this no radio thing really shows how cycling was back in the day and it really makes tactics so hard, why really adds a new/difficult dynamic to the game, love it!!
Yes, yes, and yes. Mr. Horner himself accused many of being knuckleheads. Why? Cause they didn’t have their boss in their ear telling em what to do as he watched on tv in a car. There are numerous things that could be happening in a breakaway, or chase group, that would be key info to help you (eg who’s working, who’s sitting on, who’s come off, have groups joined, ad nauseum)? Without radios, if you want to win, you have to stay in position to watch. Btw, the riders’ cry that radios are for safety is silly bs. For safety there could be a race radio from a lead vehicle warning of every pebble in the road.
Very little in this race was imo down to no radio's, rather the initial tactic of the riders and the course. We've seen several races this year and last year that were almost just as good as today, despite using radio's. It doesn't really make sense to ride one day in the year without radio's, the riders are just not used to it, unlike back in the day (which at that time imo was also a more individual sport).
Agree,I so prefer watching races withoutn radios The only drawback I see is in point to point races on unfamiliar roads ie Grand Tours; the riders cannot be alerted to potentially dangerous road conditions
Maybe more a grand tour rider than a classics guy, but Pogacar has won more monuments than Wout van Aert and Mats Pedersen combined (1 and 0, against 4 for TP)
Chris look at how he remounts the bike after the crash, The "Dirty" side/ chairing side. CX skills came in handy. He is a supreme bike handler which I do believe helped him carry a lot of corner speed aiding in his solo victory.
Not only that but he crashed smart too, he was able to unclip really fast and put his foot down first to ease the fall, probably saving himself and his bike from worse damage
A skilled rider could gain about half a second per corner over a less skilled rider for 'free', especially after the rain started. That ads up to minutes of 'bonus' (recuperaton) time.
@@drbonzonew yes - he mentioned that he wasn't taking risks but crashed anyways, indeed it would be silly to take further risks. Still 'not taking risks' is a very rider-dependent statement. Wout said that he noticed that Mads Pedersen was taking corners carefully after the rain started - he used this to secure silver. It is s bummer that no camera was on Küng - he must have done a blistering final lap.
Thanks. I’m always looking for that bit of extra info so you have something different to chat about with your friends later on. And a little coaching for the ones that are up and coming bike racers👊🦋
@@ChrisHornerCycling Yeah, completely down to the race organisers and a lack of clear communication, its things like this that seem small but can change the outcome of the biggest one day race on the calendar...smacks of unprofessionalism and poorly conceived race implementation. Again, the UCI need to ensure protocols are in place for instances such as this...knuckleheads aplenty!! I often think one of the best things the UCI could do would be to employ consultation from business leads outside of cycling to ensure common sense, and checks and balances are applied objectively and methodically to the organisation of such events...a different perspective can provide incredibly valuable oversight in such situations.
@@davidmam that much is clear, but this isnt simply driving on the road around the city, this is a UCI Road cycling race so racing rules and behaviours supersede UK driving laws in this specific instance, that’s why all those bikes are there riding around the city..
@@davidmam So what you’re suggesting is, rather than have a single standardised system that ensures safety of the riders regardless of the country they’re racing in, they should introduce utterly irrelevant additional risks to rider safety just to drive on the right side of the road, which, is of absolutely no benefit to anyone during a race scenario? …sounds sensible…🥺
i teared up at the end, which i dont usually do haha. but man, what a season MvdP had, he set 6 goals: Cyclocross Worlds, Milan San Remo, Ronde van vlaanderen, Paris Roubaix and the worlds road race and MTB. winning 4 and finishing 2nd in the Ronde and still the MTB to come. Must be the best one day racer this year for sure!
Well Chris, as you sead it at the beginning, this is the 6'th classic of the year, so naturally the podium had the 3 best classic riders of this year. I'm a MVDP fun so i'm happy with the result :) for WVA this year is not the best year, only silver in every big race, cyclocross, classics, and now world championship. Really happy with the podium, my 3 favorites all there. Great cover of the race sir, loved your tiny special details :)
Denmark's tactics where based on the analysis that Mads Pedersen is the best when everyone gets exhausted. So they where trying to introduce as much fatigue in everyone and then gamling that they could have Asgreen/Skelmose together with Mads Pedersen at last. Skelmose had a mechanical otherwise he would have been part of the last 10 riders. My point is that you have 8 riders it is not a big problem spending 3 riders making the race hard if that is what your leader benefits from. In reality the tactics worked they where reduced to only the favorites after a long hard day. This what was Denmark had planned. Pogacar spend his teammates because he knew that none of them could do anything later. He knew he would be alone and by setting some tempo he could hope to drop a Belgian or Danish domestique. It makes sense.
Exactly! It's a bit hard to call that part of the tactics a "knucklehead move" bc it was probably the danish team aggressive riding early on that that was the reason why the Belgian team never dominated as expected! But would call it a "knucklehead move" that both Pedersen and Skjelmose had problems with the tires when the rain came - a little funny when they both ride on Lidl-trek equipment?! And half the team wasn't there when it counted (Cort, Honorè, Asgreen and Bjerg(mechanics)) I think it's fair to question the danish team selection of rider. U could also ask why u didn't send Cort or Honorè into the early break instead of having them around for 2 rounds ?
Exactly. Pedersen profits from a hard race. You also have to take in account that the large Belgian team can easily can disrupt the chase and even block the narrow roads if Evenepoel would throw in one of his "Hulk smash!" ((C) Lanterne Rouge) long range attacks. Beforehand it was considered possible Evenepoel might have trouble with positioning on the circuit. That turned out to be true. You could even see the Danes and some other teams always put in extra effort in the super technical park section. Evenepoel immediately got in trouble and lost a lot of energy coming back. This also made the race harder for Van Aert and the Belgian domestiques: wait for Remco to come back or keep up the pace for Wout? Who to help? So the Danish team did an excellent job: dropped Philipsen and Kooy early, Evenepoel constantly had to get back to the front and the Belgians had to make difficult tactical decisions in confusing situations. Pedersen himself made a few weird attempts to go solo that seemed pretty stupid though. Van der Poel rode way smarter.
@MartijnterHaar in retrospektiv could probably have saved some energy by not making these "weird attacks", but I think the danish team had expected that the final break would go way before than it did - like it did in the jr. In the end he ended outside the podium and I think the main reason was the WVA and Pedersen rode for silver were Pogačar rode for silver or bronze - noticed he skipped a lead every 2nd time since MVDP got away! But what a race and the rightfully winner!
@@jonasjensen6421its a bit naive thinking mads pederssen could beat mvdp van aert pogacar 3 monsters, pederssen should have make belgium do more work, in the last km he could have 2 riders with him instead, and he closed many gaps by himself and even trued an attack that for sure was paid later on the race
Thank you Chris! One of the reasons the Dutch were at the back of the peleton after the protest is that Mathieu had to go number two 💩 at some local residents 🤣🤣😁😁
The finish for second place was a testament of how gruelling this race was. Van Aert taking nearly ten seconds within the last km and Pogacar beating superior sprinter Pedersen for third.
I believe here is where the difference between stagerider and one-day riders mentality/strategy comes into play. Please notice the podium is Flanders 1,2,3,4! The Danes made it hard from 140 km out because Mads needs it to be hard. He can’t follow the 3 others ( 3 of the most explosive riders in the world) on the climbs if they are “fresh” but when all are tired they are less explosive on the climbs. A real bummer was that the Trek team tires were useless in the wet conditions… first Skelmose tried to let out air to improve the grip (and was dropped) and finally Mads couldn’t follow WVA in the corners wasting energy out of every corner. Kudos to Pogi who put down a good sprint even though he was totally cross eyed from fatigue… what a group of Champions… they all 4 would have been worthy winners imo. MvP was just outstanding on the day… he prepared perfectly, had the perfect route (including rain) and executed like a Champion!
Denmark strategy was to make it hard to lose Philipsen, and it worked. Mads was the best sprinter left in the group, in case it ended altogether. Of course, it didn't.. but that selection was made because of their work. I think Pedersen was the second strongest in the race. He only finished fourth because he had already spent his matches for 150km.
i rate a one day race winner over a stage race winner every day because in a stage race more than half the peleton have zero interest in actually winning, some are racing for the win, some to get through the stage and others protecting the GC. In a one day race its all about the W!. I have seen WVA win a mountain finish yes incredible feat for a heavier rider yes!!!!! but the mountain goats weren't racing against him , similar to when pidcock won on the alp. again incredible wins i cheered them on but the GC guys were having their own race at the time to be honest
@@MichaelBoogerd I believe Mads wasted lots of energy when he went hard for a break at 118km. Ridiculous. Then tried for another Quixotic long range break. The race was already hard and if he'd saved a little more he might have had enough to hang with MvdP...or at least beat Pog in the sprint.
By sheer luck we happened to be on that corner and MVDP ended up virtually under our feet (on the screenshots you can see my youngest son's red shorts through the barrier). About a minute before my older son said "this looks like a tricky corner, hope no one crashes!" It might be hard to see on TV coverage but there were lots uneveness in the surface from previous roadworks, manhole covers, etc. It was crazy how quickly it all happened, even so I was still expecting the chasing group to come round the corner and pile into Mathieu and the neutral service bike. The last timecheck I'd seen on GCN was around 25-30 seconds but on the course the time gaps seemed 20-30 seconds more than GCN was showing - same with gap from van Aert, Pogecar, Pedersen to the next group.
