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07:25
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16-09-2026 00:12
31-08-2026 07:24
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25-08-2026 03:02
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23-08-2026 22:22
23-08-2026 20:12
23-08-2026 20:00
23-08-2026 19:25
22-08-2026 21:47
17-08-2026 21:46
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OCexile
“at some point those guys will turn their backs on OUR sport”? after dedicating so much of their lives to cyclocross and in mathieu’s case winning more world championships than anyone, it would seem to me like they’ve earned the right for it to be always be THEIR sport, too, even after they retire from it.07:25
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OCexile
how come? i’m not arguing, just curious what problems you see.16-09-2026 00:12
+1
OCexile
if mathieu really wants the mtb world championship title then he should maybe retire from road racing after two more seasons (age 34) and race mountain full time. honestly, i don’t know nearly enough about mountain bike racing to know the likelihood of that working, but as long as he’s a road racer the demands on his time and calendar make proper training to win the mtb title impossible, it seems.31-08-2026 07:24
+4
OCexile
anytime a very dominant rider is someone willing to take on a leadership role on behalf of the peloton, he’s referred to as a patron. just being the best rider, even by a wide margin, isn’t enough. it has to be someone with a personality that is strong and assertive enough to LEAD. hinault, definitely. armstrong was a patron. everybody hated him and he hated them right back, but he was definitely a leader/tyrant/patron. indurain was a beast and everyone liked him, but NOT a patron.25-08-2026 03:02
+2
OCexile
correct, dead of winter for the cx season. and their coverage of cyclocross increases SIGNIFICANTLY when mathieu and wout start their cx seasons. if you love mtb then it’s really a GOOD thing that van der poel and pidcock pull some attention to it on sites like this, isn’t it?23-08-2026 22:22
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OCexile
good luck to your guy at Worlds next week!23-08-2026 20:12
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OCexile
i get it. but bear in mind that cyclinguptodate is fundamentally a ROAD RACING site. it more or less ONLY covers mtb when either pidcock or van der poel are racing. same with gravel. but i’m sure there are mountain bike sites that will give your guy from red bull his due for the big win today.23-08-2026 20:00
+1
OCexile
being mathieu van der poel seems like a pretty good reason to get attention. i mean, he’s won some stuff. beyond that, it’s not like he’s some dilettante who showed up at les gets to have his picture taken then get blown out the back. this is his first xco in a YEAR and he finished 7 seconds back. i don’t know, that seems like a worthwhile story to me.23-08-2026 19:25
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OCexile
i’d like to see him get another roubaix, mayyyybee another msr or flanders (tough) and one more tdf stage, then move to mountain bike full time until he gets the world championship he wants so badly.22-08-2026 21:47
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OCexile
@mistermaumau: yes, it becomes an ever-expanding spider web of accountability, complicity, guilt by association, etc. In the cycling world it’s not SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION from some major figure who doped. it’s maybe one or two, at best.17-08-2026 21:46