"I prefer when the race becomes harder" - Marijn van den Berg excited to make Vuelta debut
Cycling
Marijn van den Berg has been enjoying a breakthrough year in 2023, racking up his first three professional victories with the one from Tour de Pologne being the highlight. Just before his grand tour debut at Vuelta a Espana, the 24-year old shared his ambitions in an interview with In de Leiderstrui.
Despite fast legs, Marijn van den Berg doesn't quite consider himself a pure sprinter. "For me it is more favorable if the race is harder. I'm not a pure mass sprinter, so this Vuelta should be good for me. I don't have the raw sprint power. When I look at my numbers, there are many opponents who can deliver higher watts."
"It went very well in Poland, I surprised myself by staying ahead of the other guys. So it is possible, but I have a better chance in a stage in which those guys have already suffered a bit more. I think there are two days in the Vuelta that are really flat, which is good for me. Although I will also throw myself in the real mass sprints. With this field of sprinters I can get a good result."
He refers to the absence of a real top sprinter in La Vuelta. If he himself already arrives with Juan Sebastián Molano and Kaden Groves as main competitors. "Fortunately, sprinting is also about positioning, so I can still come out on the top. If it's harder and it ramps up a bit, then my thirty second power is comparatively much better than my peak power."
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- That’s the most stupid thing I’ve read for a long time, did you not go to school and learn even the most basic physics? Aero depends on one thing only, drag, drag depends speed and the relationship is squared and apart from maybe at zero or the speed of sound or due to side winds that relationship is valid at all speeds, it dies not “suddenly” start at a magic number. Very simply, the faster you go the more the effect becomes important. If you think 25km/h is needed to have noticeable effects you’re delusional, athletic WR are cancelled as soon as winds top 2m/s that’s 7.2km/h, why because the assistance is already too important at that speed and the times prove it. You don’t even consider wind which can significantly increase the effective speed for aerodynamics and you underestimate speed of climbs, 6% is ridden more at 30 than 25km/h, a speed at which early generation high rims were considered to have more advantages than disadvantages. And finally, as in normal races you can’t just switch bikes according to terrain, it’s pretty pointless to discuss climbs as a separate situation, the aero will have justified itself plenty during the rest of the ride.Mistermaumau21-12-2024
- If you look at how much TP progressed in that 1 1/2 years you can no longer say that’s nothing. If Remco improves as much he’s a challenger!Mistermaumau21-12-2024
- Froome wishing to ride the Vuelta...he won't even be selected for the team!frieders320-12-2024
- Keep telling yourself that Remco but you not only have Tadeg to beat but Jonas!frieders320-12-2024
- Seems farfetched - I agree. Mas has beaten him once. Giro d'Emillia I think - 2022mobk20-12-2024
- Barring injuries, by the time Pogacar's dominance fads there will be lots of new young talent. Pogacar is about 1 1/2 years older than Remco. That's nothing.Sweep20-12-2024
- I actually don’t find that too impressive. In my later forties I did similar figures for a 3.5% gradient as a total nobody with no wind assistance. Am sure there’s margin for improvement there, especially looking at all the names on that list.Mistermaumau20-12-2024
- Jonas', was 6 years agospock12320-12-2024
- The race where he overnight suddenly turned nuclear after being packfodder at best for several years. His Sky days after that Vuelta and Pogačar’s last season shall remain the darkest post Lance stuff cycling has witnessed. Good riddance Froome.
UltimateOpportunist20-12-2024 - Finishing the Vuelta seems to be a reasonably attainable goal. Getting on the team to do that will be the more difficult challenge.
santiagobenites20-12-2024