Thanks for the great summary. That was quite a race! I have to say that us, cycling viewers, are quite lucky now with so many great riders for classics and GT. Also, having Pogacar competing in the classics (and winning some!) as well as in the grand tours is quite refreshing. Concerning the race, as a French man, I was not really impressed by my country (as you said, why did not they all wait for Laporte?), but my favorite rider being WVA, I had quite a nice day.
I am just wondering what was the probability of making 1 or 2 minutes back even with good support of 3-4 tired teammates while the race is being done upfront? Knowing the race was still long and with good measured pacing, maybe that could have worked out. Maybe. But clearly with bodies all over the place, neither hearts no minds were coming together.
I'm with you: my fave riders are MVDP, Wout, and Tadeg, so I was thrilled. I think that no one waited for LaPorte because, on that course, there is no point. There is no helpful draft from a teammate, so Christophe does as well as he can on his own. not like he can draft teammates and get back on. Even surfing the caravan is not helpful on a course like this.
We're so spoiled at the moment with the number of riders at the highest level, when it came down to the four guys who made the selection, I really was thinking it could have been anyone of them that won, what a great race, and a great win by MvP, I think the greatest wins come from having the greatest competition, and there was no shortage of that today.
Hi Chris I really like your channel. Wow I was researching your career and you had such a long career. Congratulations. I raced in the mid 80s to '90s to give you an idea I did race with Levi in Utah, in about my last year of racing and I think he was about 17 or 18 years old. Nice kid from what I remember. He had a habit of going off the front for a long period of time. But I stopped following cycling and I didn't realize how successful he became. Now back as a fan and really like what's happening in cycling.
No Radio made it even more exiting to watch. And big applause to all 3 on podium. Shame 3 coudnt chase MVDP and have even more interesting finish. Hope next year Tadej can get his rainbow short too!
What a race. MVDP is unreal. This was a battle of attrition! Now Chris how can you not move MVDP ahead of WVA on your list of best riders in the world? I think he’s deserved it!
He may bulk up this winter to try to take Roubaix next spring. Said it was one of his goals but that he was a bit too light, would love to see what he could do !
@@FlyingPastilla for a next few years Pogi`s focus will be pretty much the same - TDF or Giro/Vuelta + other races. Roubaix will come, but as he said it - he needs to be 5 to 10kg heavier and this will not gonna happen with TDF in the same year.
Belgium a couple of years ago was better balanced but still a street circuit. That one was a criterium for hyperactive neurotic riders with supernatural gyroscopic abilities.
Great analysis. I was spectating on the climb up George Street. When MVDP went up there in the first lap, he was so at ease, I thought that he'd jump there on the last lap. My prediction was a lap out, but he was a worthy winner and will make a great champion. The guy will go on to even greater things, for sure.
WHAT!!! After winning MS, Roubaix, WC and 2nd in Flanders...IN 1 YEAR...!¡! By the way also leading out Philipsen for 4 TDF victories is exceptional... And we are still talking only about road.... AND HE IS NOT EVEN TOP 5...??? KNUCKLEHEADISM OF EXCEPTIONAL PROPORTIONS... 😂😂😂
Seem to my novice mind that Pogacar is being sandwiched by specialists. Pogi is a great all rounder, can climb, can sprint, can do weeks long tour, can win one day races. But in TDF he faced tour/climbing specialist in Vingegaard, and here he faced one day specialist powerhouse like Wout and MvDP.
It's not a surprise to see Pogi here. He's one of the crew, and certainly not being sandwiched. Ronde van Vlaanderen's top 4 riders made the race, and guess who won Flanders with the same supremacy as Van der Poel did today? Van Aert and Pogacar will win their jersey in the future.
That final group of four were all riders who are very likely to get (road) rainbow strips at some point in their career. I know as a rider that would have been a brutal race, but as a spectator ... WOW! They went into the circuit as if it were a 50k criterium, not a 150k circuit after a 120k "warmup". To have just over 25% of the riders finish shows just how brutal it was. MVDP was simply on another level.
It would be interesting to know the reasons for the drop outs - for example on the circuit if you had a mechanical and needed a team car for a new bike then your race was over as there was no way even the best rider could catch up - this is what happened to Jasper Phillipsen and also to Christophe Laporte. Both tried to catch up but soon realised it was useless. Also there is the fact that if you were not already on your last circuit when MVDP crossed the finish then the commissars pulled you off and you were listed as DNF. Be interested to know how many that affected.
One of them said it was like riding a junior race, which pretty much summed up your commentary. Impressive by MVDP, treated the last 20km like a cyclo-cross race, very happy for him.
Off course I enjoyed the race, I'm Dutch, so 😊. It was very entertaining, a small road, lots of turns and climbs. Mathieu and Wout are field riders so they had the skills in all the bends and it was a lot of interval parts. After 38 years a new Dutch world champion. Joop Zoetemelk was the last who took the rainbow jersey, he was then 38 years old. Joop told the media as a 76 year old he enjoyed the racing by Mathieu.
MVDP benefits from two things: 1) Not having a strong team, so he can sit in more and not be looked at to work as much. 2) And his ability to attack and gain a gap over a strong group of favorites, forcing them into a situation where they look at each other and not want to give 100% to chase. He's used these tactics over and over, and his timing is great.
I don't know what Remco said in the english interview before the start, but the dutch one definitely didn't at all fit with him saying that he loved the course and that it was set up for him. If he did, I think he was likely talking about the fact that it would be a hard race, which usually is in his favour. Being at the back likely wasn't a decision from him, rather that he couldn't maintain a position further forward with his worse skills in cornering and him not being the kind of rider that can deal with all these accelerations, but rather more a steady pace rider. He mentioned that his attacks were more for Wout than himself, since the corners were just sapping his legs too much. Pogacar for example is also a smaller/lighter rider, but one that is naturally quite explosive/punchy and has done some CX since the youth categories, so he didn't have the disadvantage of these corners as much. This is something Remco needs to work on: his cornering abilities which he never really worked on due to coming into cycling late and being just so damn strong. In most races it doesn't matter (and he'll likely never see one as technical as today ever again), but in some it can make some difference, especially in a TT (like last years WC) and descending.
It was a kermesse for 120km. WoW! And guess who's number 1 in the kermesse... yip the current Cross Country World Champion. So now he's double World Champion and next weekend he's targetting his triple on mountainbike World Championships. Pogi in the interview said he was totally destroyed. Hardest race ever.
I dont know how many riders actually finished race, but all of them deserv medals :) This race was INCREDIBLE and really show who are the best riders in the world.
MVDP attack would be the type that LRCP calls thermonuclear. and he would be right. jesus christ man they had 240k's in the legs and he just turned on the rocket engine. what a legend
100% not sure why Chris Horner fails to point out lack of race radios and impact this has. You dont know if your teammate is off the back, the only thing you know is if there is a split, you are cooked. So everyone trying to stay in front, and keeping pace high to unload pretenders. Remarkable race won absolutely in the order of the strongest rider 1 through 5. No sneaky breakaways, no brilliant/poor tactics, just a brutal survival of the fittest. Every move in the last 70km was a selection. I personally dont buy the impact the crash had from the Ecuadorian.
the belgian TV channel, sporza, commented afterwards that evenenpoel does not have the habit or ability to feel comfortable within the pack. He is used to be in the front of the peloton with his team around, or just going solo. That thing has cost him a few places, but for sure he wasnt the one who could have won anyway. Thats the strong guys like mvdp or mads pedersen or van aert. Pogacar always amazes, his third place is really good in this championship.
I liked the way MVDP said he was thinking about 'revanche' for last year's shocking experience in Australia. Also, Evenepoel had some very strong attacks, one of which put Pogacar on the limit to claw back. I think the legs were there but the circuit got the better of him technique wise.
when it comes to peak performance, my man MVDP is unmatched! Especially on a circuit like that one. A paved cyclo-cross course. Dropping Pog and WWA like that is a remarkable feat. Evenepoel is an excellent rider, but the other three (+Vinegar) are in a different league
I don't see Vingegaard doing anything on a course like this, he just peaks tdf which is a remarkable performance. But against these three on any one day race like this he won't stand a chance. Which in my eyes makes Tadej such an incredible superstar
@@badsamaritansofficial6704 I wasn't including Vingegaard as contender in these one day racing, in fact, he didn't even try. But in a tour, someone that isn't Pog, doesn't stand a chance. Indeed, I still rank Pog nr1, disagreeing with Chris, for your same reason
Incredible last 16 km of Mathieu. Hed didn't just lose a buckle but also half a shoe plate. "it didn't matter", he told the interviewer on Dutch tv. He is also competing in the MTB worlds: "I am here and feeling good, so why not?".
@@epincion "I am not looking forward to getting out of bed tomorrow", was his first reaction on Dutch tv. But he also said that he thought it was all superficial. I wouldn't count him out in this form.
@@jeroenschoondergang5923 depends upon how his body reacts to the wounds. Sometimes a lot of catabolic hormones get released as a response. It destroys form.
