"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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MVDP is one of the best all around riders cycling has ever known. Vingo rides stage races. MVDP was the clear winner.
Things like this are always about an agenda, maybe ASO support it and want the Tour Winner to win
He deserved to win
I fully agree.