Mathieu Van Der Poel Crashed in the Olympic Final Due to Lack of Training Ramp

 Well, technically he did, just that he sent it OTB.

 pre-ride before you freeride

 He shouldn't have been going slow enough to need the ramp.

 Comment of the week.

 "Mathieu van der Poel, another of the pre-race favourites, pulled out after the fifth lap having crashed heavily early on. “He went in super slow and I backed off because I knew that wasn’t going to end well,” Pidcock said."

 @charleyboy14: "Downvote by Mathieu Van Der Poel"

 tom661 is actually Tom Pidcock

 He forgot to Van Der Pull-Up

 @transam711: Well he did, but then the course changed.

 As Colin McRae would say; “When in doubt, all out!”

 @charleyboy14: looks like he pumped into it to gain speed

 @dontcoast: you can see him slow down before the drop. There was no gaining speed there

 @spestana: *flat out*

 you're' not wrong, Walter. He's gonna have a tough time living that down.

 @stflood: comment gold medal for you

 when in doubt, air it out

 @chakaping: Amazingly Pidcock is actually right behind MvdP and has to dodge his cartwheeling body. What must he have been thinking seeing his main rival just absolutely crater on the first big feature?

 @Drew-O: "What a daft twat, thanks for the Gold"

 @snatchclown: it looks like he pulled up and pushed down to keep his weight low over the lip, a move you only take if you are anticipating a ramp, like you see at the Missoula course.

 Wow, look at where that no dropped rigid post has the saddle in that screen shot. Dropper posts win medals. Imagine being such a roadie you decide dropper posts are not for you in MTB?

 @beermtb: eloquently put

 @transam711: Haha neveeer ever !

 If he had 810mm bars, a 62-degree HTA, 180mm of travel and a 210mm dropper, this never would have happened.

 Oh, and 29 up front and 27.5 in the back…

 @spestana: flat out.

 So fuckin corny.

 He did send it, the difference is his clip will be shown on Friday instead of Saturday.

 @TheR: or had he just been Jolanda Neff, who just rode it out like a f***ing champion.

 @L0rdTom: She's such a bad ass. tbf she did have a dropper which for sure helps.

 @transam711: he did pre-ride tho...

 @boomforeal: when in doubt take off that ridiculous spandex clothing and go shred the Bikepark.

 @headshot: imagine being such a roadie that you need a training ramp for something 12 year olds would send on a trailbike.

 @headshot: I had the same thought. That seat looked really high.

 Amazing

 Preach it! I was looking back on some pics of a Whistler trip I did in 2011. Then versus now is just ridiculous.

 I think it was designed by a South African with tons of experience. Removable training ramps seem like something a non-biker or lawyer would come up with.

 @owl-X: non-biker, yes. Lawyer, definitely not (unless they were planning on ambulance-chasing victims). A major no-no in trail building (Of which I have been majorly involved with in the past 2 years) is that you never change a trail once it's established, especially if you're making it MORE dangerous.

 @owl-X: Nick Flores, I read he designed the 2012 and 2016 courses as well. Course looked really tricky, especially in the dust!

 @owl-X: lawyers put the training ramps in bro

 Dear jesus we need these people to come to Chicago.

 @ksilvey10: I was of the impression that under UCI rules once a course has been opened for practice it could not be changed.
If something like this is removed it should have at least been discussed at a riders meeting.

 @Yaan: I don't know about the rules, but removable ramps have been used at world cups before.

 @Ac282: I don't know anything about XC races, but why in the world would you change the course between practice and race?

 @Yaan: they were literally digging the DH track at Leogang World Cup during practice, and often roots and stumps get dugout on the track.

"If something like this is removed it should have at least been discussed at a riders meeting" - it sounds like it was, which is why his teammate and coach told him it would be removed.

 @flickr: As a literal bridge for riders to build up the confidence to commit to a feature.

 @RabWardell: It's less than 1m drop, I doubt anyone on this level needs to build confidence to commit that.

 @flickr: Clearly he was lacking.

 @Yaan: the ramp was removed the day before race day sometime mid training. It was told in the "boxes" and also latter in the day at team manager meeting.