Having watched the cross season as well, this course was as close as a paved course can be to a cross circuit and MVDP knows and has the legs and skills to maximize output. Agree with all those who said a world champion cross rider knows how to minimize crash damage and immediately get up and roll that chain on.
That course was never going to end in a field sprint so Belgium might as well have taken another rider (than JP). Have to say MVP was hugely impressive as he repeatedly had a more powerful punch than the rest of the selection. Loved that he was able to pick himself up from the fall and finish so well. Not the kind of course I would want to see too often but interesting occasionally.
Philipsen can survive easily though and is very strong at cornering. He won many races this year in a reduced sprint and second in Roubaix in front of wva. It's just bad luck with the little crash he had, can't come back from that.
@@badsamaritansofficial6704 Maybe it's ok to do if you thought they all might coast thru it and no other worthy Belgians, but that was highly unlikely and they already had a strong sprinter - Wout. Jasper doesn't have the staying power for hills like even Kooij or Matthews.
i agree the radios can make so many bike races alot less entertaining as the whole race usually becomes controlled with entire teams thoughtless and always on the exact same page as robot minded at each and every moment ... so to the general viewers it becomes almost like as if the main peloton are still in the neutral zone until just the last 250 meters and even if someone else does manage to win it on breakaway .. This race with all the extra knuckle head actions was one of the most fun to watch ive seen in a long time! ...on a side note i understand although no long sustained mtn. climbs, this course still totaled over 11,000 feet of climbing so afterwards that does lends itself to guys like Pogacar and i think Vingegaard could likely have been a strong factor had he been at this race especially if he was to make there at the end teaming up and taking turns in attacks with Danish mate Mads Peterson..
A race and a course that reminded me a lot of a race, I believe in 2003, that you won, Chris, the San Francisco Gran Prix. Another brutally tough course.
Chris the world is fallen apart for you. MVP is not even on your top five cyclists, yet he delivers again this season with all the big guns on the race.
Yeah your correct. mdvp is in top 5 in one day races without long climbs over 7 or 8 percent gradients. He has to be the laws of physics won't allow him to win those type of races
Chris, regarding your criticism of the Danish tactics of pulling the peloton too soon because there were Belgiums in it: Wouldn’t the Belgiums have been happy bringing Jasper Phillipsen to the goal line for a bunch sprint? Mads Pedersen needed to make it a hard race and couldn’t necessarily count on the Belgiums to do it because they had Phillipsen? Thanks for many great insights AND for being an inspiration for all us +40 dudes with your old man-Vuelta win back in ‘13 👍
The Belgian coach said that Denmark was playing into their tactics with what they were doing. If not for the Danes, the Belgians would have made this race so hard. At one moment, when almost all Danes were spent, Belgium still had 5 riders in the front 25.... so yeah
What a great win for MVDP! And my hats off to N.P. he put in a great effort!! Thanks Chris. I bet Wout is getting tired of finishing 2nd tp MVDP. I think MVDP moves up to number 4 in my book.
@@TheWorldisaLIE2 yes but Wout can not also. They both can win stages. And wout was my number 4 but he finished second to MVDP all this year so I moved Wout to 5 and MVDP up to 4. How do you place MVDP?
@@johnburns4157 MVDP can be 5th, 1: Jonas, 2. Primoz 3. Tadej 4. Remco. remember Remco can win grand tours like he proved last year plus win the rainbow jersey and was strong in the giro before covid and then just won san Sebastian.
Nah chris rankings is weighted to the GC riders but he does hold a special spot for one day bike racers ..wout held it for some time ...waiting to hear chris say it mvdp!!!but chris is like "i cant do it , i cant do it " pull thru chris pull thru ...🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
It didn't look like the 3 chasers were working well together to bring back MVDP. If you aren't fully committed and working together, you're not bringing him back. They were racing for second at that point.
Part of it was that Pog was at his limit (he said so post race) in the final two laps and could not follow WVA up those steep ramps. This was true of Mads as well but to a lesser extent. The parcour suited CX riders and even then no WC level CX has a 180km run in before a 2.5 hr long brutal 11 circuits. To me Mads was very impressive as he is far more a sprinter than climber and yet he survived to come 4th
One thing I noticed was that Wout was looking for food in his back pocket about 1/2 to 3/4 lap before MVDP attacked but had run out. He was low on energy for the attack and it showed. He restocked at the feed station and started to look a little sharper a wee while after that. Doubt it would have made much difference to the end result as MVDP looked so much stronger than the other 3 but it would have been interesting if Wout had held the wheel over the top and sat on.
Kinda missed on the point that MVDP is the current CX World Champ as well. He's the 1st to do so i believe. Handled that crash so well. Hopefully you tackle Remco's supposed rise. Doesnt look that way to me. MVDP should be ADs main boy now.
MVDP sould be on butterfly short list. San Remo, Roubaix, World double title. On the hunt for Mountain buke as well. I forget, he drop van aert, pog and Remco by today.
MVP is definitely on top of my list. A bit more like Boonen or Sagan, so not a tt guy like Van Aert or Cancellara, but quite dominant in situations like today.
Mvdp has the ability to do an excellent tt if he chooses to , remember tdf 21 think he came 5th one second behind wout and didnt train on a tt bike..he just dosent consider tt bike racing his focus is elsewhere
I don't know if I'd call Wout a TT guy, he is good at the TT, but just as MVDP he is a fantastic all rounder......WVA has won at Ventoux and Champs.... I'm a huge WVA fan and I have to start to look at the fact that MVDP may have the better of him mentally. I will say we are lucky to be witnessing the two greats have battle after battle.... I would like to see WVA get a big cobblestone for his trophy case.
2023 World Champion Road Race: 1 Matje vd Poel 2 Wout van Aert 2023 World Champion Cyclo Cross 1 Matje vd Poel 2 Wout van Aert Next week Mountain Bike Worlds with Matje starting!!! Can he make it a TRIFECTA for best year ever?!?!
The Cyclo-Cross was in early February in The NLs. ('Veldrijden' in Dutch). That's what they like doing in the winter instead of going indoors. They know each other well.....
There was a short video in De Telegraaf (Dutch) newspaper a few days ago of MvdP SPRINTING up that hill where he made that final attack which was obviously not only pre-planned but even 'practiced' during recon. Last Dutch World Champ was Joop Zoetemelk 38 yrs ago (when he was 38).
With MVDP the best and strongest rider of the day has won. It was a great day for cycling as well. traditional cycling is making way for modern cycling. A big thank you to Glasgow for organizing such a great cycling event!!!
Mathieu van der Poel has won Milano-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix and this monster of a race all in one year. And in each race dropping the worlds best riders with a monsterous attack, making them look like juniors. The guy is incredible. I think he's the best one day racer in the world. When he wants to win, there is really no one who can stop him.
Not to forget the Cyclocross World Championship, where he left van Aert in the dust (or mud) during the finish... So he's a double world champion right now. Whether you like him or not, that guy is a damn machine.
Word on the street is during the road break thanks to the envirofreaks Vanderpoel dropped a Vanderstool at the spectators house! 👍🏻 That's the secret! I'm working on Patenting "Tour Depends" Lighten the Load on the Road to Victory! 👍🏻🚴🏴 Great race they were all gassed at the end. It'll be something if Matt pulls off another victory a cycle cross what a beast...
Yes, depending on how he recovers from falling off and this gruelling race, I rate him above Pidcock for MTB victory now. Would then equal PFP's remarkable achievement of road, cyclocross and MTB in same year. 👍
MVDP proved that the lack of sleep coupled with the legal confusion in Australia, was indeed a hindrance! Imagine the possible results if MVDP did not crash!
Remco is going to slide way down in the standings once he loses the Vuelta! Terrible at Tour de Swiss and he looked unworld class today. Nobody beats MVDP on his good days! Pogacar was amazing. Wish Wout well on future races.
For me the Vuelta gets a higher meaning than in earlier years (of course with the exception of 2013 😉) as it will prove some theories on JV, Primoz and Remco
Surely the reason the cars stop on the left in UK is that the steering wheel and driver are on the right. If they stopped on the right the mechanics would be getting out and opening the doors into the riders.
A course built for mountain bike racers. Punchers all day. Closer to a hilly criteruim than a world class road course. I am however happy with the results!! Maybe now Pog will do some off-season MTB. Cyclocross was big back in the day for the professionals.
He said the constant accelerating to 1000 Watts was difficult for him. It was why he could not stay up on front. Could not accelerate time and again to stay up front.
@@koopalibraryhis big strengths are sustained effort and aero bike position - both he could not really use. Bike handling and maintaining position in the bunch are his (relative) weaknesses, and they really caused him trouble. In fact I expected him to be dropped in the first or second lap. It was actually quite impressive that he instead even managed to attack a few times after struggling to keep contact with the back of the group. This race didn't say much about his overal level compared to Pogacar.
This is just not his kind of course, that was honestly clear before the race (as he himself admitted afterwards). Plus he has amassed an amazing palmares without ever really racing MVDP, WVA and Pogacar, completely different level of opposition. Last year he did great, but they also basically gifted him the race. Vuelta is a completely different proposition, so this race does not really tell us much about his form. He will definitely be stronger there, but his opposition will also be stronger Tasha’s ever.
