+0
14:12
+5
16-09-2026 20:15
+3
06-09-2026 13:16
+7
21-08-2026 14:29
21-08-2026 14:16
+2
19-08-2026 19:32
+10
18-08-2026 18:24
+17
18-08-2026 14:13
+13
16-08-2026 04:16
14-08-2026 01:27
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+0
MidnightRider
Arrogance and bad tactics are not the same thing. The French blew themselves up on the first two laps of the finale thinking that's what Seixas neeed. MVDP and Wout went next, but less out of arrogance than concern that the climber-types would drop them late if they just sat on. Lots of experts thought the same thing, including Wout's coach. As for the late group, they were all cooked. Pidcock gave it a go the last time up the big hill, and almost got there. But after that they were all cooked and it was every man for himself. And those who had some small bit of energy left were immediately marked by Jorgensen. So no, this was not arrogance. It was about top riders guessing wrong about the strategy for the day, and a deep USA team that played its cards masterfully. Whether McNulty was "the strongest" is irrelevant; he was the best racer, which is the only thing that matters.14:12
+5
MidnightRider
Yes, but at the same time we are seeing the ongoing rebirth of a team that was itself dismantled. I am a TJV/TVL guy to the core, but I nonetheless appreciate what a Belgian classics team means to the sport. Alpecin has risen as Soudal has declined, but MVDP and Philipsen won't be on top forever. Seeing Soudal become the Wolfpack again is good for cycling, in my view.16-09-2026 20:15
+3
MidnightRider
Not sure what he says adds up. No one on Astana is keeping up with Pog, MVDP, Wout, Remco, etc., so we are not missing any big showdown because they are chasing UCI points. One could just as easily argue that we are getting a better product across more of the calendar by providing incentives for smaller teams to compete at non-marquee races.06-09-2026 13:16
+7
MidnightRider
The departures are eye-opening, especially when coupled with the ongoing sponsor crisis. But if you look at the biggest cases individually, it's harder to see a pattern: - Yates didn't switch teams, he quit cycling. - Niermann left for a bigger role than he had at Visma - Benoot wanted to stay, but left for more money - Kooij left because Visma is not a true sprint team, and TDF was unlikely Meanwhile Wout, Sepp, and others continue on with no hint of controversy or tension. I think the sponsor thing is real, but that aside I think most of what we are seeing is the normal, even inevitable turnover of a team that has enjoyed huge success over a period of years. Whether they can survive this transition and stay at/near the top is a fair question, but I'm not sure I see anything "rotten."21-08-2026 14:29
+3
MidnightRider
Injuries aside, he just had the best year of his career and has negotiated a schedule that suits him better personally. Visma does seem to be going through a transition, but too many top professionals - Wout, Sepp, Laporte, Campy, etc. - are happy at Visma to say something is "rotten."21-08-2026 14:16
+2
MidnightRider
Interesting take. Seems like MVDP's cyclocross stardom would have been an added bonus for the sponsors of a Belgian cycling team. And Lefevere had worked with Boonen, Cavendish, and even Remco, but maybe MVDP was just too independent for him. Big mistake.19-08-2026 19:32
+10
MidnightRider
I only came on as a fan in 2019, by which time both of them had committed to other teams. So I never did get the story of how the most important classics team in modern cycling missed out on the two best classics riders of their generation. MVDP would have been a perfect fit in terms of personality and programming, but Wout is of course Belgian. It has worked out spectacularly well for both of them with other teams, but it was an epic miss by Lefevere and Soudal.18-08-2026 18:24
+17
MidnightRider
While I will always appreciate Lefevere's commitment to a Belgian classics squad, something the sport needs, he is nonetheless a pompous and boorish ass. No other leading figure in cycling is so publicly hostile to his own riders or so determined to keep himself in the spotlight through petty beefs. He blew his own team up to serve Remco and now spends his days as a grumpy old man.18-08-2026 14:13
+13
MidnightRider
1. MVDP should be no worse than third, and arguably 2nd. And I say that as a diehard WVA fan. 2. Alaphilippe's time at the top was too brief, and Ganna is a TT guy with limited results outside his specialty. Mads has a WC, multiple classics, and honors at all the GTs. Should be 9th behind Wout,16-08-2026 04:16
+0
MidnightRider
If it is easier for Pog to break Merckx's records, then it was also easier for Merckx to break the records he broke when he was newer. In effect you are arguing that the original GOATS - you know, those riders who smoked and worked real jobs 100 years ago - are permanently the best ever. Their records may fall, but only because it's....easier. Fair enough to say that early pioneers have a place in the sport that can never be replaced, but ludicrous to ignore that the cyclists of today, like athletes in almost every sport, are wildly stronger and more skilled than ever. There is a reason no one has done what Merckx did over the last 50 years, and its the same reason that easily (imo) qualifies Pog as the best rider of all time.14-08-2026 01:27