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- Thanks :-)
- You've got to take your pulls, but do them easier and shorter than he does. Just enough to keep him happy. And if Pog attacks, sit up and let MVDP close it down.
- The above photo was not from the Tour.
- I do, Col de Finestre in 2015. Mikel Landa was the first to summit that day.
- ummm, YEAH! this is ROUBAIX… just try to imagine what this race would look like if everyone waited for everyone who crashed. well, for starters, there wouldn’t have been like 117 editions of it. there wouldn’t been like two.
- i certainly get the
argument that’s being made. it’s basically an axiom you’re taught first in juniors: don’t help the strongest rider. not complicated. but instead of mathieu being kinda the ultimate example of that rule, he’s actually the exception to it, particularly at roubaix. mvdp is so much stronger than even someone as great as pedersen, and in that terrain he has an even greater advantage, that if you leave him in the front he WILL just ride you off his wheel. everyone saw horse the “let van der poel pull on his own” strategy worked last year. stretch… stretch… stretch… SNAP! GONE. then you’re CHASING him, which is really not a solid plan. result: second place is like three minutes behind.
look, i’m not saying there are great options here. i’m just saying that mads isn’t stupid and he actually IS trying to find SOME way to win. it’s not his fault that there probably just ISN’T ONE.
- Van Aert was repeatedly dropped by riders other than the top 2, he was not just braking
- Roubaix is a race where luck plays an important part. Pedersen was not distanced, he had a double puncture. He was still the third strongest
- Cross and gravel rainbows, and now attempting mountain biking (again). With nearly a full calendar year season, across multiple disciplines and several peaks, this is a weak comparison. this isn’t an anti Jonas statement, it’s an anti author of this article statement. van der Poel rides almost year round. his mid season breaks are more necessary. the toll on his body from racing multiple disciplines is significantly different. see has back problems of several years ago - that was due to cross. and mountain biking is a completely different effort all together.
- Anyone know the “gravel” climb in the photo?