Will Mathieu van der Poel be able to live with Tadej Pogacar on the climbs of Liege-Bastogne-Liege? It's a question that we'll soon find an answer to on Sunday, but for Jan Boone, exercise physiologist at Ghent University, it all comes down to the numbers.
“It is indeed a hot topic in exercise physiology,” says Boone in conversation with Sporza, ahead of this Sunday's clash at Liege-Bastogne-Liege. "A professional cyclist can easily deliver a very high wattage once. The difficulty lies in continuing to deliver those high wattages."
"In a race of 250 km with many slopes you naturally have a decline in performance. The real world toppers can nowadays greatly limit that decline, and that is precisely where the strength of Mathieu van der Poel lies," Boon continues. "When he climbed the Oude Kwaremont for the third time in the Tour of Flanders, he logically did so at a slightly lower wattage. The big difference with the average rider: his decline is much lower."
When it comes to battling with probably the best all-round rider on the planet in Tadej Pogacar however, even van der Poel may be at a disadvantage. "The Ardennes Hills are between 5 and 10 minutes in terms of effort. That may be right on the limit of uphill efforts that are just too long for Mathieu," Boone concludes. "The light Pogacar has an advantage there with a higher wattage/kg, but it is not impossible."
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