Daniel Mangeas praises Mathieu van der Poel's performance: "The best were up front and Mathieu managed to knock them out"
Cycling
Close friend of Raymond Poulidor, the grandfather of the new wearer of the rainbow jersey, the voice of cycling in France knew Mathieu van der Poel very young and therefore inevitably has a particular affection towards the story. Daniel Mangeas talks about that in his column for Cyclism'Actu.
"I thought a lot about Raymond and I imagined what he could have said if he had been in front of his television screen. Especially since, in my opinion, it's one of the greatest World Championships we've experienced. I put it in the line of Bernard Hinault in Sallanches. The best were up front and Mathieu managed to knock them out."
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"I don't know if he said it or if he will say it, but he certainly experienced the strongest emotion of his career. A title of world champion is the rainbow jersey on the shoulders for a year, and it relates to the performance of his father and his grandfather, as well as what he has last year, there was an overabundance of emotions at the finish line. I imagine the happiness that was his."
"It's incredible. I commented on Raymond Poulidor's victory at Saint-Lary, I commented on Adrie on the Tour de France in Pau, and now there is Mathieu. Raymond believed in him from the start. When he spoke of his grandson, he was very talkative and had detected an exceptional talent in him. His career is in any case successful. This boy is able to shine everywhere, it's called high class."
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
- the time for a GC rider to retire is when they cannot win stages, or have a significant level drop like from winner/podium into top 5/10 consistently. Roglic is still competitive and Froome raced even though he became pack fodder.abstractengineer10-11-2026
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