Matteo Jorgenson: "We decided to go for the sprint with Wout and it was the wrong decision"
Cycling
Team Visma | Lease a Bike have made the wrong decision today at Dwars door Vlaanderen. The Dutch team have anticipated the competition, created almost the perfect scenario, but then on a 3-to-1 they lost the race to Neilson Powless after the decision was made in the team car to bet on a sprint from Wout van Aert.
It was a scenario widely feared, similar to that of Quick-Step versus Ian Stannard 10 years ago at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. A collective attack at Berg ten Houte saw van Aert, Jorgenson and Tiesj Benoot escape the peloton in perfect fashion, dropping even the in-form Mads Pedersen who was caught out of position.
In the following kilometers they dropped everyone who was ahead except for Neilson Powless, and then the quartet worked together into the final 10 kilometers. Likely to provide van Aert with a much needed psychological boost (although the reasons given were different), the decision was made to take the race to a sprint - despite having a massive numerical advantage on a flat finale.
"We did a beautiful race up until 10k to go. We decided to go for the sprint with Wout and it was the wrong decision we can be honest about that," a disappointed Jorgenson said in a post-race interview. "Also we underestimated Neilson. Really chapeau to Neilson and congrats, that was a really great sprint from him".
Wout van Aert didn't have the legs in the final sprint, and was beaten by the EF Education-EasyPost rider. The sight of three defeated Visma riders behind is one that won't be forgotten soon. "I wouldn't say it's so much of a surprise, I know Neilson, how fast he is, super explosive..."
"In the car they decided to go for a sprint instead of attacking. It was a decision we made because we weren't super confident with the gap at a certain point and we made the wrong decision. He was helping some the whole time. We just were quite nervous with the headwind on the final lap and the group coming from behind. We decided to use Tiesj and I and kind of gamble with Wout a little more, I guess it was the wrong decision".
The team is heading into the Tour of Flanders with very mixed feelings, on the one hand having shown the collective strength that reminded fans of the 2022 and 2023 season, but on the other hand a bad tactical decision and a Wout van Aert that will be psychologically hit from this defeat. "We've improved every race a bit since Opening Weekend, it wasn't so hard to improve from that," he joked, seeing the positive in the negative afternoon of the team.
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What a final kilometer of #DDV25! 🤯 #FLCS pic.twitter.com/irSbHvoUvu
— Dwars door Vlaanderen (@DwarsdrVlaander) April 2, 2025
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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