossible for him.

 

[Sciatic]

It's also not impossible that if the crash doesn't happen UAE by some msiracle get positioning right, Pogacar drops everyone on Cipressa and he's never seen again. It's all "what ifs", we'll never know

I like how you framed that—and it’s the typical thing we all tend to do with retrospective fantasies / wishes. We consider what if he did “x” or if “y” had happened but assume the other elements of a past event remain static. But if one could really go back and change one thing, it’s possible or likely other elements of that past change as well.

 

[jono]

We very rarely see power data from long flat efforts

I thought MVDP's 2024 Roubaix solo might fit the bill, but it was 10 minutes short.

 

[11-34]

This finish is somewhat of a bookend win to an early conquest he made by closing a large finish gap while two leaders "strategized" their sprint. They paused long enough and couldn't have known MvP's closing speed until he blew by them with 200 meters to go.
Can't remember the exact race but it was an opportunistic beatdown by a "new comer" to the road from CX.

Amstel 2019 (Youtube)

 

[vappa]

Assuming 7 kg bike mass 5.94 w/kg for a 75 kg guy is about the same w/kg bike included (so VAM on double digit climb) as 6.07 w/kg for a 60 kg guy. Anyway, I would think MVP is heavier than 75 kg, this w/kg is impossible for him.

Closer to 6,2w/kg than 6,07w/kg. But I agree with the conclusion, the number seem impossibly high for him, especially on a flat-ish terrain. On a climb it should be higher and he should be among the world's best climbers with that. He's not

 

[jono]

Closer to 6,2w/kg than 6,07w/kg. But I agree with the conclusion, the number seem impossibly high for him, especially on a flat-ish terrain. On a climb it should be higher and he should be among the world's best climbers with that. He's not

Would 446 W for 90 minutes seem impossibly high if he's actually, say, 78 kg?

For what it's worth, Abrahamsen, who is listed at 78 kg, put out 354 W over the final 90 minutes of yesterday's race.

 

[Berniece]

According to his insta story he did a 90’ best power of 446W. At the end of the race. Pretty insane.

The number is what it is, hard to interpret/compare with other riders. I find it more interesting that this was his best 90min effort ever. That’s a comparison to himself.

Not sure why he rides GW, but if he stays healthy this year, I hope to see him stay with Pogacar this time.

 

[AmRacer]

Last year, a healthy Mathieu couldn't stay with Pogi at the RVV.
This year, a healthy Mathieu won't stay with Pogi either.

Mathieu is however still the favourite for P-R, but don't be surprised if he got dropped by Pogi.

 

[Berniece]

Last year, a healthy Mathieu couldn't stay with Pogi at the RVV.
This year, a healthy Mathieu won't stay with Pogi either.

Mathieu is however still the favourite for P-R, but don't be surprised if he got dropped by Pogi.

Last year Mathieu wasn’t healthy.

 

[vappa]

Would 446 W for 90 minutes seem impossibly high if he's actually, say, 78 kg?

For what it's worth, Abrahamsen, who is listed at 78 kg, put out 354 W over the final 90 minutes of yesterday's race.

That would be roughly 5,7w/kg. Give or take 6 for 60 minutes. On a climb this should be higher. So he should be among the best climbers in the world, like I said. He's not. Therefore I don't believe the number is accurate, a powermeter misreading maybe?

 

[Oldman]

Amstel 2019 (Youtube)

That was a Masterful use of other riders, too. You'd think everyone would know that now and just ride. The amount of wheel-sucking in that last 2km and MvP still had rubber on the rear sew-up.