 @flickr: the drop is more than 1.5m to where you land and with lip upward it is a bit mind f*cking to do it (when you do it it is really nice drop). Dont forget that bikes goes just up to 120 travel. And also don't forget womans are doing it, thats why it is good that ramp is there for some training.

 I think there was bad series of events that lead to a disaster. It is now hard to blame anyone and at the same time it is hard to swallow it i guess. But there is one thing we all know. He is a good bike rider and he will be back stronger!

 I will also contribute so they can come to Trestle to fix some janky lines...

 @FerencakU: and then there was Nino who send it and landed after the rock slab straight to grass. Might be a 2m vertical drop to where he landed.

 @m1dg3t: "why are they jumping it?"

"because it's clearly faster and more fun"

 @Yaan: they did discussed it, here's from the slide presented in managers meeting: www.pinkbike.com/photo/21021849

 @Yaan: Does Olympics fall under UCI rules?

 @owl-X: @owl-X: Dick Pound is a lawyer. Coincidence? Hardly.

 You see I think he was going too fast for the ramp anyway. As he crashes it looks as if he would have flown over the ramp to land front wheel first with the same outcome. He could have saved it had he reacted swiftly and hucked to flat. Using the TDF as a training exercise for the MTB Olympics? Brain fart VDP.

 @FerencakU: bring the right tool for the job

 @TobiasHandcock: "If bikes were meant to fly they'd have wings..."

LoL

You'd think 1 of the top XC racers on the planet would be Ok with that small drop? I hit something similar to that on my local loop yesterday. On my HT. I have 2 plates, 12 screws, wires, and bone cement holding my ankle together. Even did it on flat pedals and with a fixie post LoL. Next week for shits & giggles I'll do it on a 26er from '09 that everyone keeps telling me is unrideable because small wheels & geometry.

 @flickr: that is why it was there though.

 @RabWardell: Maybe not all the dirt roadies pay attention at riders meetings

 Yeah and put signs up there next to it telling riders it would be gone by the race in lots of languages. I'm sure some people are sitting around today thinking "oh man we shoulda thought of this".

 I agree, why would you practice on a non final version of the track???

 @Amandabree36: I never read signs at the heat of races, especially in XC, it is hard to focus on something other than the track and your pace.

 He was told many times by his coaches and teammates. before the race that the planks would be removed

 @Amandabree36: All they needed to do was post adjacent to the drop, a photo of Sam Pilgrim and his missing tooth.......

 @glen-allaire: people seem to be ignoring this very simple fact: he was told

 @SterlingArcher: He was told; but, tbf when your brain is on fire and you are in the heat of the moment, it's incredibly easy to forget things like that.

 "hey so we've got this bridge, it's about 20' long, and in competition you'll need to gap the entire bridge, so bring your downhill bike, but in practice, it's a bridge and everyone rolls it."

MVDP didn't get the message, but the idea just seems kinda silly.

 @ksilvey10: sure, I agree. But his response isnt consistent with the facts.

 @Narro2: I meant put signs up during practice, not during the race. All riders pre check features before riding them. if they had signs posted clearly stating the ramp would be gone, it would have been much safer.

 @SterlingArcher: from what we've heard, yes he was told. But clearly he did not retain the information or hear the information. I'm sure riders are told tons and tons of things before a race and in the chaos of the covid olympics plus language barriers, I'm not at all surprised that a rider wasn't aware of this one thing. IMO it's not enough to put something in a pre-race document packet or mention something during the pre-race meeting, especially considering the ramp was there during practice. Given that the feature had a high penalty for failure, they should have done so much more to make sure everyone was aware.

All that being said, he is a pro and probably should have known. But still. Race directors should have done better. They are supposed to be pros too.

 @PHeller: "but in practice, it's a bridge and everyone rolls it."

People were sending it in practice though.... from this very article:

"He asked me why *everyone jumped off the rocks*, when you can also roll off them. I then told him that they would remove those planks."

Let's be honest, nobody would give a shit if it was Joe Blow representing Luxembourg starting 10 rows back... but somehow Joe Blow knew to send the drop (because he listened to his coaches and went to the riders' meeting?). Yeah it's a bummer we didn't get to see Pidcock and MVDP duel for gold but he's a pro racer, he was warned etc. Can't really see how that's anyone's fault but his own.

