[Francis Cebedo]

I am just discovering this young man but what I'm learning is simply, simply devastating.

He has destroyed the notion of competition in cyclocross

This IS his spring of 2019

And what's happening in mountain biking is inconceivable.

 

[KingOfOrd]

I don't even think its arguable anymore, he is one of the most technically skilled riders in the field. Prove me wrong

 

[Udyr]

edit: derp, I got the series overall mixed up, ignore

 

[KingOfOrd]

Has he said he won't be attending the World Championship? There's a lot of CX racing going on around that time in the states, and with the MTB world championship at MSA I'd be surprised to not see him race.

 

[Udyr]

Not enough coffee, I derped and forgot that World Champs was one race, rather than series overall.

 

[MI-XC]

After watching him drop Nino in the last lap of the XCO Wold Cup in Nove Mesto there is no debate that he is in the form of his life and a generational athlete. Nino tried to lose MVDP for 3 laps and then MVDP left Nino as if he was standing still. Unreal and ridiculously powerful especially at the end of races. His 2019 resume is already incredible and varied. I hope he's not too good to be true.

 

[LMN]

I don't even think its arguable anymore, he is one of the most technically skilled riders in the field. Prove me wrong

The ability to jump like that is normal technical proficiency for the world cup racer. There is no doubt that he is very technically skilled but after watching him race in person at La Bresse last year I can say with a high degree of confidence that he not the most technically skilled rider in the field.

 

[KingOfOrd]

The ability to jump like that is normal technical proficiency for the world cup racer. There is no doubt that he is very technically skilled but after watching him race in person at La Bresse last year I can say with a high degree of confidence that he not the most technically skilled rider in the field.

You got me there, I've never seen him ride in person but I've been following his career since he started rising up the ranks of CX. I know these guys can all ride, but I'm still putting MVD very high on that list. Another rider with some impressive skill is Simon Andreassen. Either way, the Nino era is coming to an end.

I'm not sure what dirt jumps you are talking about, maybe the rollers on the XCC course that the guys were jumping? Sure, that's pretty standard. But how many of these guys can really run through a real set of DJ's? I'd be surprised if even a quarter of the field has that ability.

 

[LMN]

I'm not sure what dirt jumps you are talking about, maybe the rollers on the XCC course that the guys were jumping? Sure, that's pretty standard. But how many of these guys can really run through a real set of DJ's? I'd be surprised if even a quarter of the field has that ability.

DJ is not a skill set that I have, but a 20 something world class XC racer, absolutely.

I think as old people we tend to see jumping as harder than it actually is. Every single kid on my highschool XC team is more than proficient on a good set of dirt jumps.

 

[TDLover]

Am I the only one who is worried he will crash soon?

I mean maybe he will have a couple of terrific years hopping all around in competitions, but will he be able to do this consistently for 10 years? I doubt it very much.

Unless he sticks and focus on a single discipline I think his reign will fade pretty quick.

 

[Francis Cebedo]

I don't even think its arguable anymore, he is one of the most technically skilled riders in the field. Prove me wrong

He makes Sagan look awkward.

I have some vdieo clips... truly insane. A Rembrandt of bikes.

 

[Francis Cebedo]

After watching him drop Nino in the last lap of the XCO Wold Cup in Nove Mesto there is no debate that he is in the form of his life and a generational athlete. Nino tried to lose MVDP for 3 laps and then MVDP left Nino as if he was standing still. Unreal and ridiculously powerful especially at the end of races. His 2019 resume is already incredible and varied. I hope he's not too good to be true.

Given that they were two minutes ahead of the field indicated that Nino was in top form, head and shoulders above the rest.

And the surprise was not that MVDP won but the ruthless precision on how it was done. MVDP stepped it up, Nino dug deeeeeeep and closed the gap, and then the 1300 watt move came. It was so harsh that it was passing of the baton of sorts.

 

[Francis Cebedo]

Am I the only one who is worried he will crash soon?

I mean maybe he will have a couple of terrific years hopping all around in competitions, but will he be able to do this consistently for 10 years? I doubt it very much.