These 10 rounds at Glasgow were just like a cyclo-cross, but with asfalt. All these narrow corners and climbs. Very technical. Constantly breaking and then pulling again. So, it's no surprise that MVP finished 1st and Wout 2nd. Pogacar was a surprise. As a Belgian, I also follow cyclo-cross, and that's indeed very technical with a lot of short corners and climbs. Constantly breaking and full gas coming out of the corners. So I hope they do not pick a track like this anymore for the next world championship on the road. I would call Glasgow a semi cyclo-cross championship instead. It demands a totally different training program, and then the strongest rider wins in the end. Not the strongest team. I think many cyclo-cross fans will agree.
I agree. Great course to have but only on a rare occasion. The joy of the UCI World Road Championship is that its always in a different place and the local organisers + the UCI put together a unique course parcour each time. This paved CX type of course won't be seen again for a decade at least.
Racing on a circuit like this is completely different from riding your average TdF stage or even one day race, your standard strategy rules do not apply, It is a game of attrition, and even when the Belgians still had 5riders in that group it was very clear that WVA was the only one that still had anything left in the legs. Even Remco’s attacks were completely lackluster, looking over his shoulder as soon as he accelerated. Denmark pacing was also not that stupid at all. If you leave everything to Belgium they can keep all of their three favorites in the game. The Denmark pacing in the end resulted in making it a mano a mano fight with only WVA left, so a much better situation for Denmark.
I think the main factor behind the descision to take charge of the race was the fact that Belgium had Jasper Philipsen available; he was basically the number one guy to get rid off! Denmark obviously wanted the hardest possible race, because we believe Mads can be the strongest rider on such a race day. And even if he wasn't, there would still be a chance of Asgreen or Skjelmose hanging on in front of the race. Or maybe even Kragh-Andersen could hang on and make an old school puncheur move, if on his best form. Asgreen just didn't have the legs on the day, but he was assigned co-captain alongside Mads ahead of the race. I think Mads actually did look the strongest rider in this race, but he didn't ride as clever as Mathieu or Wout or Tadej, who did not take as many leads as Mads did. Maybe a little too eager, because he felt strong on the day. But very impressed with his riding, I honestly haven't seen him look this strong, ever! I do think the aggressive approach from the danish team knocked out France pretty good. Also, it was really good to see the Italian team looking strong in this race. Especially Trentin, I felt bad for him when he crashed. But also a brave attack by Bettiol, that looked promising for a short while. I mean, WHAT A RACE. And hats off to MVDP, who is gonna look pretty good in that shirt tbh
Think the gap would of been bigger to the break without the protest. That fired the bunch up for sure to close it down faster. The circuit was just natural selection of the best guys who could handle it . Perfect result of expected form ..
Glad I did find this channel I'm new in watching cycling but enjoy the action I think Pogacar should consider not trying to race and win every event but rather be selective He might burn himself out if he race too much 😮
Thats way he is the best rider in the world. Roglic is more selective probably coz he is older and he goes for races that suits him better. There was only one race for Pogacar that he was not on podium he was outsprinted by Wout for 3rd place and one that he chrashed. Every other race he was on podium.
Certainly looks different from late night 30 years ago when I saw the stereotype old geezer stagger out of doss house bar in Sauchiehall Street, turn down alley, and vomit
Remco and Philipsen obviously didn't have the legs right from the start. Once again, Poor Wout spent the whole race covering moves and riding on the front like he always does. MVDP sat on the back in every move (though kudos to him for being in every move, except for the knucklehead move after the protest.) When the time came MVDP had the legs because he never once covered a move the way Pog, Wout and Mads did. Smart riding by MVDP.
Remco had fine legs, wouldn't have attacked if he wasn't good. He attacked after having closed multiple gaps to join the front.. Remco was just at the back of the group 90% of the time. And on this course, gaps will ALWAYS appear. So he had to constantly close gaps and with the favorites at the front attacking, there was no calm in the race. Had he positioned himself like Pogačar, he would've had a chance to be in the front group or attacking before that. Pogi spent a lot of energy chasing his attacks. He lost the wheel in the corners a lot too, but if he was 5th wheel all the time, other ppl would've closed gaps for him and there would've always been favorites behind him who would want to close it.. Weird tactics and one of the reasons Belgium lost yesterday.
this no radio thing really shows how cycling was back in the day and it really makes tactics so hard, why really adds a new/difficult dynamic to the game, love it!!
Yes, yes, and yes. Mr. Horner himself accused many of being knuckleheads. Why? Cause they didn’t have their boss in their ear telling em what to do as he watched on tv in a car.
There are numerous things that could be happening in a breakaway, or chase group, that would be key info to help you (eg who’s working, who’s sitting on, who’s come off, have groups joined, ad nauseum)? Without radios, if you want to win, you have to stay in position to watch.
Btw, the riders’ cry that radios are for safety is silly bs. For safety there could be a race radio from a lead vehicle warning of every pebble in the road.
Very little in this race was imo down to no radio's, rather the initial tactic of the riders and the course. We've seen several races this year and last year that were almost just as good as today, despite using radio's.
It doesn't really make sense to ride one day in the year without radio's, the riders are just not used to it, unlike back in the day (which at that time imo was also a more individual sport).
@@bikerbruce1988 Chris constantly accuses rider of being knuckleheads almost every race, so I don't think the no radio thing was that influential.
Agree,I so prefer watching races withoutn radios
The only drawback I see is in point to point races on unfamiliar roads ie Grand Tours; the riders cannot be alerted to potentially dangerous road conditions
@@seanconnolly2840 exactly. So…”race radio” for all riders safety.
so happy MVDP won, my heart dropped when he crashed, also pogi being with the best classics riders even as a gc specialist is incredible.
I literally texted my friend. He’s won. Then he crashed. 😬🦋👊💥🔥
Pogacar beated MVDP a few months ago in De Ronde van Vlaanderen !
@@karelvandervelden8819 that is what makes bike races so exciting nowadays: if the balance shifts only slightly the outcome can be vastly different.
@@ChrisHornerCyclingthen he won !
Maybe more a grand tour rider than a classics guy, but Pogacar has won more monuments than Wout van Aert and Mats Pedersen combined (1 and 0, against 4 for TP)
Chris look at how he remounts the bike after the crash, The "Dirty" side/ chairing side. CX skills came in handy. He is a supreme bike handler which I do believe helped him carry a lot of corner speed aiding in his solo victory.
Not only that but he crashed smart too, he was able to unclip really fast and put his foot down first to ease the fall, probably saving himself and his bike from worse damage
Right. And MVDp got up without hesitation and was gone in no time. 😳🔥🦋👊
A skilled rider could gain about half a second per corner over a less skilled rider for 'free', especially after the rain started. That ads up to minutes of 'bonus' (recuperaton) time.
@@alphaniner3770he slowed down the same corners last lap not to crash 🎉
@@drbonzonew yes - he mentioned that he wasn't taking risks but crashed anyways, indeed it would be silly to take further risks. Still 'not taking risks' is a very rider-dependent statement. Wout said that he noticed that Mads Pedersen was taking corners carefully after the rain started - he used this to secure silver. It is s bummer that no camera was on Küng - he must have done a blistering final lap.
Interesting point about the mechanics stopping on the left in the UK. Always love the unique tidbits you share in your commentary, Chris.
Thanks. I’m always looking for that bit of extra info so you have something different to chat about with your friends later on. And a little coaching for the ones that are up and coming bike racers👊🦋
@@ChrisHornerCycling Yeah, completely down to the race organisers and a lack of clear communication, its things like this that seem small but can change the outcome of the biggest one day race on the calendar...smacks of unprofessionalism and poorly conceived race implementation.
Again, the UCI need to ensure protocols are in place for instances such as this...knuckleheads aplenty!! I often think one of the best things the UCI could do would be to employ consultation from business leads outside of cycling to ensure common sense, and checks and balances are applied objectively and methodically to the organisation of such events...a different perspective can provide incredibly valuable oversight in such situations.
They stop on the near side for the country they are in. The cyclists pass the stopped cars on the drivers side.
@@davidmam that much is clear, but this isnt simply driving on the road around the city, this is a UCI Road cycling race so racing rules and behaviours supersede UK driving laws in this specific instance, that’s why all those bikes are there riding around the city..
@@davidmam So what you’re suggesting is, rather than have a single standardised system that ensures safety of the riders regardless of the country they’re racing in, they should introduce utterly irrelevant additional risks to rider safety just to drive on the right side of the road, which, is of absolutely no benefit to anyone during a race scenario?
…sounds sensible…🥺
This race seemed to be a 6-hour interval session. The attrition rate was staggering.
6 hours cyclocross race
I loved the course, brutal but these are the best riders in the world, it should be brutal!
i teared up at the end, which i dont usually do haha. but man, what a season MvdP had, he set 6 goals: Cyclocross Worlds, Milan San Remo, Ronde van vlaanderen, Paris Roubaix and the worlds road race and MTB. winning 4 and finishing 2nd in the Ronde and still the MTB to come. Must be the best one day racer this year for sure!