 @Amandabree36: He was told many times before the race by his coaches AND teammates that the planks would be removed.
What else could they have done ?
Taser him 10 meters before the drop to wake him up?
Put back the plank just in time for only him to roll it?
Make a tunnel under the rock just for him?

I mean every other rider jumped it, every one of them

 @Amandabree36: The rules were the same for every riders. He was warned multiple times before the race like every riders.He just fumbled the ball on that one and it cost him thats it

 @glen-allaire: Too much time over the anaerobic threshold obviously doesn‘t help with memorizing simple tasks.

 @jokermtb: Don't think Sam has ever rolled anything, except maybe a burrito.

 @Amandabree36: great comment.

 and a fattie! @sapinva:

 @SterlingArcher: one thing I have learned in a career where I need to describe things to people quite often: if someone doesn't execute correctly, it's likely since I did a shit job.

None of us know how the Vader conversation went. It's pretty hard to claim "facts."

 @glen-allaire: Source?

 @bkm303: yeah hard to disagree… if half the field said they didn’t know the bridge was being removed, that would be one thing. But when you’re the one person uninformed, hard to point fingers

 @ksilvey10: And to be fair, the rest of the racers didn't forget...

 @SonofBovril: Some even gapped him as he crashed! If that was on the road, in the peloton, there would've been a massive pile up. Is Sagan the only roadie who can bunny hop?

 @glen-allaire: I keep seeing this, that he was told (and im not saying he was not) but where was he told? I cant find an article on it. All i see is MvdP saying he didnt know it was going to be gone.

Anyone who has watch MvdP race knows he has no problem jumping so im assuming rolling that section was going to be a tactical move.

 @SterlingArcher: I keep seeing this, that he was told (and im not saying he was not) but where was he told? I cant find an article on it. All i see is MvdP saying he didnt know it was going to be gone.

Anyone who has watch MvdP race knows he has no problem jumping so im assuming rolling that section was going to be a tactical move.

 @kilz: literally this article.

 @bkm303: Shit, you're right. But something just isnt adding up here. He keeps saying he wasnt aware it would be removed.

 @bkm303: "The ramp was also used in training then later removed at the Test Event in 2019 but Van der Poel was not at that event. Instead, he was relying on his Dutch team mate Milan Vader who told Wielerflits, "It may be hard to say, but we've talked about this before. He asked me why everyone jumped off the rocks, when you can also roll off them. I then told him that they would remove those planks. After all, they also did that at the Test Event"

This quote doesnt make it at all clear WHEN they talked about this. Was it talked about in the team meeting before the race or was it something offhand that was talked about leading up to the olympics or during practice or something?

 @kilz: MVDP himself noticed that nobody else rolled the drop in practice and asked his teammate about it. It's not like Vader just shouted it at him as he rode by. And even if it was an offhand thing... name one other rider who faceplanted off the drop. Nobody else was confused about it.

Obviously he's more than capable of riding that feature. He either (a) was too arrogant/busy/whatever to listen to his teammate, ask a race official, attend the test event, etc, or (b) he actually knew and just screwed it up in the moment and made up an excuse bc he was embarrassed.

 But it would seem that every other rider was aware of the change..

 @rallyimprezive: Or every other ride was just going to jump that section anyway.

 @bkm303: I'll wait for more info to come out before i make any sort of conclusion. If we're going off quite a few other sports/mishaps that have happened so far im not ready to just rule out the organizers f*cked up.

 @kilz: Blame the organizers and award him the gold hahahahahaha
He was told BEFORE the race that organizers would remove the planks PRIOR to the race lol
What else can you say to try to defend his mistakes???
EVERY other rider jumped that drop , EVERYone of them
Could it be that he made a mistake????Maybe????

 @kilz: next time I crash in a race I'll be sure to give the organizers a piece of my mind.

www.reuters.com/article/uk-olympics-2020-mtb/olympics-cycling-van-der-poel-escapes-serious-injury-after-ramp-error-idUSKBN2EW1Y7

His teammate knew. His coach knew. He asked them about it. They both said they discussed it with him. Everyone else in the field knew. How exactly did the organizers f*ck up? By not individually setting up a meeting with MVDP to inform him?

