World Championship 2025: Men’s RR, September 28

[Red Rick]

You have nailed it. Australia has limited options in the RR. Too hard for Matthews, Hindley is an average one day races, Plapp could do OK, however, there best option may be Storer.

Hindly got top 10 in Montreal last year, so he's not the worst of worst options.

But realistically, Australia won't have to do anything so it's really just a matter of try to be in every move and pray for the best.

 

[AlpRaid]

To me the scenario of Pogacar losing is mostly attacking stupidly early and collapsing, and Roglic' most likely role is to be the anchor.

agreed. I do not seeing him losing.

one possibility only.

ayuso attacks several times and pog makes it his business to chase each time because there is no way he is letting ayuso win. no way in hell.

 

[Red Rick]

agreed. I do not seeing him losing.

one possibility only.

ayuso attacks several times and pog makes it his business to chase each time because there is no way he is letting ayuso win. no way in hell.

Wouldn't tire Pogacar nearly enough.

 

[Berniece]

Wouldn't tire Pogacar nearly enough.

Are you in a state of just thinking about the worst possible outcome (for you), so that it can only get better?

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

agreed. I do not seeing him losing.

one possibility only.

... Evenepoel to turn this into a 40.6 km ITT?

 

[AlpRaid]

... Evenepoel to turn this into a 40.6 km ITT?

we can dream.

it would be good for cycling if anyone but pog won.

well, and ayuso, of course.

 

[Peyroteo94]

we can dream.

it would be good for me if anyone but pog won.

well, and ayuso, of course.

Fixed it.

 

[AlpRaid]

Fixed it.

haha, but nah.

a huge majority of fans would prefer not to see yet another unbelievable alien perf. for the good of cycling.

 

[Cycling111]

we can dream.

it would be good for cycling if anyone but pog won.

well, and ayuso, of course.

I'm sure you also thought it would have been good if the time trial hadn't been won again by Remco .

 

[topcat]

 

[Cookster15]

haha, but nah.

a huge majority of fans would prefer not to see yet another unbelievable alien perf. for the good of cycling.

I don't think you should assume that.

 

[AlpRaid]

I'm sure you also thought it would have been good if the time trial hadn't been won again by Remco .

nah, remco is very, very human. he fails often, he shows his true emotions, and when he is in top shape he is fabulous and believable to watch.

authentic.

the ITT win was simply gorgeous because he has had such a horrible year coming back from a terrible crash (yet again), so it inspires. the resilience to come back over and over again.

after the Lombardy crash in 2020, I was concerned that we would never get to see what this gift to cycling could achieve. He continues to sputter because of illness and crashes. But every time he comes back, it is a thrill. Like Lemond coming back from his shooting accident. It's exhilarating. It's human.

but I would take pretty much anyone winning other than the Gianetti puppet at this point.

should pog leave uae, he might just find another supporter...

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I'm sure you also thought it would have been good if the time trial hadn't been won again by Remco .

Lappartient definitely thought so.

 

[Cycling111]

I don't think you should assume that.

It depends on who's doing it.
On Sunday, we saw different opinions
If Remco does another alien performance, they'll have no problem 😉

It's always like this. Australia or Liège weren't so boring 😅.

 

[Cookster15]

not sure you should assume that you can tell me what to think.

That wasn't my point. You said - a huge majority of fans would prefer not to see yet another unbelievable alien perf. for the good of cycling..

Can you point to objective data that shows Pogacar isn't popular?

 

[Cycling111]

That wasn't my point. You said - a huge majority of fans would prefer not to see yet another unbelievable alien perf. for the good of cycling..

Can you point to objective data that shows Pogacar isn't popular?

This year in France, there were record audiences for Roubaix, Dauphiné, and TdF. He won two of this with dominance.
And Paris-Roubaix had a historic increase, why would that be? 🤔

No matter how often the story is repeated, audiences and the information he generates do not match what they says.

 

[AlpRaid]

It's always like this. Australia or Liège weren't so boring 😅.

no, no, the problem with Australia and Liege is that literally no other rider was either trying or targeting those races. Even Pog in 2022 decided to use the Worlds as a rest day between winning more important races like Montreal and Lombardy.

one of the best things about this ITT, is simply that for the first time ever (in a race remco wins), pog was actually trying and had targeted it (tho I admit maybe he is just lying about that to make remco feel better).



btw, I fully expect uae to win on Sunday, just FYI.

 

[Cycling111]

@Cookster15 In fact, De Ronde dropped in ratings last year and it's risen again this year 😂.
What's being said on X and in the forum by fans of other cyclists (who wouldn't complain if they dominated) isn't that representative.

The data in this tweet says something else. Same in TdF this year and Paris-Roubaix. The expectation for PR this year in France was crazy.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1934525021046669769

View: https://x.com/francetvpro/status/1934525021046669769?t=kYJgRffs24f2ghDUFGYq3w&s=19

 

[Peyroteo94]

nah, remco is very, very human. he fails often, he shows his true emotions, and when he is in top shape he is fabulous and believable to watch.

authentic.

the ITT win was simply gorgeous because he has had such a horrible year coming back from a terrible crash (yet again), so it inspires.

but I would take pretty much anyone winning other than the Gianetti puppet at this point.

should pog leave uae, he might just find another supporter...