Well Chris, as you sead it at the beginning, this is the 6'th classic of the year, so naturally the podium had the 3 best classic riders of this year. I'm a MVDP fun so i'm happy with the result :) for WVA this year is not the best year, only silver in every big race, cyclocross, classics, and now world championship. Really happy with the podium, my 3 favorites all there. Great cover of the race sir, loved your tiny special details :)
Chris you forgot to mention that in the Belgiam team was your man V. Campenaerts
I tried to. But wow there was lots to put together. 😳🦋👊
@@ChrisHornerCyclingThis race really deserves a 2nd video for you to provide even more insights
He attacked at the start and flamed out after 120 Ks. WHAT? he didn't?
Only Chris gets the details that fully explain what went on ... like the freeze frame of MVDP pulling off his broken shoe buckle...Top work!
Great analysis, every time I watch your posts it’s like a lecture. Keep looking for your analysis in the upcoming competitions.
When it is after the fact, it is not difficult and 100% correct!
Thanks 👊🦋🙏
Denmark's tactics where based on the analysis that Mads Pedersen is the best when everyone gets exhausted. So they where trying to introduce as much fatigue in everyone and then gamling that they could have Asgreen/Skelmose together with Mads Pedersen at last. Skelmose had a mechanical otherwise he would have been part of the last 10 riders.
My point is that you have 8 riders it is not a big problem spending 3 riders making the race hard if that is what your leader benefits from. In reality the tactics worked they where reduced to only the favorites after a long hard day. This what was Denmark had planned.
Pogacar spend his teammates because he knew that none of them could do anything later. He knew he would be alone and by setting some tempo he could hope to drop a Belgian or Danish domestique. It makes sense.
Exactly! It's a bit hard to call that part of the tactics a "knucklehead move" bc it was probably the danish team aggressive riding early on that that was the reason why the Belgian team never dominated as expected!
But would call it a "knucklehead move" that both Pedersen and Skjelmose had problems with the tires when the rain came - a little funny when they both ride on Lidl-trek equipment?! And half the team wasn't there when it counted (Cort, Honorè, Asgreen and Bjerg(mechanics)) I think it's fair to question the danish team selection of rider. U could also ask why u didn't send Cort or Honorè into the early break instead of having them around for 2 rounds ?
Not convinced. They could at least have Belgium pull in the break before upping the power spikes.
Exactly. Pedersen profits from a hard race. You also have to take in account that the large Belgian team can easily can disrupt the chase and even block the narrow roads if Evenepoel would throw in one of his "Hulk smash!" ((C) Lanterne Rouge) long range attacks. Beforehand it was considered possible Evenepoel might have trouble with positioning on the circuit. That turned out to be true. You could even see the Danes and some other teams always put in extra effort in the super technical park section. Evenepoel immediately got in trouble and lost a lot of energy coming back. This also made the race harder for Van Aert and the Belgian domestiques: wait for Remco to come back or keep up the pace for Wout? Who to help? So the Danish team did an excellent job: dropped Philipsen and Kooy early, Evenepoel constantly had to get back to the front and the Belgians had to make difficult tactical decisions in confusing situations. Pedersen himself made a few weird attempts to go solo that seemed pretty stupid though. Van der Poel rode way smarter.
@MartijnterHaar in retrospektiv could probably have saved some energy by not making these "weird attacks", but I think the danish team had expected that the final break would go way before than it did - like it did in the jr. In the end he ended outside the podium and I think the main reason was the WVA and Pedersen rode for silver were Pogačar rode for silver or bronze - noticed he skipped a lead every 2nd time since MVDP got away! But what a race and the rightfully winner!
@@jonasjensen6421its a bit naive thinking mads pederssen could beat mvdp van aert pogacar 3 monsters, pederssen should have make belgium do more work, in the last km he could have 2 riders with him instead, and he closed many gaps by himself and even trued an attack that for sure was paid later on the race
Thank you Chris! One of the reasons the Dutch were at the back of the peleton after the protest is that Mathieu had to go number two 💩 at some local residents 🤣🤣😁😁
They should paint rainbow stripes around the bathroom walls now
Actually went in?If this is true ,I applaud your anal-ysis
What a great race! This will be a favorite story for MVDP to tell his grandchildren!
Amazing story to tell right. The poor sprinters must get really jealous, most don’t even come to these races. 😂😜👊🦋
@ChrisHornerCycling definitely not MVDP , No sprinter can beat MVDP on a good day😊
The finish for second place was a testament of how gruelling this race was. Van Aert taking nearly ten seconds within the last km and Pogacar beating superior sprinter Pedersen for third.
MVDP to the kids: “And then… and then… and then…” repeat…
I believe here is where the difference between stagerider and one-day riders mentality/strategy comes into play. Please notice the podium is Flanders 1,2,3,4!
The Danes made it hard from 140 km out because Mads needs it to be hard. He can’t follow the 3 others ( 3 of the most explosive riders in the world) on the climbs if they are “fresh” but when all are tired they are less explosive on the climbs. A real bummer was that the Trek team tires were useless in the wet conditions… first Skelmose tried to let out air to improve the grip (and was dropped) and finally Mads couldn’t follow WVA in the corners wasting energy out of every corner. Kudos to Pogi who put down a good sprint even though he was totally cross eyed from fatigue… what a group of Champions… they all 4 would have been worthy winners imo. MvP was just outstanding on the day… he prepared perfectly, had the perfect route (including rain) and executed like a Champion!
Denmark strategy was to make it hard to lose Philipsen, and it worked. Mads was the best sprinter left in the group, in case it ended altogether. Of course, it didn't.. but that selection was made because of their work. I think Pedersen was the second strongest in the race. He only finished fourth because he had already spent his matches for 150km.
i rate a one day race winner over a stage race winner every day because in a stage race more than half the peleton have zero interest in actually winning, some are racing for the win, some to get through the stage and others protecting the GC. In a one day race its all about the W!. I have seen WVA win a mountain finish yes incredible feat for a heavier rider yes!!!!! but the mountain goats weren't racing against him , similar to when pidcock won on the alp. again incredible wins i cheered them on but the GC guys were having their own race at the time to be honest
@@MichaelBoogerd I believe Mads wasted lots of energy when he went hard for a break at 118km. Ridiculous. Then tried for another Quixotic long range break. The race was already hard and if he'd saved a little more he might have had enough to hang with MvdP...or at least beat Pog in the sprint.
I believe Skjelmose had to let some air out because he had to switch a wheel and that was pumped up too hard?
By sheer luck we happened to be on that corner and MVDP ended up virtually under our feet (on the screenshots you can see my youngest son's red shorts through the barrier). About a minute before my older son said "this looks like a tricky corner, hope no one crashes!" It might be hard to see on TV coverage but there were lots uneveness in the surface from previous roadworks, manhole covers, etc. It was crazy how quickly it all happened, even so I was still expecting the chasing group to come round the corner and pile into Mathieu and the neutral service bike. The last timecheck I'd seen on GCN was around 25-30 seconds but on the course the time gaps seemed 20-30 seconds more than GCN was showing - same with gap from van Aert, Pogecar, Pedersen to the next group.
Thanks for the great summary. That was quite a race! I have to say that us, cycling viewers, are quite lucky now with so many great riders for classics and GT. Also, having Pogacar competing in the classics (and winning some!) as well as in the grand tours is quite refreshing. Concerning the race, as a French man, I was not really impressed by my country (as you said, why did not they all wait for Laporte?), but my favorite rider being WVA, I had quite a nice day.
I am just wondering what was the probability of making 1 or 2 minutes back even with good support of 3-4 tired teammates while the race is being done upfront? Knowing the race was still long and with good measured pacing, maybe that could have worked out. Maybe. But clearly with bodies all over the place, neither hearts no minds were coming together.
I'm with you: my fave riders are MVDP, Wout, and Tadeg, so I was thrilled. I think that no one waited for LaPorte because, on that course, there is no point. There is no helpful draft from a teammate, so Christophe does as well as he can on his own. not like he can draft teammates and get back on. Even surfing the caravan is not helpful on a course like this.
@@perryfeyk1449 I agree with you actually, re-thiniking about it.
We're so spoiled at the moment with the number of riders at the highest level, when it came down to the four guys who made the selection, I really was thinking it could have been anyone of them that won, what a great race, and a great win by MvP, I think the greatest wins come from having the greatest competition, and there was no shortage of that today.
Hi Chris I really like your channel.
Wow I was researching your career and you had such a long career. Congratulations. I raced in the mid 80s to '90s to give you an idea I did race with Levi in Utah, in about my last year of racing and I think he was about 17 or 18 years old. Nice kid from what I remember. He had a habit of going off the front for a long period of time.
But I stopped following cycling and I didn't realize how successful he became.
Now back as a fan and really like what's happening in cycling.
No Radio made it even more exiting to watch. And big applause to all 3 on podium. Shame 3 coudnt chase MVDP and have even more interesting finish. Hope next year Tadej can get his rainbow short too!
It was exciting for us and “exiting” for them.
What a race. MVDP is unreal. This was a battle of attrition! Now Chris how can you not move MVDP ahead of WVA on your list of best riders in the world? I think he’s deserved it!
I can't believe Pogacar was able to stay with the big guys. He looks so tiny on the podium.
Yep. That kid is good 👊🦋
Make sure to watch his interview after the race. He was completely empty. Went really deep. Great effort!
@@mikedittscheyep, he was not looking good for sure!
He may bulk up this winter to try to take Roubaix next spring.
Said it was one of his goals but that he was a bit too light, would love to see what he could do !