"Hey Poels, thanks for coming. We know you only got to Japan 2 days before the race, and we have nothing else going on at the moment so we've been watching you practice. Noticed you rolling the ramp, so just FYI... we're moving that."

 @bkm303: "ext time I crash in a race I'll be sure to give the organizers a piece of my mind."

lol sheesh you BIG mad. But hey, its the internet so I suppose making a concrete decision before all the information comes out is the status quo lmao.

 @glen-allaire: lmao i'm not even a MvdP fan you nerd.

You're going off a statement from his teammate which could very well be a bit of a mistranslation/communication (we saw this with with AvV after the womens road race)

I'd love for the officials to just make a statement to put any of this to bed.

 @kilz: what more information are we gonna get? It's he-said/he-said. MVDP says he didn't know, the rest of the Dutch team says they told him. Race organizers aren't gonna come out and say "our bad, here's the gold"... it'd be one thing if his team was crying foul about the race orgs but they're not.

I'm not mad, it sucks we didn't get to see him battle Pidcock. But it's crazy to put the blame on the organizers because ONE person crashed.

 Definitely stupid idea, but also... it seemed like everyone else knew?

 I took the training wheels off my kids bike without them knowing and got the same result.

 @Jvisscher: You took the training wheels of your kid's bike and Van der Poel crashed? That's some strange voodoo.

 @Jvisscher: SINK OR SWIM KID!

 @bishopsmike: everyone who was there in 2019 apparently... this whole concept gets dumber in my mind by the minute.

 @ksilvey10: You've got to feel hugely sorry for him, changing course features between training and racing seems like something you should tell competitors. Unfortunately however he should have known about the stupid ramp. 1) his team mate told him 2) I imagine they will have said at a briefing as everyone else knew 3) why go to the bother of making a rock drop if you're gonna put a ramp down it?

 @johnny2shoes: I absolutely feel sorry for him. Apparently the reason the other riders knew is because they did the same thing 2 years ago. I just think the idea of putting roll ramps on features for practice with the intention of removing them for the race is idiotic. People forget things like that in the heat of the moment quite easily.

 @ksilvey10: Yeah agree. "Here's the course you're going to race (apart from the bits we change)"

 @johnny2shoes: Vader told him the planks would be removed come on

 @glen-allaire: I agree with you he should have known. Also, looking at it again, he's just not telling the truth. He's going way too fast/far for a ramp.

 Surely chicken runs are the correct answer to tricky features, obviously with a built in time penalty

 Can someone insert RoadRunner and Wile E Coyote into the video?

 @johnny2shoes: Poels also skipped the rider's meeting.........

 @rrolly: I rode yesterday and rolled a set of stairs that I normally jump. Just didn't feel like hucking to flat yesterday. I think it was my fault VDP crashed. My voodoo bad.

 @DC1988: Yeah, a roll around would be better. However, sending it is faster on that drop, so rolling it would be a slight time penalty.

 @cougar797: Conserving energy for when you need it is more important than “sending” every single feature on the track.

 @johnny2shoes: This video makes it look like he was expecting a ramp: twitter.com/BasTietema/status/1419590795049451523

 @axcooper: you’re right. I was looking at the bbc footage (more side on) and it looked like he was half way between ramp and jump. And nobody cleans a rump or a jamp

 @johnny2shoes: he shoves his hands down the back of the rock even though his body seemed to be jumping it. So awkward.

 @rrolly: That made me laugh man!!

 @johnny2shoes:
I think he was trying to pump the ramp, he pushed the front of the bike down but there wasn’t the ramp to roll

 Needs a stupid rider to work.

 @glen-allaire: No, he told him at the 2019 test event the planks were removed. Anyway: It was a very stupid and costly mistake to assume they were there. The team coach felt sorry too according to Wielerflits, because apparently, he'd mentioned it a couple of times and regretted not saying it a couple of times more... Maybe Mathieu's head was still a little cloudy from travel? As usual the internet tries to blame the coach as the one 'responsible', which is a bit silly. Riders are not robots that have to be steered around all possible pitfalls.They have a mind of their own and they should be capable of making their own descisions.
Anyway, I would rather not have seen him play it 'safe' and send it, because he's totally capable to. It's the Olympics, bring your A-game without compromises... Maybe it wasn't the crash risk he feared, but tire or rim failure, but that's speculation.