Your opinion is just your opinion btw, don't put other people in the same boat with you without knowing what they think.
"The vast majority", what majority??? Pogacar is clearly the most popular rider in the last 4 years so probably a lot of people want him to win.
I have some evidence to show you

Instagram followers - Pogacar is leading this metric (by far if we look to active riders. Only Uran is equal)

Procyclingstats (last 5 years)

2025

Who was the most popular rider in 2025?

Tadej PogaÄar had 3706340 profile views in 2025. Isaac del Toro is the biggest riser with 802581 more views than the previous year.

www.procyclingstats.com

2024

Who was the most popular rider in 2024?

Tadej PogaÄar had 3066720 profile views in 2024. Tadej PogaÄar is the biggest riser with 1446190 more views than the previous year.

www.procyclingstats.com

2023

Who was the most popular rider in 2023?

Tadej PogaÄar had 1620530 profile views in 2023. Tadej PogaÄar is the biggest riser with 539790 more views than the previous year.

www.procyclingstats.com

2022

Who was the most popular rider in 2022?

Tadej PogaÄar had 1080740 profile views in 2022. Remco Evenepoel is the biggest riser with 527268 more views than the previous year.

www.procyclingstats.com

2021

Who was the most popular rider in 2021?

Tadej PogaÄar had 661465 profile views in 2021. Mark Cavendish is the biggest riser with 316253 more views than the previous year.

www.procyclingstats.com

 

[Unchained]

If we were talking about 5-10 races, i'd agree. But for all riders we are talking about 60+ races so i think the sample size is adequate to see a clear pattern emerge. Plenty of classic-style stages among those stages as well. If as a GC rider you feel you have a chance there to take time, surely you take it.

Everything you are saying is correct with either some details either dismissed or omitted.
When you are racing for a trade team, everyone is working towards a goal that includes giving up your bike, pacing people back who pop, puncture or crash. Trade team riders break wind, get water,food, rain jacket (? Lol) . So now the rider pedigree paperwork still holds up but the teamwork and tactics subtlety change. And nobody wants to admit it but hiding is beneficial and in current WT peloton there is lots of parity and you can sit in a little bit, hide from the wind to some degree. In international races like this guys are going to immediately be blowing up all over the place and if good nations turn up the heat just a little more than half the field will fry off. I predict that there is a @20-25 rider selection within @100k and chase is unenthusiastic rolling behind them at 5+ minutes back..
I expect to see very little national pride from guys who pop and if you are normally good and start having a bad day DNF and climb in the car. Start enjoying air conditioning and eating snacks. Maybe some tiny countries , Africans are going to finish because but none of the western guys will hurt themselves chasing in this race.

You have nailed it. Australia has limited options in the RR. Too hard for Matthews, Hindley is an average one day races, Plapp could do OK, however, there best option may be Storer.

Slight deviation.. Michael Matthews despite being 100 years old knows how to race his bike, I have been constantly surprised at how well he finishes.He definitely doesn't have lots of starts this year but he has some decent results. Absolutely the darkest of dark horses

 

[Cookster15]

Not ONCE did I allude to clinic matters

Use of the term alien here has doping connotations. Please desist.

 

[Red Rick]

Are you in a state of just thinking about the worst possible outcome (for you), so that it can only get better?

No that's just my general disregard for Ayuso for this race.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I have some evidence to show you

What does any of that prove though? The rider with the most wins is going to get the most clicks. It doesn't necessarily mean he's the most well liked. There is an orange man somewhere on earth, who is generating clicks, articles, newstopics at an alarming rate, globally. I do not think that means he is the most liked person on the planet or that it could not mean he is the most disliked person either.

Often the most popular people can be the most unpopular as well. Polarising characters.

 

[HashRouge]

What does any of that prove though? The rider with the most wins is going to get the most clicks. It doesn't necessarily mean he's the most well liked. There is an orange man somewhere on earth, who is generating clicks, articles, newstopics at an alarming rate, globally. I do not think that means he is the most liked person on the planet or that it could not mean he is the most disliked person either.

Often the most popular people can be the most unpopular as well. Polarising characters.

This is a good point. I suspect Pogacar probably has the most fans and the most detractors. It's very hard to know what the overriding sentiment towards him is though. I think it skews to the negative on this forum, but that isn't necessarily representative of the real world. I watched four stages in person at the Tour this year and he seemed pretty popular with roadside fans. But of course, if you watch from the roadside, you don't have the same concern about Pogacar making a race boring, because it's actually pretty amazing to see him crushing it or doing a crazy attack. One of the stages I watched was Hautacam, so a prime example of a long range Pogacar attack! But then again, roadside fans aren't necessarily representative of all fans either. So who knows.

 

[Pantani_lives]

What does popularity mean? Poulidor was more popular than Anquetil. Chiappucci was more popular than Indurain. Tim Freaking Henman was more popular than Pete Sampras. Fortunately sports is about achievements, not about popularity.