He’s pretty handy on an MTB also. His Fondo coming up later in the year (Gold Coast Australia) has an MTB Fondo saturday and Road Sunday.
He has enjoyed the odd CX race locally too, including hosting 1 or 2 down his way.
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Hopefully we see him do that but I don’t think he has the strength to go on a 3 week tour… wish I am wrong
I don’t think he’ll go on and win multiple grand tours but if someone like Gereint Thomas can transform himself into a very good 3 week stage racer then there’s no reason to think that MvdP couldn’t do it, if he wanted to.
Mike
yeah that would be cool to see. I hope he doesn’t join a big team and become a support guy.
That’s not going to happen. He’d be on such a high wage that no team, not even Ineos would be able to afford to pay that for a rider not to be a leader.
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There will be a huge market for his services when he goes full-time road. however, he’ll only get to be leader for the races that suit him initially - probably the spring classics. He’ll end up being a support guy in the 3 week tours until he proves that he can ride them consistently…
Assuming he follows the usual route.
What if the team he’s in grows with him, he has qualities that work well for sponsors.
I have never seen a Canyon ad on Dutch television until he came along
This is very likely totally wrong. His dad is Adri van der Poel, a multi-time Tour de France stage winner, among winning Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and numerous other victories. Not to mention, his grandfather on his mother’s side is Raymond Poulidor, also a multi-time stage winner in multiple Grand Tours. He has world-class, DNA. Perhaps the best DNA in all of cycling. Incredible genetics very much play a huge roll in his success.
Secondly, Juilian Alaphilippe has 9 wins this year including a monument and two classics. I wouldn’t say he “got smoked by van der Poel”. He lost the Amstel Gold Race by screwing around.
You are right in that there is much more to cycling than just logging saddle time and CX might be a good way of training for the road, but to suggest that there is something wrong in how road riders classically approach training is very close minded.
Julian Alaphilippe races Grand Tours and has to train for them—MvDP does not. Doing CX will not prep the body for 3 weeks of stage racing. Also, Alaphilippe has an impressive list of CX palmares…I think he’s probably training just fine.
This, I did not know!!!
He lost the Amstel Gold Race because he didn’t have the legs at the end to beat Fugelsang and got trapped in a tactical battle that allowed the chase group back in.
That’s bike racing.
Mike
Sepp Kuss
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For others: Dauphiné spoilers below…
Wins TT one day; sprint finish the next 
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I think it shows that we don’t need to be so obsessed with specialisation when we train. Yes, it helps in the few weeks before an event or as you transition from one discipline to another but in general you just want to get the foundations of being a strong bike rider no matter what you do.
If you look at someone like Nino Schurter he lines up at Cape Epic one week and then a short track XC race the next and in Cross Country skiing someone like Joannes Klaebo can win sprints as well as stage races with stages as long as 50km or with 600m vertical ascent.
Granted, these are exceptional athletes but I do think there’s a lesson there for all of us.
Mike
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I could see him having a Fabian Cancellara like road career. Strong in the spring classics and TTs and then poaching some TdF stages, maybe wearing the yellow early in the race
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Wout Van Art Belgian TT champ. Tim Merlier Belgian Road champ. Alex Howes warms up for US Road Nats with DK200. Any more ?
I think I agree with you. Having a high lactate threshold pretty much trumps everything else.
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If you’re going to have a go at someone for getting something wrong, make sure to get it right yourself. 
MVDP
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XD you got me!
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I vote we rename this the MvdP Awesome thread.
A couple of weeks ago he had that awesome kick in Norway when he broke Steve Cumming’s heart; today he pumps it from 300m at the Tour of Britain. Looking forward to seeing them come through the area on Friday.
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