 @johnny2shoes: About MvdP not telling the truth - Pidcock himself was riding behind him and explained that Mathieu braked a lot and his only explanation was that he assumed the ramp was there. Also Dutch cycling journo interviewed Mathieu and his motivation for riding the ramp in the first place was not flatting. Everything simply points to an faulty assumption.

Oh well... on to next race.

 Said nobody ever@MaplePanda:

 @DC1988: Looks like there is a chicken run, way off to the riders left.

 @DC1988: You can see the B-Line in the veloclub_argentina clip. Far right, two trees, look for the pink feather markers outlining the route. You can also see them at the very bottom of the screen.

 @Jvisscher: And the mistake was putting training wheels on to begin with, sorry. Much better to start on a balance bike and advance to a pedal bike.

 @jeroenk: And this is why Im glad XC has been getting more technical. Riding bikes so lightly set up that this little common technical move has someone worried more about getting a flat then going harder while in the Olympics race is not mtb in my opinion. Pidock obviously felt comfortable riding it. I hope they get to a point where they all make the technical moves on bikes setup within reason to reliably handle them.

 @SuperHighBeam: You know I watched a nationals XC race in my area recently where the riders were riding rock gardens, jumps and drops in between pedaling like machines. I watched all the womens race and came away super impressed on what those gals were sending on the xc bikes and making it look smooth. XC is changing to reflect what modern mtb is.

 @cougar797: I don't think it's a question of not trusting your bike, but taking away a bit of theoretical risk that yields little reward. There's footage that shows every moving part of Pidcocks' bike bottoming out and he weighs probably more than 10kgs less than MvdP. Bikes do become more robust - a few years' back, a sub 9kg FS wasn't uncommon. Now they all ride bigger wheels, wider rims, tires that aren't paper thin anymore and dropper posts.

I am also glad XC is getting more technical, simply because of the spectacle! It starts to become a unique discipline in that riders have to be good at everthing. In mainstream sports media (at least where I come from) the respect for MTB is growing steadily, because MvdP doesn't simply dominate this discipline like he does on CX and road and because of the skills required.

 @SuperHighBeam: please stop.

 @MaplePanda: FWIW, on this feature Schurter's technique of gapping the rocks in the landing area looked like the best option. He had a smoother landing and more speed out of it than anyone else.

 @DC1988: So you’re advocating B lines in the olympics? LOL soft as baby shit.

 @dakotadog: You don’t win style points in XC racing, let alone DH or whatever. If rolling the feature saves more energy (likely does), then why bother sending it?

 @Frontrange: yup. Good enough for the olympics but not for a rock roll. I mean, besides the frequency argument that keeps getting brought up, the olympics are a joke. Drop the frequency to once every 5 years for the other races and watch their importance climb!

 @jeroenk: can you spill us the sauce and give us the link to that Pidcock interview and Pidcock bike bottoming out? Thanks in advance, cheers!

 @rifu: Sorry, cannot find the clip anymore. The interview wasn't live - it was Dutch journalist Thijs Zonneveld that interviewed him and he quoted him in their (Dutch) "In het wiel" (in the wheel...) Tokyo podcast of yesterday.

 Haha yesss I'm glad somebody else pictured that whole scene

 Funny, I rewatched that video just last night haha

 Touche`....LMAO.

 He did a deaks , funny but gutting at the Olympics

 For those that don't know, enjoy!

youtu.be/AR59YIlVf5o

 This needs more upvotes.

 allways works.

 They have to include it.

 Monday misinformation mishap

 ON a Monday!

 Too bad Olympic content licencing would never allow it.

 That was Pidcock right behind him. He landed so smooth then had to negotiate the carnage...skills.

 @sprockets: He won by enough margin he could have stopped and give him the British "yo´right ma´e? Bastards took them ramps away didn't they?"

 Vader told him it would be removed I mean

 @glen-allaire: Sure, but he might not have been listening. It's easily done.

 @glen-allaire: What the f*ck was Darth Vader doing there?

