Who is going to bag all Five monuments next?

[SwissVan]

2 hours ago, Shebeen said:

Can pog go to 4?

He's the favourite at MSR today. 

I really hope it’s anyone but pog 

VdP is looking lean and relaxed 

from cyclingnews.com

“Mathieu van der Poel is living his best cycling life.

He is a favourite for Milan-San Remo but is not under intense pressure to win like Tadej Pogačar. He has already won six Monument Classics and will surely win even more this spring and in the years to come.

Life is good and the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider seems to have worked out how to balance the intensity of pro racing with life's little pleasures. Cycling and winning the biggest Classics have never been forced on him or burdened him, they are not a

personal obsession, they are naturally part of his life”

"My life is not perfect, for sure I have bad days as well. But I think I'm at an age now that I've accomplished almost every goal I've set for myself and even more," Van der Poel explains.  

"That brings me a lot of peace. Everything that comes now, it's a bonus. That makes it very relaxing to race."

"I still want to try and win the biggest races out there, another Monument, so I'm still very motivated. I'm well aware that I need to be at 110% to beat Pogačar. That's always good motivation."

https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/i-need-to-be-at-110-to-beat-pogacar-mathieu-van-der-poel-takes-aim-at-milan-san-remo/

[Frosty]

Poggie’s weather conditions

[Shebeen]

a nuanced look at this. https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling/analysis-which-of-tadej-pogacar-mathieu-van-der-poel-or-remco-evenepoel-can-win-all-5-monuments

[Shebeen]

Back to this one.

Pog has clearly shown he can do it.

He still has 3, but now a 2nd at his PR debut.

MSR he is now 5,4,3,3 so he it's clearly doable.

 

MVDP's palmares at classics, he is also still on 3. He is not even starting LBL this weekend, which he still needs to tick off. Last year he came 3rd, a week after winning PR.

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[Shebeen]

On 3/26/2025 at 2:17 PM, Shebeen said:

a nuanced look at this. https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling/analysis-which-of-tadej-pogacar-mathieu-van-der-poel-or-remco-evenepoel-can-win-all-5-monuments

another update on this one, with Il Lombardia this weekend.

 

While MvDP is obviously not there and Pog has already won it, Remco could tick this one off. But he has to get past TP who did a 48km TT last year.

 

 

[peepeekaitjie]

20 hours ago, Shebeen said:

But he has to get past TP

Unless they turn one of the monuments into an ITT, I do not see that happening anytime soon. The only time Remco has beaten Pog in a one-day race is when Pog has DNFed.

Pog is gonna win MSR and Roubaix next year, 2 GTs and the most prestigious race of the season missing from his palmarès, the Tour of Guangxi

[Shebeen]

13 minutes ago, peepeekaitjie said:

Unless they turn one of the monuments into an ITT, I do not see that happening anytime soon. The only time Remco has beaten Pog in a one-day race is when Pog has DNFed.

Pog is gonna win MSR and Roubaix next year, 2 GTs and the most prestigious race of the season missing from his palmarès, the Tour of Guangxi

indeed. Take the ITTs out and apart from a little patch in 2022 TP has seemingly always had the rub on Remco.

https://www.procyclingstats.com/rider-vs-rider/remco-evenepoel/tadej-pogacar/same-race-results

but both still got plenty of runway on their careers.

[Shebeen]

just freeze framing the voting on this one..out of date since this thread started and a 64kg classics rider started klapping tarmac as TdF training

 

[Shebeen]

current odds for Roubaix:

 

Pogs insane classics palmares, his last 10 have seen seven wins, a 2nd and two 3rds.

 

[Shebeen]

banging the Pog classics hype bell again here. This is his monuments run since covid.

 

he has currently won the last 4 actual monuments in a row. 2024 looks like a dry spell in comparison, but you need to remember he did win the Giro, TdF and Rainbows. If we count Strade Bianchi as the "6th" monument, then his run going back to the monuments he has raced (LBL 2024) is 11131211111.

bliksem. throw in 2 tdf and 2 WC in the hat too.

looking here - De Vlaemink/Merckx in the 70s is the only period that comes close to the MVDP/TP domination - with Merckx's 19 victories over 11 seasons once including 3 in a row. Combined the 70s belgians once got 5 in a row. MVDP/TP have won the last 12, and that goes back to Philipsen being set up for the sprint win. Want to bet on anyone else winning PR/LBL/Lombardia this year and breaking this run?

Classics strike rate

Merckx 19/53 (11 seasons)

TP 12/22 (6 seasons)

De Vlaemink 11/50   (10 seasons) 

MVDP 8/23 (7 seasons)

 

[Irvin85]

2 hours ago, Shebeen said:

banging the Pog classics hype bell again here. This is his monuments run since covid.

 

he has currently won the last 4 actual monuments in a row. 2024 looks like a dry spell in comparison, but you need to remember he did win the Giro, TdF and Rainbows. If we count Strade Bianchi as the "6th" monument, then his run going back to the monuments he has raced (LBL 2024) is 11131211111.

bliksem. throw in 2 tdf and 2 WC in the hat too.

looking here - De Vlaemink/Merckx in the 70s is the only period that comes close to the MVDP/TP domination - with Merckx's 19 victories over 11 seasons once including 3 in a row. Combined the 70s belgians once got 5 in a row. MVDP/TP have won the last 12, and that goes back to Philipsen being set up for the sprint win. Want to bet on anyone else winning PR/LBL/Lombardia this year and breaking this run?

Classics strike rate

Merckx 19/53 (11 seasons)

TP 12/22 (6 seasons)

De Vlaemink 11/50   (10 seasons) 

MVDP 8/23 (7 seasons)

 

That is genuinely extraordinary. I’m struggling to wrap my head around just how complete he is as a cyclist. There are no weaknesses, no gaps, no terrain where he looks out of place. Climbing, time trials, one-day races, stage races… he doesn’t just compete, he dictates.

It’s not just dominance, it’s control. He makes the best riders in the world look like they’re a level below, and that almost never happens in modern cycling where margins are supposed to be razor thin.

When you step back and look at it like that, it actually reframes the past. What once looked like untouchable dominance now feels almost narrow in comparison. This is something different entirely.

And then there’s that little voice cycling fans all seem to have now… shaped somewhere in the era of Lance Armstrong. The one that quietly says, “this is incredible… but we’ve been here before.”

Not enough to take away from what we’re watching, just enough to raise an eyebrow while you’re applauding.

Either way, what we’re witnessing is on another level.

[Shebeen]

Wout enters the chat.

 

Sure just 2 out of the 5, 

but he is more likely to win Flanders+ LBL & Il Lombardia than MVDP is going to win those second two - especially Lombardia. Entering them for a start is the biggest issue, his program is just as rigidly stuck to grand tours as a GC guy.

His monuments record with both wins as bookends. Buy enough tickets and you can win the lottery.

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but after two consecutive 2nd places at PR, Pog remains the obvious choice to get this done. He might really pull out all stops to tick this one off in coming years.

Edited April 13 by Shebeen