@@FlyingPastilla for a next few years Pogi`s focus will be pretty much the same - TDF or Giro/Vuelta + other races. Roubaix will come, but as he said it - he needs to be 5 to 10kg heavier and this will not gonna happen with TDF in the same year.
Rainbow jersey truly suits MVDP! I'm rooting for him since 2021.
💪🦋👊
Can’t remember a better course and race at the world championships. This was as good as it gets. Great crowds too.
Belgium a couple of years ago was better balanced but still a street circuit. That one was a criterium for hyperactive neurotic riders with supernatural gyroscopic abilities.
Great analysis. I was spectating on the climb up George Street. When MVDP went up there in the first lap, he was so at ease, I thought that he'd jump there on the last lap. My prediction was a lap out, but he was a worthy winner and will make a great champion. The guy will go on to even greater things, for sure.
Chris, it would be great to hear from you, if with this performance MVDP can FINALLY make it into the TOP 5 riders on the Butterfly effect :)
WHAT!!!
After winning MS, Roubaix, WC and 2nd in Flanders...IN 1 YEAR...!¡!
By the way also leading out Philipsen for 4 TDF victories is exceptional...
And we are still talking only about road....
AND HE IS NOT EVEN TOP 5...???
KNUCKLEHEADISM OF EXCEPTIONAL PROPORTIONS... 😂😂😂
The fact that there were no radios during the race certainly had an impact on the number of Knuckleheads out there today
loved no radios, wished it was always like that
No radios. No power meters. No TT bikes. This will make pro cycling fun to watch.
Bunch of young guns firing bullets left right and center all day long. Makes for great viewing. 🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🦋👊
@@ChrisHornerCycling like a junior criterium: spectacle.
That is exactly why it was such an entertaining race with so many different attacks.
Seem to my novice mind that Pogacar is being sandwiched by specialists. Pogi is a great all rounder, can climb, can sprint, can do weeks long tour, can win one day races. But in TDF he faced tour/climbing specialist in Vingegaard, and here he faced one day specialist powerhouse like Wout and MvDP.
But in the end he is still the best rider in the world 😎
It's not a surprise to see Pogi here. He's one of the crew, and certainly not being sandwiched. Ronde van Vlaanderen's top 4 riders made the race, and guess who won Flanders with the same supremacy as Van der Poel did today? Van Aert and Pogacar will win their jersey in the future.
That final group of four were all riders who are very likely to get (road) rainbow strips at some point in their career. I know as a rider that would have been a brutal race, but as a spectator ... WOW! They went into the circuit as if it were a 50k criterium, not a 150k circuit after a 120k "warmup". To have just over 25% of the riders finish shows just how brutal it was. MVDP was simply on another level.
It would be interesting to know the reasons for the drop outs - for example on the circuit if you had a mechanical and needed a team car for a new bike then your race was over as there was no way even the best rider could catch up - this is what happened to Jasper Phillipsen and also to Christophe Laporte. Both tried to catch up but soon realised it was useless.
Also there is the fact that if you were not already on your last circuit when MVDP crossed the finish then the commissars pulled you off and you were listed as DNF. Be interested to know how many that affected.
One of them said it was like riding a junior race, which pretty much summed up your commentary. Impressive by MVDP, treated the last 20km like a cyclo-cross race, very happy for him.
It was Matje / Mvdp
Hey Chris, only a knucklehead would think Glasgow is in England.
Off course I enjoyed the race, I'm Dutch, so 😊. It was very entertaining, a small road, lots of turns and climbs.
Mathieu and Wout are field riders so they had the skills in all the bends and it was a lot of interval parts.
After 38 years a new Dutch world champion. Joop Zoetemelk was the last who took the rainbow jersey, he was then 38 years old.
Joop told the media as a 76 year old he enjoyed the racing by Mathieu.
MVDP benefits from two things: 1) Not having a strong team, so he can sit in more and not be looked at to work as much. 2) And his ability to attack and gain a gap over a strong group of favorites, forcing them into a situation where they look at each other and not want to give 100% to chase. He's used these tactics over and over, and his timing is great.
MVDP made it certain that he must never ever fall in his grandfather’s ETERNAL SECOND rut.
3rd
A lot of knuckleheads today. Not having radios makes the racing different. The itt will be good. That mechanic should get a medal.
How about that mechanic. That was some fast acting to get out of the way. Give that guy a medal. 🏅 👊🦋
I don't know what Remco said in the english interview before the start, but the dutch one definitely didn't at all fit with him saying that he loved the course and that it was set up for him. If he did, I think he was likely talking about the fact that it would be a hard race, which usually is in his favour.
Being at the back likely wasn't a decision from him, rather that he couldn't maintain a position further forward with his worse skills in cornering and him not being the kind of rider that can deal with all these accelerations, but rather more a steady pace rider. He mentioned that his attacks were more for Wout than himself, since the corners were just sapping his legs too much.
Pogacar for example is also a smaller/lighter rider, but one that is naturally quite explosive/punchy and has done some CX since the youth categories, so he didn't have the disadvantage of these corners as much.
This is something Remco needs to work on: his cornering abilities which he never really worked on due to coming into cycling late and being just so damn strong. In most races it doesn't matter (and he'll likely never see one as technical as today ever again), but in some it can make some difference, especially in a TT (like last years WC) and descending.
Awesome race. Strongest riders podiumed.
👊😜💪
@@ChrisHornerCycling now you should definitely and finally put MVDP in the top spot on your list!!
It was a kermesse for 120km. WoW! And guess who's number 1 in the kermesse... yip the current Cross Country World Champion. So now he's double World Champion and next weekend he's targetting his triple on mountainbike World Championships.
Pogi in the interview said he was totally destroyed. Hardest race ever.
MvdP races kermesses?
I dont know how many riders actually finished race, but all of them deserv medals :) This race was INCREDIBLE and really show who are the best riders in the world.
51 finishers
51 finishers - once MVDP crossed the line they pulled everyone not already on the final lap
MVDP attack would be the type that LRCP calls thermonuclear. and he would be right. jesus christ man they had 240k's in the legs and he just turned on the rocket engine. what a legend
Thermobiblical!🎉
Big boy attack. Certainly 👊🦋💪💥🔥
See you are Jesus disciple
I'm so glad Jasper got dropped and didn't knock anyone out of the race.
And Groenwegen didn't even participate so everyone was safe (although Olav Kooij did fall early on)
Im just all aboard the Jasper hate train
Yep called it yesterday.. again. I wonder if MVDP reads the comments sections.. obviously they watch it.😜
😂
Whenever there’s less sprinters it’s always a bit safer. 🤔🦋👍
100% not sure why Chris Horner fails to point out lack of race radios and impact this has. You dont know if your teammate is off the back, the only thing you know is if there is a split, you are cooked. So everyone trying to stay in front, and keeping pace high to unload pretenders. Remarkable race won absolutely in the order of the strongest rider 1 through 5. No sneaky breakaways, no brilliant/poor tactics, just a brutal survival of the fittest. Every move in the last 70km was a selection. I personally dont buy the impact the crash had from the Ecuadorian.
the belgian TV channel, sporza, commented afterwards that evenenpoel does not have the habit or ability to feel comfortable within the pack. He is used to be in the front of the peloton with his team around, or just going solo. That thing has cost him a few places, but for sure he wasnt the one who could have won anyway. Thats the strong guys like mvdp or mads pedersen or van aert. Pogacar always amazes, his third place is really good in this championship.
I liked the way MVDP said he was thinking about 'revanche' for last year's shocking experience in Australia. Also, Evenepoel had some very strong attacks, one of which put Pogacar on the limit to claw back. I think the legs were there but the circuit got the better of him technique wise.
when it comes to peak performance, my man MVDP is unmatched!
Especially on a circuit like that one. A paved cyclo-cross course.
Dropping Pog and WWA like that is a remarkable feat.
Evenepoel is an excellent rider, but the other three (+Vinegar) are in a different league
I don't see Vingegaard doing anything on a course like this, he just peaks tdf which is a remarkable performance. But against these three on any one day race like this he won't stand a chance. Which in my eyes makes Tadej such an incredible superstar
@@badsamaritansofficial6704 I wasn't including Vingegaard as contender in these one day racing, in fact, he didn't even try. But in a tour, someone that isn't Pog, doesn't stand a chance. Indeed, I still rank Pog nr1, disagreeing with Chris, for your same reason
Incredible last 16 km of Mathieu. Hed didn't just lose a buckle but also half a shoe plate. "it didn't matter", he told the interviewer on Dutch tv. He is also competing in the MTB worlds: "I am here and feeling good, so why not?".
Lot of doubt that he will front up for the MTB given his crash
@@epincion "I am not looking forward to getting out of bed tomorrow", was his first reaction on Dutch tv. But he also said that he thought it was all superficial. I wouldn't count him out in this form.
@@jeroenschoondergang5923 depends upon how his body reacts to the wounds. Sometimes a lot of catabolic hormones get released as a response. It destroys form.
@@S0ulinth3machin3 we'll see
@@jeroenschoondergang5923 I hope he rides and wins the race. Just not counting on it.
Having watched the cross season as well, this course was as close as a paved course can be to a cross circuit and MVDP knows and has the legs and skills to maximize output. Agree with all those who said a world champion cross rider knows how to minimize crash damage and immediately get up and roll that chain on.