 @glen-allairqe: Yep, even his trainer swears he said it a hundred times. And Vader said they talked about before the race.

 @murfio: Milan Vader Im talking about
Darth's other son

 @samalsop: If you're not listening to pre race meetings from your coaches and teammates at the Olympics
Well... Go back to road race lol

 it was his lip, not his hip (hard to pronounce with a bruised lip)

 @glen-allaire: the Danny devito twin to the Ahnold. “It’s like lookin in a mirror!”

 @glen-allaire: ..The one from the umpire strikes back

 @glen-allaire: Yes! Lol

 If you watch the vid with the ramp and then the crash clip, it look like he went to jump it and got bucked, his approach speed was the same as everyone else and his front wheel landed right where the bottom of the ramp would have been, back wheel was already going over the top by that point... seems more like a poorly contrived excuse to try and salvage some dignity... very dutch if you ask me

 I think your right, at first I thought he would of been going too fast to even touch the ramp but yeah, you can see him try to push off the removed ramp. What a bummer for Mathieu

 @glen-allaire: removing the whole hip? Didn't realize the crash was that bad. And that Vader is also an orthopedic surgeon

 And Vader told him it would be removed I mean come on

 @glen-allaire: Vader was his father, do you listen to your father?

 @glen-allaire: I find your obsession with mentioning Vader disturbing

 Apparently he checked the track, he wrote that usually he does 5 laps in XCO WC track but this time he did 12...I guess it was just a matter of miscommunication either between race organization and athletes or athlete teams and athletes.

 @murfio: Go read the whole article if you can

 @browner: I listen to every body with a light sabre

 @browner: He likely yelled out "NOooooooooooo" after learning that...

 @dick-pound: Maybe that was the problem? In the heat of the race with all that's going on (especially at the start) it's easy to fall back on muscle memory. If he did 12 laps using the ramp each time it'd be easy to "forget" how to ride that feature in the moment, even if he was told.

 @browner: Gotta hand it to you, that was good

 Evie Richards has done exactly this, getting jump coaching from Katy Curd for this single feature. She did her homework, VDP didn't unfortuntaly. If only his coach or teammate had told him... I'm also pretty certain that this would have been communicated in the pre-race meetings etc. Second time this Olympics that the Dutch have lost out through poor comms in their team after the women's road race.

 @dick-pound: I'm baffled that so many people think that the race organiser is to blame here. It seems pretty clear that VDP was told multiple times.

 He did check out the track, numerous times over 2 days. We could over-analyse this to death, but it is what it is: A costly assumption.

 @RabWardell: Everyone else seems to have gotten the message too... Sort of like blaming the Chef for making you fat....

 @RabWardell: eh. Sounds like MVDP f*cked up, but the ramp was stupid to begin with.

 @RabWardell: On top of that one of their BMX Racers hit an official who was walking across the track during a practice session. Pretty nasty collision. Tough week for Dutch Cycling.

cyclingtips.com/2021/07/dutch-olympian-niek-kimmann-collides-with-official-during-bmx-training-ride

 Guy LaDouche reporting in!

 @aaronjb:

Kenny: Well, here's the problem right here, Vic.
He flips and then he hits his head. If he didn't do that he would've won.

Vic: Great insight as always, Ken.

Don’t get eliminated!

 should be kamikaze drop

 @DadOfMtbRacer, @aaronjb, @theboypanda - these three comments are underrated and should get more love here, nicely done

 *crossing

 Someone in the Dutch staff is definitely not doing their job. The staff should have been out on the course watching their riders on training telling MVDP to jump the drop.

 I heard he was riding a road bike around France for training. See where that leads.

 the lack of plank was just a prank

 The Dutch are often confused and aimless

 @phazedplasma: That's not true! Or maybe it is. I don't know, or do I? Sorry, forgot what the point of my reaction was going to be. Never mind.

(Mumbles something about U.S. elections...)

 Hugely underrated comment!

 Let’s be clear… no one else crashed there. VDP is a pro, he should have been prepared, one way or another. Fantastic course. Looks hard, but fun for XC.

 That boat clip is unbelievable. So many things went wrong, including the captain nearly grinding up several athletes in a bid to fix a mistake.

