Ronde van Vlaanderen 2023 *Spoilers* thread
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I think he needs to look at targeting races a bit more. Seems to be in form on the warm up races then not quite there for the big ones.mididoctors said:
I was expecting more ...he looked empty tbh thoughrick_chasey said:
He hurt his knee more badly than we realised.tailwindhome said:Pressure on WvA this week is going to be immense
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Pog has won 8 days out of 16 this year.
10 out of his last 18 days racing, including two monuments plus two week long race GCs.0 -
Maybe he struggles with the extra distance?Pross said:
I think he needs to look at targeting races a bit more. Seems to be in form on the warm up races then not quite there for the big ones.mididoctors said:
I was expecting more ...he looked empty tbh thoughrick_chasey said:
He hurt his knee more badly than we realised.tailwindhome said:Pressure on WvA this week is going to be immense
I think the only 220km+ race hes won is MSR.
He will be under a lot of pressure next week.0 -
We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
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“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!1 -
It's pretty ridiculous they give him a hard time . The guy is one of the best I have ever seen ...stage_hunter said:
Maybe he struggles with the extra distance?Pross said:
I think he needs to look at targeting races a bit more. Seems to be in form on the warm up races then not quite there for the big ones.mididoctors said:
I was expecting more ...he looked empty tbh thoughrick_chasey said:
He hurt his knee more badly than we realised.tailwindhome said:Pressure on WvA this week is going to be immense
I think the only 220km+ race hes won is MSR.
He will be under a lot of pressure next week.
"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0 -
Still buzzing from Pog's decisive attack. To do that to MvdP on a power climb like that is truly extraordinary.0
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It's a cable cam, not a drone.mididoctors said:That drone shot is speed
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Great race with a richly deserved podium.
For all the talk of how innovative JV's tactics are, with some justification, they were terrible today and deserved what they got.0 -
Whateverandyp said:
It's a cable cam, not a drone.mididoctors said:That drone shot is speed
"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm1 -
Jumbo is getting stick for it tactics but they may have got the call WvA didn't have it earlier than we think . Left them with only desperate moves"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0
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Who knows what the effect of the crash was on him.stage_hunter said:
Maybe he struggles with the extra distance?Pross said:
I think he needs to look at targeting races a bit more. Seems to be in form on the warm up races then not quite there for the big ones.mididoctors said:
I was expecting more ...he looked empty tbh thoughrick_chasey said:
He hurt his knee more badly than we realised.tailwindhome said:Pressure on WvA this week is going to be immense
I think the only 220km+ race hes won is MSR.
He will be under a lot of pressure next week.seanoconn - gruagach craic!0 -
I'm not sure many teams actually got tactics right. Alpecin were a mess and caught out repeatedly, which must have cost MvdP a bit at the crunch, while even UAE were caught out by a split. The race was pretty chaotic with no team really taking control.andyp said:Great race with a richly deserved podium.
For all the talk of how innovative JV's tactics are, with some justification, they were terrible today and deserved what they got.0 -
Pidcock 8 mins down
Assuming he was 'trying', it'll be a big ask to perform in the next 3 weeks.“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0 -
Agree. Pogačar today was A1. The guy is seriously impressive.0
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If that were the case, van Hooydonck should not have dropped back to WVA.mididoctors said:Jumbo is getting stick for it tactics but they may have got the call WvA didn't have it earlier than we think . Left them with only desperate moves
PTP Champion 2019, 2022 & 20230 -
I agree. Was chaotic and not just because of the many crashes. The strongest rider won in such a dominant manner today, that the result would have been the same regardless though.phreak said:
I'm not sure many teams actually got tactics right. Alpecin were a mess and caught out repeatedly, which must have cost MvdP a bit at the crunch, while even UAE were caught out by a split. The race was pretty chaotic with no team really taking control.andyp said:Great race with a richly deserved podium.
For all the talk of how innovative JV's tactics are, with some justification, they were terrible today and deserved what they got.
Still leaves a lot for teams to analyze and improve upon.PTP Champion 2019, 2022 & 20230 -
Has MvdP ever used teammates to set up a win?
Best I can think of was MSR this year and that wasn't much. WVA closed did more for him closing the gap to Ganna, than Kragh Andersen did on the Poggio.PTP Champion 2019, 2022 & 20230 -
Why drop Van Hooyodonck out of the break to pace him up then? If they knew WVA didn't have it, then that makes zero sense.mididoctors said:Jumbo is getting stick for it tactics but they may have got the call WvA didn't have it earlier than we think . Left them with only desperate moves
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Lack of truce by UAE jumbo and alpecin to share the early workload.phreak said:
I'm not sure many teams actually got tactics right. Alpecin were a mess and caught out repeatedly, which must have cost MvdP a bit at the crunch, while even UAE were caught out by a split. The race was pretty chaotic with no team really taking control.andyp said:Great race with a richly deserved podium.
For all the talk of how innovative JV's tactics are, with some justification, they were terrible today and deserved what they got."If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0 -
I think MvdP has the same issue that Sean Kelly had for a lot of his career; namely that he takes up so much of the team's budget that they don't have much left over to provide top tier support. He's probably only got Kragh Andersen and Vermeersch who are half decent. (I'd have made the case for both Dillier and Gogl before they went to Alpecin, but they've been completely anonymous).m.r.m. said:Has MvdP ever used teammates to set up a win?
Best I can think of was MSR this year and that wasn't much. WVA closed did more for him closing the gap to Ganna, than Kragh Andersen did on the Poggio.1 -
Because laporte hadn't got it and vH was starting to yo yo on the climbs in the break .. it was ramshackle . Sub optimal . In hindsight what was the best move by Jumboandyp said:
Why drop Van Hooyodonck out of the break to pace him up then? If they knew WVA didn't have it, then that makes zero sense.mididoctors said:Jumbo is getting stick for it tactics but they may have got the call WvA didn't have it earlier than we think . Left them with only desperate moves
All the teams up front had a dilemia .
What should of jumbo done if they committed to the break WVA was still going to get dropped if the break was brought back ... I thought vH had a chance earlier on but he was fading compared to trientin and mads
It was kinda complicated"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0 -
It was pretty fast ? Or not ? 44.1 kmh"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0
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Fastest ever"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0
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Pogs positioning going into the climbs and the fact he did not persist with his first big attack meant he had learnt from last year .. so it's not all just everyone else failing. MvdP was very impressive too"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0
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Alternatively he sat up once he knew he wasn’t getting back and has saved a bit for the coming weeks.tailwindhome said:Pidcock 8 mins down
Assuming he was 'trying', it'll be a big ask to perform in the next 3 weeks.4 -
mididoctors said:
It was pretty fast ? Or not ? 44.1 kmh
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Short of match fitness in the last few weeks (and possibly training); he'll be better in a few weeks. And the first XC World Cup is in 6 weeks....Pross said:
Alternatively he sat up once he knew he wasn’t getting back and has saved a bit for the coming weeks.tailwindhome said:Pidcock 8 mins down
Assuming he was 'trying', it'll be a big ask to perform in the next 3 weeks.All Road/ Gravel: tbcWinter: tbcMTB: tbcRoad: tbc"Look at the time...." "he's fallen like an old lady on a cruise ship..."0
