Not sure if this is a road-only thread but if you’re into charts and graphs Pinkbike’s Cape Epic coverage is pretty cool…
https://www.pinkbike.com/news/results-and-replay-cape-epic-2024-stage-3.html
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Just absolute dominance by MdvP today at the E3 Saxo Classic…sure, Wout had a little slip that created the gap, but MdvP was gonna win that one no matter what.
Was hoping Wout could give him a challenge at Flanders or Roubaix, but don’t think that is gonna happen.
MdvP vs. Pog for Flanders should be good, though!
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Pogacar will not ride Flanders.
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Ah, damn…I missed that.
Welp, just give the trophy to MvdP then. 
MvdP is definitely the favourite, but this was Wout’s first race since the altitude camp, and he was pretty close already. If not for the slip up I think he might have been close to follow that particular attack. However, I think it was clear that MvdP was the best.
It’s possible Wout could make a good show of it, but it seems like he’s lost a % or two over the last 2 years whereas MdVP has made a step up.
As a father of 2 young kids I’m well aware of how much they thwart every aspect of my life, so that seems like a potential contributor to me for Wout in contrast to MdVP being unmarried and focused 100% on cycling.
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MVDP just has an athleticism like a ball sport player. It’s not fair that he’s so good aerobically and anaerobically.
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Yep. Plus it seems for me the Aert is a bit “uncomfortable” for lack of the better word. It looks like that he faces it like he lost the race, not another person won. He’s starting to make mistakes that shouldn’t happen, because he is pursuing the victory, particularly against MVDP, too badly.
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Glad to see Bernal at a decent level this early. 
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Came here this morning just to see if you’d posted for Bernal.
Very nice to see the young man back at the front of the group.
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Fascinating Gent-Wevelgem - still in progress
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Really thought Lidl - Trek botched the tactics….the strategy was sound, but I would have said they started it too early. Sending Milan up the road with 80k to go didn’t make sense…he doesn’t have the quality to go that far solo with all those hills remaining. MvdP could just ride tempo to keep him in check and wait for him to come back. Then when Sturjyven punctured, it all seemed lost.
But it worked out…I a,so wouldn’t have rated Mads chances again MvdP in a two man sprint, so what the hell do I know? 
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Do we know if Cian Uten* was sick at the Volta?
Not sure what happened to him. Neither him or Sepp had a particularly good showing. Sepp seems like he does better the hotter it gets so I’m not reading too much into it.
On the contrast, Pogi is unbeatable in cool weather but has struggled with overheating later in the season so I also am not over reading his dominance now. He’s clearly still phenomenal, but I don’t think he will be as dominant (relatively speaking) through the summer.
Me either. I’m happy for Mads and Trek. More fun when the favorite doesn’t completely mop up every single race of the year.
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Good recap of Cape Epic this week: https://youtu.be/pa0miVtJjAI?si=Rq65939RzQmQLs39
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Think you guys are underselling the race today. Was exciting tactical racing from before coverage started. Great reminder of why even the smaller spring classics are among the best race days every year
Feeling more optimistic about Flanders competitiveness than I was after E3
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I can’t help but believe MvdP was still fatigued from his exploits in E3 on Friday. Let’s hope he’s fresh and not over raced for Flanders and Roubaix. He’s not 22 anymore and he needs to be fresh to show his best level.
Ditching SanMillan has worked out well for Pogacar. Not bored by riding Z2 all the time in training anymore…
Might have sth to do with the right Choice of parents as well.
MVDP has lost long sprints against Asgreen and now Pederson, and maybe WVA, amongst others. He’s so fast and powerful over like 100 meters, but the longer ones seem to be a “weakness”. It’s tricky too, becuase the likelihood in a sprint is that someone will open sooner (before 200m) rather than later. In a two up, you have no way to stop the other person sprinting really early.
Also, were his tactics great? I’m not sure. He could have sat on that group and let the bunch come back, reshuffle, and try to go again later. He was stuck in a bad spot with 3 Trek, and got lucky that it wasn’t worse.
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