 He dropped out of the tour as it was the mountains and he knew the tour was about to start. He didn't win the Olympics as he got something wrong and went OTB. Look at the Olympics road race Padacar managed 3rd just after winning the tour and he is no sprinter.

 Part of racing is knowing the course, I feel the same amount of sympathy for MVDP here as I do for a gravel racer that bitches because they missed a turn. That's not how racing works, learn the course if you want to win. Just like I have always said MVDP is a roadie at heart and lacks the commitment of a true mountain biker, this should be apparent to everyone now.

 @hardcore-hardtail: Well, he practiced the course and said he new it inside out. Except he obviously did not jump during training and did not do it during the race. I’m not sure what the Dutch staff was doing the days before the race, but they should’ve told MVDP to jump the drop on training. Telling MVDP to jump in a bi-sentence at lunch the day before the race is not god enough! On another note, why didn’t MVDP arrive at Tokyo earlier? Arriving at Saturday with the race on Monday seems very stupid.

 @magnusc: "Telling MVDP to jump in a bi-sentence at lunch the day before the race is not god enough!"

I mean, yes but MVDP was only in Tokyo 2 days prior so there wasn't a lot of extra time to tell him lol. Sure, a team manager is responsible for making sure the athletes have what they need, but if an athlete can't be bothered to help himself out (by arriving earlier, attending riders' meetings, etc) then even the best manager in the world is gonna struggle to fill them in on every little detail the could have missed (especially when they seem obvious to everyone else in Tokyo).

@hardcore-hardtail is spot on, IMO. No different from a gravel racer who misses a turn (except it's the friggin Olympics, and the racer is one of the fastest/most experienced pros in the world).

 @bkm303: Have you raced any XCO at all? XCO is way different than XCM or a gravel race. The whole point of XCO is that, it’s a course that they can inspect and train on prior to the race. All races with elements that have safety measures (like the bridge) should have the safety measures removed on the last scheduled training so you can see the track exactly like it will be during the race. Nothing should change after this.

 @magnusc: yes, I raced on the old Windham WC XCO track and others. I know how it works. Even at the actual world cup the taping/marking was subtly changed throughout practice as hazards were identified and the track wore in. They're not gonna round up all the riders to notify them every time they move the tape to the other side of a tree or spray paint a rock. It's on you to learn the course, and ask an official if you're not sure about something.

And to be clear, I'm not a perfect example of this - I've taken a wrong turn onto the prologue loop in the middle of an xco race. My fault!

Again, literally one person out of both race fields was confused about the ramp. I'm not gonna assume there was some systemic miscommunication when all signs point to one guy just failing to learn the track. If you're not sure, ask a race official. According to Vader he even asked why everyone was jumping it!

 @bkm303: It was one course change that took out the favourite male rider and almost took out the female gold winner. Pretty big deal if you ask me. We really don’t know how many others where affected by the bridge as we mostly saw the front of the race. When MVDP crashed I was thinking he might have all the blame, but when they re-installed the bridge for the women's race, something seems off with the arrangement. If the drop was too dangerous due to the wet conditions they should have closed the A line (drop) and make all riders ride the B line. The bridge was never a part of the course, it was just a safety measure so that riders could train on the drop without crashing.

 @magnusc: The course change didn't "almost take out" Neff, that was either PFP's brake check or how close Neff was following (depending on how you look at it). Either way it was just a racing incident and they both knew the ramp was part of the course. It was reinstalled because the recent rain had made everything much more slippery, and the riders were informed of that. It's a fair argument that they should have closed the A-line for the women's race, I can see it both ways. I'm glad they left it in, but still, nobody in the women's field was surprised by it.

I don't care if MVDP is the favorite or not. If it was some no-name racer from Estonia faceplanting off the drop we wouldn't even be talking about this. And I can be fairly sure that the fact that MVDP (a) showed up late to Tokyo, (b) didn't race the test event, (c) didn't attend the riders' meeting, (d) didn't listen to his teammate & manager MIGHT have contributed to him not knowing. All of those factors were in his control.

 @bkm303: I would agree with you if they did not put the ramp back for the women. I’m pretty sure Neff never trained on rolling the ramp since it was never suppose to be there.

