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Mathieu Van Der Poel is a family friend from Joel Roelants, he goes sometimes enduro riding with Axel Roelants (Joël brother) and almost all good Belgian Enduro riders and he doesn't stay behind. He also races against Joel, Mathieu on a normal electrical MTB/Moto like bike and Joel on one with a seat. A while back there where some great videos on instagram from there races! His father Adrie van der Poel once told in a interview, when asked the question: "What would Mathieu answer if we asked him where he dreamed the most from as child: being a champion in cyclocross, road cycling or mountain biking", his father Adrie answer: "He will probably answer that he dreamed about being a motocross champion, but that he was born in a cycling family and cyclocross and mtb was the closed to that."
Remco Evenepoel on the other hand, got scared after his big tumble in the ravine. Because all the cyclists are now racing with disc breaks they need to break and steer the bicycle more such as a motorcycle. Breaking with your front rotor disc etc. back in that day Mark Cavendish was still at Quick-Step and he introduced Remco Evenepoel to Cal Cruchlow and they went on downhill practice.
So this makes the TDF already a little moto-related.
It is mostly about fitness but, especially nowadays, there is a great deal of skill involved especially on the descents. A rider was killed in the Tour of Austria last week. You are basically completely unprotected in a crash, and in the stage races they are descending at 60+mph often times. Basically anyone willing to put the work in can be fit enough to race MX (I said fit enough, not skillful enough). But to be a pro cyclist, you need a genetic predisposition because you will be limited by how quickly your body can get rid of lactic acid. You can hit that ceiling no matter how hard you train. Those guys are true freaks
Doubt it takes much, there are barely any jumps. For racing on the hard stuff, seems like a soft sport.
I was on the Elbowz team in 2012. We had had a ton of fun and saw some success that year. Good times.
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Pretty sure John Tomac rode the TDF but left for MTN bike because cycling was so dirty(PED)
I could be wrong but I think I read that somewhere a while back
He raced the Giro d’Italia (second most prestigious Grand Tour) and a couple monuments which are the most prestigious single day races but never the TDF. And yes, after that stint he resumed his MTB career. He raced road primarily with the 7-11 team I believe
Moto guys could ride TDF? It's an extreme endurance event of 5/6 hours a day run over three weeks. How does that even come close to training for a couple of 30 minute sprints every weekend?
In 1990 he competed in Gent-Wevelgem (20th), Tour of Flanders (99th) and Paris-Roubaix (92nd).
Zero fucks given about latte sipping, lycra wearing, 15 lane hogging, fist waving cyclists.
Non moto.
Guys leading tfd and mxgp both from Slovenia...a country with 2 mio people. Amazing
Yeah, must be the water......
Tim Gajser, Jan Pancar, Tadej Pogačar, Primož Roglič, Jan Tratnik, Luka Mezgec, Matej Mohorič, Luka Dončić,... some serious top-tier athletes.
Monika Hrastnik, one of the best female DH riders there is with multiple World Cup podiums.
Damn dude, you're so fucking tough!
The Tour Divide is even tougher than the TDF. This is a self supported race along the continental divide. It is 2740 miles with 160,000 ft climbing. When you leave Banff Canada the clock starts. When you hit the Mexico /New Mexico border at Stove Pipe Wells crossing the clock stops. This year the winner did it in 13 days 2 hours. You have to carry all your gear, food and water for long stretches and deal with snow, thunderstorms, grizzly bears etc. 95% is dirt of varying conditions.
I’ve watched every stage so far this year, and have watched for many years prior.
What I like most about the broadcast, is how Bob Roll and Phil Liggett know all of the riders just by looking at them. 176 total riders to start and they can pick out exactly who a rider is.
I think the broadcast does a pretty good job with moto and Supercross. However, I wish they would know more about all (or most) of the riders who show up every race weekend.
Justin Brayton does a great job and seems to know more about higher 2 digit and 3 digit guys. Maybe going forward, future commentators can take a page out of his book and give us a little more about guys who make it on screen that aren’t the 20-30 factory riders.
I know a couple of guys here locally that finished the Tour Divide. I think it took them 24 days to complete, we were able to follow their progress online. The TDF is definitely pampered and glamorous compared to the gnarly stories those guys had to share.
Bob Roll and Phil Liggett are great, entertaining and knowledgeable. Did you hear Bob drop an F-bomb on the live broadcast? lol
Pit Row
You completely missed the point.
The first post in this sub-thread mentions giving them a year to train for it..
Which even that short a time scale isn’t necessarily what we mean.
‘Could’ a pro motocrosser turn his hand and be a pro-cyclist??
I believe he could. Maybe not top, TOP tier, but ‘pro’ level, I believe he could.
Nobody mentioned stepping out of HIIT training for mx and attempting endurance races such as the TdF, only you.
But how many NFL players are from Slovenia?
Not sure about the NFL but arguably the best player in the NBA is from Slovenia.
I got the point loud & clear thanks.
i have heard other people also say the same here, about other sports......if there isnt an american winning it they just dont care.....this atitude confuses me a lot.....
so, do you like to watch cycling, and had to do the sacrifice to stop watching it because there were no american winning it.......or you dont like cycling at all, and made the sacrifice to watch it just because a american was winning it.????
Sounds like you were pretty handy! Do you know Jeff Linder? Pete Morris??
Here in the UK, cat4 is the entry to racing.
I’m cat3, have scored points toward upgrading but have lost my mojo atm. Earlier this year I did a couple of crits and got dropped, (one was in the pissing rain) it was demoralising and painful!!
I might have another crack at it this autumn/winter- there’s a great weekly series that runs in London. I’m confident even at my still current poor fitness level I can sit in for 50 minutes and pop my head out for the sprint and get points in the top 10.
It ain’t pretty, but..
I met Pete Morris but haven't talked to him much. Great hair though. I was east coast based and he's from out west. He and the Cliffbar team stayed at my friends apartment during a race week one time.
Since you're in the UK, you might know Dan Patton. I raced with him a few times when he was couch surfing in North Carolina, he went somewhere in Asia to race and then landed on Team Wiggins.
I see this argument come up often on Tour Divide discussions. Yes, apples and oranges are both fruits, but one's apples and the other oranges. Both hard as fuck obviously, but in different ways.
Not as tough as you.
JMB does lots of road riding. He just finished a race across France.
https://podcast.ausha.co/bike-cafe/la-race-across-france-1000-avec-jean-michel-bayle?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3ocDTK7R45yL05gCydo8ZXXhNIE_rtPiDf336a8vyx3R4ZaiZmcFSa5zw_aem_s60inKNWNIWR1Z5_01xN0g
My college roommate has done the Tour Divide twice. The second time took him 19 days, he brought one pair of clothes and no sleeping bag. Just a bivy sack and a sleeping pad. He did it in reverse, starting in Mexico. When he got to Banff he threw his kit away and bought new clothes for the flight home. Said washing what he was wearing wouldn’t do anything at that point 😂
Pogacar is on another level this year. This guy is so good...
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