Vetplant

I have so much respect for this guy. May he please win De Ronde before he retires.

Something I missed: before Sunday's result, Pogačar and MvdP won the last 11 monuments between the two of them. No wonder most of the cycling fans were happy with a Wout win.

Going into the race yesterday I just had this feeling that 2026 was going to be the year for Wout and his Roubaix dream. Previous years he was in amazing form but then the lottery of Race Day always went against him. The lead-up to this race was actually perfect in the sense that Pogačar and MvdP were the form riders and all the attention was on them. The race day lottery was favourable to Wout. The moment MvdP had his issue and lost more than a minute I started to believe. Wouts issues were manageable and he had Laporte in the lead group playing disruptive tactics when he needed it most. This race gave me similar tension and joy as Sagan 2018, who finally got what he had worked for and missed out on repeatedly. Lekker Wout! PS. LBL in two weeks time... MvdP and Wout have finished 3rd on previous occasions. Can either one of them do the unthinkable and reach the top step..?

YEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHH! WOUT!

It is too tense to look away and type...

This has been a crazy since the Arenburg Forest. Fingers crossed. Kom Wout!

That's a little too close to the action bud.

Well deserved win. What an amazing edition of MSR!

A win by Top Ganna will be nice to see... At this stage I will be happy with anyone but MvdP.

Nah, no real hostility towards him. Actually found support for him wherever we stood, always shouts of GO MATTHIEU when he passed. But, obviously the cheers for WOUT were on another level given the race was in Belgium. (On the photos: I decided to carry along a decent camera on Holiday instead of trying to capture stuff with the cellphone camera. Photo quality is worth the effort.)

Box ticked, happy camper.

Fun experience to see the riders up close and to experience the atmosphere. But, as with most sports, following the race is way better on TV. Got some nice photos though, will share once back at the WiFi connection at our accommodation.

Not a Classic, but going to see Wout and MvdP go at each other at 15h00. Hofstade Plage Cross. Standing just past the finish line. 😁

"The course is obviously something that suits me, especially when that last climb is 6km from the finish. That opens up perspectives for classic riders like me." Seems he did The wet weather also played to his strengths. ADD: Oh, Jorgensen needs full credit too for that stage win. He played the PERFECT teammate role in the lead-up to that last passage of Montmartre.

Wout you biscuit! What. A. Finish! Sorry sprinters, but THIS should be the final stage of the TDF. I was hopeful that Wout could beat his breakaway riders in the sprint, never in my wildest dreams did I think he can drop Pogi on the climb. That was great to watch.

Potentially explosive day awaits. Who will lose chunks of time, let's see: (perfect day to cash in that Work-From-Home allowance)

I know they class today as Flat, but I don't see this playing out as a classic sprinters stage. Many teams have nothing to show in terms of jerseys or wins. They know they won't beat Tadej on the climbs. And they won't beat Merlier/Milan in the Sprints. So the fight for the Break will be big IMHO. Winner might be anyone on this type of terrain.

So. Bloody. Close. He deserved the win, but unfortunately in life we don't always get what we deserve. Let's see what tomorrow brings...

Visma HAVE TO push, they cannot sit on their hands. They gapped Pogacar on Mont Ventoux the last time they were there... you never know if his body reacts unexpectedly after a Rest Day. BUT, I expect it to be ineffective unfortunately. Arensman is probably the best chance of a stage win After Pogacar as the cards sit currently.

Seems we have our big breakaway and they have a decent gap. This stage might be up for the taking. Ben Healy for the win?

Don't think Visma will allow it, but how epic would it be if Wout could replicate his Mont Ventoux win from 2021... Unfortunately for everyone: I can't see anyone but Pogacar winning this stage, unless they let the Breakaway go early and loooong to build up a sufficient advantage. UAE will be forced to pace if they want Pogacar to take the Stage. Or I can be completely wrong on all fronts and Vingegaard smashes the climb and rides into Yellow. 😈

No critique to be levelled at your observations. Visma needs to try something, I'm thankful they are contributing to a bigger plan now and working towards something instead of sitting back an hoping they can snatch some time in one or two specific stages. It can blow up spectacularly, but that is still showing intent, which should be good for the Sponsors and team as a whole.

Fair point, Campenaerts might be on babysitting duty. But, I still think many guys went easy yesterday in preparation for an assault today. It could be one mighty battle for the Break and we might end up with a 20-30man break. Will be fun to follow from the start

Wins for Pogačar yesterday and Remco today was according to expectations. Tomorrow is a different beast IMHO. I'm thinking breakaway to sneak the win on this parcours. Woods, Mohoric and Campenaerts are way too big engines to end in the last 20 places today without it being intentional. They saved their legs and created a gap to Yellow to be allowed to go stage hunting.

sphincter?