+2
05:11
+0
05:03
17-04-2025 08:43
+1
17-04-2025 01:21
16-04-2025 20:10
15-04-2025 23:48
+3
15-04-2025 23:09
15-04-2025 19:10
15-04-2025 17:55
14-04-2025 14:52
+2
OCexile
Oumaïma Rayane seems like fairly credible evidence for the existence of at least some version of god.05:11
+0
OCexile
so what does TOO FAST even mean? stupid non-article article…05:03
+0
OCexile
amen.17-04-2025 08:43
+1
OCexile
there are loads of people and pundits who spend a lot of time griping about how few races some of the big names compete in these days. i think it’s a dumb argument personally but to each his own. in the case of jonas, though, i think a very limited calendar makes a ton of sense and wouldn’t need to be explained by a deep fear of crashing. to me, jonas really does seem like a pure grand tour racer. the explosiveness needed for even a climber’s classic, like il lombardia, isn’t really there when heads up with guys like remco and tadej. with the exception of the occasional MIND BLOWING time trial effort, jonas is like death by a thousand cuts. over the course of days he just grinds and grinds until a breaking point. a could see him just doing the Tour and the lead up prep races, like tour de suisse. in a year like this, MAAAAYYBEEE the world championships because of the course. Now, if you throw in some (pretty understandable) skittishness about getting in another wreck, well, whatevs. wout is another story. about that i would just say that wouter is a total bad-ass and when it comes to mastering one’s own fear, van aert seems like a one-percenter to me. remember that it’s not just the crashes from the last couple years that he carries around in his head, it’s also that horrific one from the TT at the tour in like 2019, which was the worst of all of them. i don’t think he’s skipping races because he’s afraid. all of what i’ve said is just a feeling. i can’t back it up and wouldn’t try. it’s just a sloppy, half thought out IT KINDA SEEMS TO ME THAT… but it really does seem like that. to me.17-04-2025 01:21
+1
OCexile
yeah, van der poel’s ability to suffer is, i think, almost unparalleled. years ago, after an absolutely savage cx in namur when wout just couldn’t stay with mvdp in the last half of the last lap, van aert said, “it has always been a great quality of mathieu’s that he can ride far beyond his limit. i’m capable of riding a very good finale as well, but often he can just go a little deeper.” you see it in that classic Amstel Gold from 2019, and in every case where van der poel crosses the line and utterly collapses. people who don’t like him have always said that’s for “dramatic effect”, but it’s so obviously something that only happens after his most extreme efforts, such as his epic bonk in tirreno adriatico when he barely held off a charging pogacar on a freezing cold day. mathieu is 30, so just a few years down the road he won’t have that ability any longer. i’m glad i’ve gotten to watch so much of him while he does.16-04-2025 20:10
+1
OCexile
l don’t live in europe, i live in southern california. can someone explain why this stuff happens to van der poel and seemingly ONLY van der poel? i don’t need anyone to say it’s wrong or awful or whatever. i’m looking for a real cultural explanation of this phenomenon from someone who has a much deeper understanding of the forces at play than i do. thanks in advance.15-04-2025 23:48
+3
OCexile
nice idea, but as analysis point out over and over, mvdp is more willing than anyone to lose a race in order to win it. why do you think smart riders like wout, ganna and mads end up doing his dirty work over and over? because he’s almost impossible to manipulate.15-04-2025 23:09
+0
OCexile
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.15-04-2025 19:10
+2
OCexile
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.15-04-2025 17:55
+1
OCexile
i willfully CHOOSE to believe in your theory about greatness being sharpened and driven by greatness, because in my ideal world that’s how i’d wish it to be. in this case, with mathieu in particular, i think the presence of first wout then tadej absolutely drives and consumes him to some degree. he’s a guy who admittedly gets BORED. and when mathieu gets bored he just goes and does something else. he’s very clear about the fact there are a BUNCH of things he just doesn’t really care about, and i think anyone who follows him has a sense that MVDP is here for a GOOD TIME, not a LONG TIME. my hope is that tadej’s greatness will keep mathieu focused and hungry. very sadly, wout no longer fills that role. he may again and i hope he does, but their career trajectories are going in different directions and have been for a few years now. i will be extremely sad for the truly SPECTACULAR van aert if his line MSR win is the only monument trophy on his mantle. at very least i want ONE roubaix cobblestone sitting next to it. he deserves to tell the story when the grandkids ask “why is there a big rock sitting up there, papa?”14-04-2025 14:52