Wow! and Pogacar winning the sprint on a sprinter! AND I saw the amount of folks with DNF is huge!! is that normal for the Road World Championships?
Yeah it's pretty normal. With it being a one day race once they don't have a chance of winning or helping a teammate win they abandon
Anytime there are laps with a tent close by you will see some drop outs. Today was a bit higher rate though. Something like 75%. 😬🦋🔥
@@paulderheim1250also once the winner crossed the line all riders not in their final lap get pulled
That has to have been the most brutal savage worlds course ever! My legs hurt just watching !
And mine 😜👊🦋💪
That course was never going to end in a field sprint so Belgium might as well have taken another rider (than JP). Have to say MVP was hugely impressive as he repeatedly had a more powerful punch than the rest of the selection. Loved that he was able to pick himself up from the fall and finish so well. Not the kind of course I would want to see too often but interesting occasionally.
Philipsen can survive easily though and is very strong at cornering. He won many races this year in a reduced sprint and second in Roubaix in front of wva. It's just bad luck with the little crash he had, can't come back from that.
@@badsamaritansofficial6704 Maybe it's ok to do if you thought they all might coast thru it and no other worthy Belgians, but that was highly unlikely and they already had a strong sprinter - Wout. Jasper doesn't have the staying power for hills like even Kooij or Matthews.
It was another cyclecross that requires technical and high levels of concentration. The Remcos had no chance on this one...chapeau 🎉 to mvdp.
Remco looked lost at times. So strange how he raced it today. 🤔🦋
i agree the radios can make so many bike races alot less entertaining as the whole race usually becomes controlled with entire teams thoughtless and always on the exact same page as robot minded at each and every moment ... so to the general viewers it becomes almost like as if the main peloton are still in the neutral zone until just the last 250 meters and even if someone else does manage to win it on breakaway .. This race with all the extra knuckle head actions was one of the most fun to watch ive seen in a long time! ...on a side note i understand although no long sustained mtn. climbs, this course still totaled over 11,000 feet of climbing so afterwards that does lends itself to guys like Pogacar and i think Vingegaard could likely have been a strong factor had he been at this race especially if he was to make there at the end teaming up and taking turns in attacks with Danish mate Mads Peterson..
A race and a course that reminded me a lot of a race, I believe in 2003, that you won, Chris, the San Francisco Gran Prix. Another brutally tough course.
Tough race, won by a strong man!!!
True that 💪🦋👊
Chris the world is fallen apart for you. MVP is not even on your top five cyclists, yet he delivers again this season with all the big guns on the race.
Yeah your correct. mdvp is in top 5 in one day races without long climbs over 7 or 8 percent gradients. He has to be the laws of physics won't allow him to win those type of races
Chris, regarding your criticism of the Danish tactics of pulling the peloton too soon because there were Belgiums in it: Wouldn’t the Belgiums have been happy bringing Jasper Phillipsen to the goal line for a bunch sprint? Mads Pedersen needed to make it a hard race and couldn’t necessarily count on the Belgiums to do it because they had Phillipsen?
Thanks for many great insights AND for being an inspiration for all us +40 dudes with your old man-Vuelta win back in ‘13 👍
Mads Pedersen and skjelmose completely destroyed 60% of the peloton they where maniacs on a mission but Denmark made a very exiting race
The Belgian coach said that Denmark was playing into their tactics with what they were doing. If not for the Danes, the Belgians would have made this race so hard. At one moment, when almost all Danes were spent, Belgium still had 5 riders in the front 25.... so yeah
MvdP is an absolutely raging BEAST!! Ty for your coverage🫡👊👊
👊🦋🔥
Pogi outsprinted a sprinter. Wow
What a great win for MVDP! And my hats off to N.P. he put in a great effort!! Thanks Chris. I bet Wout is getting tired of finishing 2nd tp MVDP. I think MVDP moves up to number 4 in my book.
except MVDP can't win stage races
@@TheWorldisaLIE2 yes but Wout can not also. They both can win stages. And wout was my number 4 but he finished second to MVDP all this year so I moved Wout to 5 and MVDP up to 4. How do you place MVDP?
@@TheWorldisaLIE2neither can Wout. For monuments and one day races, MVDP seems better than Wout.
@@johnburns4157 MVDP can be 5th, 1: Jonas, 2. Primoz 3. Tadej 4. Remco. remember Remco can win grand tours like he proved last year plus win the rainbow jersey and was strong in the giro before covid and then just won san Sebastian.
MVDP certainly has to move up. 😜👊💪🦋
Chris still waiting for you to say it ...number one ..best one day racer in the world ....say it say it you cant ignore him any more 😂😂😂😂
The crowds were amazing. Fantastic Scotland!!!
Old fashion laces on cycling shoes might come in handy here 😂
😂👊🦋
Thanks Chris, was looking forward to your analysis! What does this mean for MVDP on the global ranking of the butterfly effect? Has he passed Remco?
Nah chris rankings is weighted to the GC riders but he does hold a special spot for one day bike racers ..wout held it for some time ...waiting to hear chris say it mvdp!!!but chris is like "i cant do it , i cant do it " pull thru chris pull thru ...🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
It didn't look like the 3 chasers were working well together to bring back MVDP. If you aren't fully committed and working together, you're not bringing him back. They were racing for second at that point.
They didn‘t seem to be having the same juice left as MVDP
Yep. And the legs didn’t look to super in that group of three either. 😬🤔🦋
Wout said he could not follow him when MVP took of. Pogi could not follow either. I think they were all spend...
Part of it was that Pog was at his limit (he said so post race) in the final two laps and could not follow WVA up those steep ramps. This was true of Mads as well but to a lesser extent. The parcour suited CX riders and even then no WC level CX has a 180km run in before a 2.5 hr long brutal 11 circuits.
To me Mads was very impressive as he is far more a sprinter than climber and yet he survived to come 4th
But they also didn't know that MVDP had crashed and that maybe it was still worth fighting harder.
One thing I noticed was that Wout was looking for food in his back pocket about 1/2 to 3/4 lap before MVDP attacked but had run out. He was low on energy for the attack and it showed. He restocked at the feed station and started to look a little sharper a wee while after that. Doubt it would have made much difference to the end result as MVDP looked so much stronger than the other 3 but it would have been interesting if Wout had held the wheel over the top and sat on.
Van der Poel consistently beats him on the big occasions, he's just a fraction stronger.
Yep. This course had to catch some of the riders missing some calories here and there. 😬🦋🤔
Great analysis again Chris! Thanks bud
👊🦋🙏
Kinda missed on the point that MVDP is the current CX World Champ as well. He's the 1st to do so i believe. Handled that crash so well. Hopefully you tackle Remco's supposed rise. Doesnt look that way to me. MVDP should be ADs main boy now.
The crash barely seemed to effect MVDP. That’s the connection to cyclocross. Get knocked down and keep going 👊🦋
@@ChrisHornerCycling he's like "did i crash?"
Leading like "are they still behind me, lemme pedal more".
MVDP sould be on butterfly short list. San Remo, Roubaix, World double title. On the hunt for Mountain buke as well. I forget, he drop van aert, pog and Remco by today.
MVP is definitely on top of my list. A bit more like Boonen or Sagan, so not a tt guy like Van Aert or Cancellara, but quite dominant in situations like today.
Mvdp has the ability to do an excellent tt if he chooses to , remember tdf 21 think he came 5th one second behind wout and didnt train on a tt bike..he just dosent consider tt bike racing his focus is elsewhere
I don't know if I'd call Wout a TT guy, he is good at the TT, but just as MVDP he is a fantastic all rounder......WVA has won at Ventoux and Champs.... I'm a huge WVA fan and I have to start to look at the fact that MVDP may have the better of him mentally. I will say we are lucky to be witnessing the two greats have battle after battle.... I would like to see WVA get a big cobblestone for his trophy case.
The butterfly 🦋 of the race was that the MVDP crash was not communicated as fast without the radios to the chasing group.
2023 World Champion Road Race: 1 Matje vd Poel 2 Wout van Aert
2023 World Champion Cyclo Cross 1 Matje vd Poel 2 Wout van Aert
Next week Mountain Bike Worlds with Matje starting!!! Can he make it a TRIFECTA for best year ever?!?!
The Cyclo-Cross was in early February in The NLs. ('Veldrijden' in Dutch). That's what they like doing in the winter instead of going indoors. They know each other well.....
Father-in-law, Raymond Poulidor was on the podium at the WC 4 times but never gold: 3 bronze and a silver. (He also had 2 fifth places).
That would be something new in the bike world. Hope he gets the MTB too..
There was a short video in De Telegraaf (Dutch) newspaper a few days ago of MvdP SPRINTING up that hill where he made that final attack which was obviously not only pre-planned but even 'practiced' during recon. Last Dutch World Champ was Joop Zoetemelk 38 yrs ago (when he was 38).
@@dutchreagan3676 that video is crazy. He is doing 32kph up a 14% grade.
With MVDP the best and strongest rider of the day has won.
It was a great day for cycling as well. traditional cycling is making way for modern cycling.
A big thank you to Glasgow for organizing such a great cycling event!!!
