Olav Kooij

Latest comments

• OCexile15-04-2025
  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.
• abstractengineer15-04-2025
  Van Aert was repeatedly dropped by riders other than the top 2, he was not just braking
• abstractengineer15-04-2025
  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
• mij15-04-2025
  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.
• Mistermaumau15-04-2025
  Anyone know the “gravel” climb in the photo?
• Mistermaumau15-04-2025
  That’s not their choice though is it, as so often, decided by a few ageing men who got elected by others like them. The whole system isn’t even more modern than religion. Imagine the laughter if women had been “advised”their full game of football would be 2x15 minutes. Now obviously, some smartass official will justify it as having nothing to do with fitness but a necessity from marketing and financial points of view, having now background data of the market and public for women’s cycling. I’ve rarely cycled with women who couldn’t last as long as men, in fact, in endurance cycling, there are women who outdo the men, some in particular you should maybe read up on : Beryl Burton, Lael Wilcox, Leah Goldstein, Isa Pulver and the list is far longer if, unlike most, you’d decide it was of interest to change your misconceptions and understand the difference is artificially maintained, mostly due to some hard to destroy form of discrimination.
• Mistermaumau15-04-2025
  Coz it’s not an Olympic year ;-)
• Mistermaumau15-04-2025
  Rock/hard place, still need the points.
• Mistermaumau15-04-2025
  These days you get paid a lot better to suck it up so I guess there are fewer complaints now ;-) Anyway, the faster bike argument these days is about as significant the whiter washing powders, only instruments can “feel” the difference unless a manufacturer makes a major cock-up. There is always one exception though, a rider that’s more “comfortable” on a slightly slower bike will probably be faster than on a faster uncomfortable one in all but the shortest time trials, the mental fatigue of discomfort is often ignored, in fact many mental tweaks have probably not been integrated yet, the most interesting topic of the future will be what will be considered mental doping and what will be considered acceptable, anyone?
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  James2631815-04-2025
  2011 won by wheel sucker Cadel Evans and 2015 Chris Frome with Team Sky.