"I don't care if they do" - Christoph Roodhooft sends out warning to Mathieu van der Poel's rivals
Cycling
This Sunday is finally the big one, the Tour of Flanders. Alpecin–Deceuninck arrive with the defending champion, and all eyes are on Mathieu van der Poel as he bids for a record-breaking fourth victory at the iconic Monument.
The team’s leaders, Van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen, were outspoken last weekend, voicing criticism of their rivals' tactics. Van der Poel was particularly unimpressed with how teams raced in the E3 Saxo Classic, after he and several other favourites were caught behind an early crash.
Philipsen also questioned the strategic choices of top teams at Gent Wevelgem, believing more should have committed to chasing down Mads Pedersen in the finale.
Despite the chaos at E3, Van der Poel went on to claim victory by a wide margin, further underlining his dominance this spring. For team boss Christoph Roodhooft, the message is clear.
"I don't know if teams will try anything and I don't care if they do," he told Cyclingnews. "At this time of year we have to have confidence in ourselves. I think we have proven in the last three, four years that we are capable of winning in the big classics, and the more we win, the harder it is to achieve that goal again.
“We work for it and sometimes it comes, but at the moment it seems that we are on the right side of the track.”
As Van der Poel gears up for Sunday’s showdown, the question remains: are we witnessing the strongest version of the Dutchman yet?
“Possibly. He was very good in E3 and also in San Remo. So far everything is going according to plan, let’s say, so we’ll see what happens on Sunday.”
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- TP, for me now, is an alien...
leedorney07-04-2025 - You have to keep all else held equal or you're not isolating the change. A lighter rider is faster at everything, save downhills, all else held equal, as I keep showing. As for wind, just as in flat TTs weight basically doesn't matter, except that lighter equals slightly less rolling resistance. In the same manner, for a 30 kph headwind, weight doesn't matter, as the relevant equation is power vs CdA. The reason why more weight is helpful downhill is the same reason it's hurtful uphill, it "gives back" the energy (not speed) you gained by going up the hill. Lastly, in a sprint, weight is again counterproductive, assuming one has to accelerate up to speed. Accelerating a mass takes energy, and a heavier one takes more energy than a lighter one. Now, at most sprint speeds, almost all energy goes into wind resistance, but the acceleration of mass still does play a part.acem8207-04-2025
- Agreed. He was dropped hard on every other climb. Without the run up he might have not been in the final sprint. And why not try it? Kudos for him for trying to make the race rather than just following.mij06-04-2025
- To me it seemed like an attempt to get through the climb closer to the front, since his burst power was lacking. If he starts earlier he can take the hill slower and still not be too far behind by the top. It kept him in that group of 4, where he might have been dropped had they all stayed together to the bottom of the climb. Who knows, though. I’m just guessing.RidesHills06-04-2025
- No idea, there have been suggestions something is amiss, maybe he doesn’t have all his mind connected at some moments, I’d definitely do a thorough review of his consciousness under effort.Mistermaumau06-04-2025
- Pogacar and van der Poel have won the last 6 Monuments, and 11 of the last 13 Monuments. There’s never been domination like this by two riders, and we are in our third year of it. (Merckx and de Vlaeminck won a total of 30 Monuments between 1966 and 1979, but others were winning along the way, as well.)RidesHills06-04-2025
- Yes but what was the dumb effort by Van Aert to drop Pogacar, Vanderpoel and Pederson about.? Just showing face? If he had stayed on the wheels and not wasted energy, he might have got on the podium in the runners up sprint.Cyclingsbestfan06-04-2025
- What a loser.
santiagobenites06-04-2025 - I agree about the sprint or drilling it on the flat. Lighter rider versus heavier rider. Inertia is the natural tendency of objects in motion to stay in motion (e.g the heavier riders momentum) and objects at rest to stay at rest, unless a force causes the velocity to change.Cyclingsbestfan06-04-2025
- Definitely, he is a great rider, and this season might even be as good as last (in a perfect world, a few more Monuments, a Tour-Vuelta double, and the Worlds again), but he has to do this for years on end to compare to Merckx’s results from roughly 69 to 74. Yes, times have changed, yes competition is different, yes speeds are higher, and so on, but let’s let Pogacar be Pogacar and give him time. We can evaluate his career when he retires. Until then, let’s enjoy it while we have it.RidesHills06-04-2025