💪🦋👊
Mathieu van der Poel has won Milano-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix and this monster of a race all in one year. And in each race dropping the worlds best riders with a monsterous attack, making them look like juniors. The guy is incredible. I think he's the best one day racer in the world. When he wants to win, there is really no one who can stop him.
Not to forget the Cyclocross World Championship, where he left van Aert in the dust (or mud) during the finish... So he's a double world champion right now. Whether you like him or not, that guy is a damn machine.
Word on the street is during the road break thanks to the envirofreaks Vanderpoel dropped a Vanderstool at the spectators house! 👍🏻 That's the secret!
I'm working on Patenting "Tour Depends" Lighten the Load on the Road to Victory! 👍🏻🚴🏴
Great race they were all gassed at the end.
It'll be something if Matt pulls off another victory a cycle cross what a beast...
Yes, depending on how he recovers from falling off and this gruelling race, I rate him above Pidcock for MTB victory now. Would then equal PFP's remarkable achievement of road, cyclocross and MTB in same year. 👍
Robbie McEwen was known for such secret techniques. 😂👊🦋
MVDP unleashed 🔥
MVDP proved that the lack of sleep coupled with the legal confusion in Australia, was indeed a hindrance! Imagine the possible results if MVDP did not crash!
Everyone needs their sleep. 💤🛏️😴👊🦋
Edit:
Using the video for timing, it appears:
:36 sec gap when MvdP crashed
:16 sec from crash to regaining speed
:20 sec gap retained
That was a very well deserved win by MVDP! Awesome!
Pogacar earns himself a proper reputation in road cycling not because of UAE team.
Remco is going to slide way down in the standings once he loses the Vuelta!
Terrible at Tour de Swiss and he looked unworld class today.
Nobody beats MVDP on his good days!
Pogacar was amazing.
Wish Wout well on future races.
I felt all the way during the season that he was being overrated - yes, including here on the Butterfly Effect
Let’s hope the Vuelta goes good. 😳🦋👊🤞
For me the Vuelta gets a higher meaning than in earlier years (of course with the exception of 2013 😉) as it will prove some theories on JV, Primoz and Remco
Those roads round Carron valley are super grippy,great place for mountain biking,the forrest n wind farm
Surely the reason the cars stop on the left in UK is that the steering wheel and driver are on the right. If they stopped on the right the mechanics would be getting out and opening the doors into the riders.
A course built for mountain bike racers. Punchers all day. Closer to a hilly criteruim than a world class road course. I am however happy with the results!! Maybe now Pog will do some off-season MTB. Cyclocross was big back in the day for the professionals.
Now we know where Remco is in the big group, I was expecting him to fight for podium. Hopefully he'll be stronger in la vuelta and next year's tour.
He was lost a bit out there today it seemed. 🤔🦋😬
He said the constant accelerating to 1000 Watts was difficult for him. It was why he could not stay up on front. Could not accelerate time and again to stay up front.
@@koopalibraryhis big strengths are sustained effort and aero bike position - both he could not really use. Bike handling and maintaining position in the bunch are his (relative) weaknesses, and they really caused him trouble. In fact I expected him to be dropped in the first or second lap. It was actually quite impressive that he instead even managed to attack a few times after struggling to keep contact with the back of the group. This race didn't say much about his overal level compared to Pogacar.
This is just not his kind of course, that was honestly clear before the race (as he himself admitted afterwards). Plus he has amassed an amazing palmares without ever really racing MVDP, WVA and Pogacar, completely different level of opposition. Last year he did great, but they also basically gifted him the race.
Vuelta is a completely different proposition, so this race does not really tell us much about his form. He will definitely be stronger there, but his opposition will also be stronger Tasha’s ever.
@@alphaniner3770it didnt say but he is nowhere near pogi or vingegaard
from Binda straps to Boa wires, the history of Pedal engagement advanced between Dutch Champions Zootemelk & Van der Pol , Peace3ed
Loved Bettiol's all or nothing move anyway
17:02 that moment when Van der Poel lands right in-front of a record breaking cyclist! Christine Mackenzie, Land's End to John O'Groats record holder.
These 10 rounds at Glasgow were just like a cyclo-cross, but with asfalt. All these narrow corners and climbs. Very technical. Constantly breaking and then pulling again. So, it's no surprise that MVP finished 1st and Wout 2nd. Pogacar was a surprise. As a Belgian, I also follow cyclo-cross, and that's indeed very technical with a lot of short corners and climbs. Constantly breaking and full gas coming out of the corners. So I hope they do not pick a track like this anymore for the next world championship on the road. I would call Glasgow a semi cyclo-cross championship instead. It demands a totally different training program, and then the strongest rider wins in the end. Not the strongest team. I think many cyclo-cross fans will agree.
I agree. Great course to have but only on a rare occasion. The joy of the UCI World Road Championship is that its always in a different place and the local organisers + the UCI put together a unique course parcour each time. This paved CX type of course won't be seen again for a decade at least.
Racing on a circuit like this is completely different from riding your average TdF stage or even one day race, your standard strategy rules do not apply, It is a game of attrition, and even when the Belgians still had 5riders in that group it was very clear that WVA was the only one that still had anything left in the legs. Even Remco’s attacks were completely lackluster, looking over his shoulder as soon as he accelerated.
Denmark pacing was also not that stupid at all. If you leave everything to Belgium they can keep all of their three favorites in the game. The Denmark pacing in the end resulted in making it a mano a mano fight with only WVA left, so a much better situation for Denmark.
I think the main factor behind the descision to take charge of the race was the fact that Belgium had Jasper Philipsen available; he was basically the number one guy to get rid off!
Denmark obviously wanted the hardest possible race, because we believe Mads can be the strongest rider on such a race day.
And even if he wasn't, there would still be a chance of Asgreen or Skjelmose hanging on in front of the race.
Or maybe even Kragh-Andersen could hang on and make an old school puncheur move, if on his best form.
Asgreen just didn't have the legs on the day, but he was assigned co-captain alongside Mads ahead of the race.
I think Mads actually did look the strongest rider in this race, but he didn't ride as clever as Mathieu or Wout or Tadej, who did not take as many leads as Mads did.
Maybe a little too eager, because he felt strong on the day. But very impressed with his riding, I honestly haven't seen him look this strong, ever!
I do think the aggressive approach from the danish team knocked out France pretty good.
Also, it was really good to see the Italian team looking strong in this race. Especially Trentin, I felt bad for him when he crashed.
But also a brave attack by Bettiol, that looked promising for a short while.
I mean, WHAT A RACE.
And hats off to MVDP, who is gonna look pretty good in that shirt tbh
Think the gap would of been bigger to the break without the protest. That fired the bunch up for sure to close it down faster. The circuit was just natural selection of the best guys who could handle it . Perfect result of expected form ..
Glad I did find this channel I'm new in watching cycling but enjoy the action
I think Pogacar should consider not trying to race and win every event but rather be selective He might burn himself out if he race too much 😮
Thats way he is the best rider in the world. Roglic is more selective probably coz he is older and he goes for races that suits him better. There was only one race for Pogacar that he was not on podium he was outsprinted by Wout for 3rd place and one that he chrashed. Every other race he was on podium.
Everybody is a Knucklehead - end of video :D
Anyone else feel like visiting Glasgow after seeing this? Seems like an entertaining city
Certainly looks different from late night 30 years ago when I saw the stereotype old geezer stagger out of doss house bar in Sauchiehall Street, turn down alley, and vomit
Thanks so much, Chris!
I live just outside Glasgow and I saw some of the race, it was awesome.
So...MVDP crashed twice, took a dump during the protest, lost a buckle on his shoe and still won...that's way you do it!
Remco and Philipsen obviously didn't have the legs right from the start. Once again, Poor Wout spent the whole race covering moves and riding on the front like he always does. MVDP sat on the back in every move (though kudos to him for being in every move, except for the knucklehead move after the protest.) When the time came MVDP had the legs because he never once covered a move the way Pog, Wout and Mads did. Smart riding by MVDP.
Exactly what Chris said in the beginning. Don’t pull team Belgium. Let them do the work.
Agreed. MVDP was always in the action but not often doing huge damage to his legs until it was time to go. 👊🦋
Remco had fine legs, wouldn't have attacked if he wasn't good. He attacked after having closed multiple gaps to join the front..
Remco was just at the back of the group 90% of the time. And on this course, gaps will ALWAYS appear. So he had to constantly close gaps and with the favorites at the front attacking, there was no calm in the race. Had he positioned himself like Pogačar, he would've had a chance to be in the front group or attacking before that. Pogi spent a lot of energy chasing his attacks.
He lost the wheel in the corners a lot too, but if he was 5th wheel all the time, other ppl would've closed gaps for him and there would've always been favorites behind him who would want to close it.. Weird tactics and one of the reasons Belgium lost yesterday.
Kudos to everyone!
MVDP deserved that win after the terrible way he was treated in Australia last year.
travesty. He had every right to yell at those girls. Instead, he gets arrested. Australia should be ashamed of what happened.
@S0ulinth3machin3 What's that got to do with Australia? There are @$$oles in every country...
I told ya, it‘s one for the cyclocross bois ✌🏼
First Cycle Cross, now Road and still I believe he’s racing the MTB race. This will be crazy if he can pull off the Rainbow trifecta!