+0
12:33
12:32
+1
14-04-2025 17:58
13-04-2025 17:07
+2
11-04-2025 15:25
+6
09-04-2025 18:15
08-04-2025 21:28
+4
08-04-2025 21:22
+5
06-04-2025 22:31
06-04-2025 19:51
+0
RidesHills
So is Pogacar, whose rivals are van der Poel in the monuments and Vingegaard at the Tour, doing the same with his limited calendar of race days?12:33
+0
RidesHills
An interesting description, but I think it misses his motivations. He meets a goal and moves on. Van der Poel does race the Tour, though lately as lead out for Philipsen, after achieving the goal of wearing yellow one day. Same with the Giro, he met his goal and moved on. But yes, lately that sure looks like winning the monuments more than anything else.12:32
+1
RidesHills
Wout Van Aert won a Monument (San Remo, 2020), so he wouldn't be in that article. He might be in an article of riders like Sagan who were truly exceptional and won fewer monuments that expected. As for these two, they've won the last 7 monuments, 10 of the last 12, 15 of the last 20. Merckx and de Vlaeminck weren't that dominant in their era. It really is special the way these two race with such admiration for each other along the way. Rivals, not enemies.14-04-2025 17:58
+1
RidesHills
A great great race with the expected outcome, more or less. Wow these two are dominant. They’ve won the last 7 monuments, and van der Poel has won two each year for 3 years. They are tied at 8, and Pogacar has two left where he is the favorite. It’s unfair to the rest but that was a slug fest of a race. So fun to watch.13-04-2025 17:07
+2
RidesHills
One bike throw at Flanders and a series of mechanicals at Roubaix, and yes, he could have won both, and Van der Poel would have two less on his list. Wout van Aert will likely never reach the magical space of the year he won on Ventoux, the TT, and the Champs Elysées during the Tour, and he's just that tiny notch below the best right now, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a chance. It's Paris-Roubaix, you never know who is going to really make the difference.11-04-2025 15:25
+6
RidesHills
Why just Pogacar, when he highlights the superb results of others annd compares it to 5 years ago (when carb-based feeding was treated differently, for whatever that is worth). Imagine asking Vingegaard, who recovered incredibly quickly from his awful injury. His climbing times were better than ever before. Does that mean he’s doing something nefarious? I doubt it. But I am pretty sure he had some TUEs that aided his recovery. I am okay with that, like I’m okay with using the cars to come back after a mechanical. If transparency is asked for, it should be asked for more broadly. That gives away a competitive advantage so it’s never going to happen.09-04-2025 18:15
+1
RidesHills
Pidcock was riding at a hard enough pace until the sector where Pogacar made up something like 20 seconds in something like... 20 seconds. Pidcock was quite a bit ahead, and suddenly he wasn't. At that point, clearly he would get caught, so might as well get caught sooner and work together. That's just good cycling. (I think the point is, plenty of people win even after they've come down in a crash - Van der Poel crashed at the worlds and won, anyway, for example).08-04-2025 21:28
+4
RidesHills
Great sprint, Ineos set him up at exactly the right time, they protected the corners through the turns, and he did the job he was supposed to do. Nice to see him win again.08-04-2025 21:22
+5
RidesHills
To me it seemed like an attempt to get through the climb closer to the front, since his burst power was lacking. If he starts earlier he can take the hill slower and still not be too far behind by the top. It kept him in that group of 4, where he might have been dropped had they all stayed together to the bottom of the climb. Who knows, though. I’m just guessing.06-04-2025 22:31
+1
RidesHills
Pogacar and van der Poel have won the last 6 Monuments, and 11 of the last 13 Monuments. There’s never been domination like this by two riders, and we are in our third year of it. (Merckx and de Vlaeminck won a total of 30 Monuments between 1966 and 1979, but others were winning along the way, as well.)06-04-2025 19:51