Unless he sticks and focus on a single discipline I think his reign will fade pretty quick.

He is like a boxer, jumping weight classes to find competition.

It is a high-burn rate he's doing.

But looking at his history, he's been killing it a long time and he is close to perfect in every aspect of the game, including the mental and motivation game.

 

[Francis Cebedo]

Only been mountain biking 3 years.

 

[TDLover]

Given that they were two minutes ahead of the field indicated that Nino was in top form, head and shoulders above the rest.

And the surprise was not that MVDP won but the ruthless precision on how it was done. MVDP stepped it up, Nino dug deeeeeeep and closed the gap, and then the 1300 watt move came. It was so harsh that it was passing of the baton of sorts.

Have in mind he has been trying for 2 years to get a win in WC XCO and has just attain it.

In 2017 he only went for a WC win, which he couldn't in a couple of WC's. In 2018 he actually was second overall, but couldn't get any win. It just is incredibly hard to win a WC in XCO, very few have achieve that in the last decade in elite men.

Also Nino isn't in top form right now by any means, for mountain bikers season is just starting, they have to drag their form for the last WC races and world championship, which was exactly what happened last year.

After Nino's perfect season in 2017, in 2018 the first race was won by Sam Gaze when he was in peak form due to the Australian games, after that win he was nowhere the entire season. I would argue the same thing would happen to MDVP this year as he is already in top form due to his racing schedule and I would argue he wouldn't be able to keep up his form shown in the last race for the remainder of the season. We won't be able to tell though, as he will miss the next WC's.

You seem to be reading too much into MDVP's hype, no doubt he is a phenomenal rider, but you just can't excel in many cycling disciplines. History has shown us that, only one that has done it was a women (Pauline Ferran Prevot), he won cyclocross, road and mountain bikes in one year, but you could argue women cycling hasn't reached its peak in performance, hence why a very talented rider could do it across disciplines.

 

[kevbikemad]

It is his power that makes him amazing, not his skills IMO. He attacks with huge power, he drops no one in the tech of DH sections.

 

[KingOfOrd]

It is his power that makes him amazing, not his skills IMO. He attacks with huge power, he drops no one in the tech of DH sections.

Technical skill is not as apparent as the lack thereof when looking at the world cup field.

 

[NordieBoy]

It is his power that makes him amazing, not his skills IMO. He attacks with huge power, he drops no one in the tech of DH sections.

But do others drop him in the techy DH sections?

 

[IAmHolland]

Given that they were two minutes ahead of the field indicated that Nino was in top form, head and shoulders above the rest.

And the surprise was not that MVDP won but the ruthless precision on how it was done. MVDP stepped it up, Nino dug deeeeeeep and closed the gap, and then the 1300 watt move came. It was so harsh that it was passing of the baton of sorts.

It, to me, seemed very well planned. I think he pushed Nino above threshold just to hold on and dragged him around the course., I'm sure he knows Nino's FTP, and then crushed him with a big sprint to VO2Max effort. Nino had nothing left to even respond as he was above threshold for so long. That was just brutal raw power. It seemed clear to me that MVDP has a bigger FTP than Nino. I don't think there's anything Nino can do, short of MVDP falling off his bike or a mechanical. As long as MVDP rides clean/conservative, and makes ground on the climbs, it seems (to me) like nobody will beat him in XC.

 

[LMN]

As long as MVDP rides clean/conservative, and makes ground on the climbs, it seems (to me) like nobody will beat him in XC.

It is easy to forget that the week before MVDP got beat solidly my Fluckiger.

Nova Mesto is a course that suits MVDP really well. The climbs are short at punchy and the descents are long, but not technical enough where he is losing time to the best technical riders. An interesting stat. about Nova Mesto is that during a 12 minute lap, only 7 minutes are spent climbing. The normal for most course is 8-9 minutes of climbing per 12 minutes of racing.

It took MVDP four season to win an XCO world cup (everybody forgets that he raced in 2016). This win could be start of a streak or it could be a while for the next one.