"What more can he do?" - Philippe Gilbert questions why Mathieu van der Poel didn't win the Velo d'Or
CyclingThursday, 26 October 2023 at 09:46
The 2023 Velo d'Or was an incredibly hard-fought contest. Numerous riders have had brilliant seasons in this calendar year but ultimately, it was the winner of the Tour de France, Jonas Vingegaard who triumphed and took the award.
Alongside Vingegaard, the main contenders for the Velo d'Or were thought to be UAE Team Emirates' Tadej Pogacar and Alpecin-Deceuninck's Mathieu van der Poel. It's the Dutchman, who claimed the rainbow jersey earlier this year in Glasgow, that should have won according to Belgian, Classics legend, Philippe Gilbert.
Reacting to Vingegaard's victory on his official X (Twitter) account, "What do you think of the jury's choice regarding the award of the golden bicycle?" Gilbert asked his followers.
"When I see Mathieu van der Poel winning the Cyclocross World Championships, leading a number of races, winning Milano-Sanremo, Paris-Roubaix and the road world championships in a masterful way, what more can he do?"
What do you think? Was Vingegaard the worthy winner or did Van der Poel deserve the plaudits?
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- it will be interesting to see his results when he steps into the bigger races. 19 wins, but so many in the fall in mid level races. still the mid races need to be won to step up to the biggies.mij09-01-2026
- Looks like his poor health just stomped on the rear mech of his cycling career.Onepiece09-01-2026
- she is so good. even her results from 2025, which were “bad”, would be a career year for most riders. and consider at MSR, for example, her teammate won - perhaps Lotte could have won it. wishing her the best for 2026!mij09-01-2026
- bummer - he was fun to watch and was young. had a lot left in him.mij09-01-2026
- What a fairytale day! Everything fell into place.mhfrvz09-01-2026
- Not sure you can say that someone as talented and successful as him has had bad luck, but between coming along right after the two titans and now this, his is a career cut short. Perhaps he can transition to a different role in the sport, but in any case I wish him well.MidnightRider08-01-2026
- I doubt it. This blows a hole in their ranks.mobk08-01-2026
- For a while there, Eli was the best of the rest in cyclocross behind Mathieu and Wout. It must be tough to be forced to retire early due to medical issues, but good health trumps everything else. I wish him the best in his future endeavors.
santiagobenites08-01-2026 - however you frame it, it seems that they asked more from Ayuso (who obviously did not deliver the needed support) than they are asking from del Torro ... who - according to this quote - just needs to show up and can then ride however he likes.Ketterechts08-01-2026
- I agree that Ayuso was wrong in doing what he did at the tour, but we don't know everything behind the feud unless they all say honestly what went wrong. If he us such a rat and traitor, which it's a bit harsh, then what is to be said about Soler when he was with Movistar and didn't want to ride for Mas? I was disappointed, yes, but realize riders also have goals, and right now, UAE is all about their golden boy.Colnago-fan08-01-2026
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Que pensez vous du choix du jury concernant la remise du vélo d’or? Quand je vois @mathieuvdpoel gagner les championnats du monde CX, animer nombre de courses, gagner @Milano_Sanremo @parisroubaix et les championnats du monde sur route de façon magistrale que doit il faire de +?
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