 @magnusc: If Neff was airing the drop, she would have just flown right over the ramp in order to hit the landing, so I don't really see your point. The ramp would have been a non-issue and Neff of all people doesn't need to train to roll down a ramp.

Look at Neff's own statements about the race: "she pulled her brakes super hard and I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t brake and I ended up jumping with no speed at all. I was super lucky that I didn’t crash. It was such a stupid move of hers because it’s really dangerous for the people behind."

Idk if she was planning to drop it or roll it, but whatever she planned got screwed up by PFP grabbing a handful of brake at the lip of the drop... not the sudden appearance of a ramp. Avoiding people doing stupid stuff is just part of XC racing.

 @bkm303: Of course PFP braked before the drop, she was going to roll down. If Neff (knew the ramp was there and) hadn't been so hung up with jumping she would have left enough room between her and PFP in case PFP was going to roll it.

When you are in the zone and the puls is high, it’s hard to do anything else than what you have done over and over during practice. I think both MVP and Neff’s choices are good example of that.

 @magnusc: I agree, Neff should have left more room. That has nothing to do with her knowing the ramp was there. Maybe she thought PFP would send it, or at least pump into it with some speed instead of braking hard. Maybe she just made a mistake. There is literally no evidence to suggest that she didn't know about the ramp. Everyone is just conflating MVDP's lack of awareness/preparedness with the PFP/Neff incident because... ramp?

By your own argument (the track should be "exactly like it will be during the race") the women were more than adequately prepared, since the ramp was there in practice.

 @bkm303: Neff almost crashing could actually be because she was not "adequately prepared". Neff not expecting that PFP would roll it might be because, she did not know the ramp was there, or she in the moment forgot that it was there since it in the first place was not suppose to be there, and it was not there in the mens race.

I’m pretty sure all women who rolled the ramp where extremely sure that the ramp was there before they rolled it.

 Now fix the Pink bike drop.

 @j-t-g: YEAH right!

 rolling it could be more consistent / easier on equipment / maybe faster / I dunno...

all i know for sure is that when your teammates and team and country are all refusing to support your claims that you didn't know they'd remove the ramp, you're a dingdong.

And if he never jumped it all practice, I believe his story.

So he's a dingdong.

Can't write this stuff! I love it! Dude put out a trail skills flex edit like two weeks ago, to go along with the other top guys' road gap practice footage...

 He'd gain speed rolling a down ramp, but wouldn't gain any hucking to flat. Maybe also conserving energy.

 @mountainsofsussex: the landing doesn't look that bad though, particularly if you give it the beans and get slightly further into what looks like a steeper gradient

 The only reason everyone else was jumping it was because they knew the ramp wasn't there, pumping it would be faster without a doubt, you're pushing your momentum down the hill rather than letting gravity take you.

 @el-nombre: Put yourself on the bike he is on and remember he will have to battle it out with the rest of the fittest guys on a mountainbike and its fair to choose pumping down a ramp if possible vs going for a drop, especially dropping further than required.

My opinion though is it is 100% his fault, everyone else knew, nobody else made the error.

 @owl-X: Exactly
He was told prior to the race the planks would be removed lol

 Pumping it would definitely be faster.

 @samalsop: there is no way that rolling down that ramp would be faster than jumping to the downslope. Not a chance.

He said he didn't want to jump so he wouldn't risk a flat, and he thought that the ramp would be there because he didn't listen to ALL THE PEOPLE TELLING HIM THE RAMP WOULD BE TAKEN AWAY.

 @makkelijk: it wouldn't

 @RabWardell: pre-hopping and pumping it could be faster. If he would not slow down that is.

 @samalsop: No, not really. The ramp was in place for the women's race and most of the field (pretty much all the top finishers) still sent the drop on every lap. So there must have been a benefit to sending vs rolling. Even if the gain was as simple as going into it full speed and not having to slow down like MvdP did.

 He probably did not want to risk getting a puncture. Racing is (whether you like it or not) about getting to the finish line first, not about looking cool.

 @magnusc: So did he get to the finish line first?

Or how about PFP? She rolled the drop too and that time the ramp was actually there. Did she get to the finish line first?

 @bananowy: There is more to a race than one jump/drop. Making the best decisions in a race does not guarantee you first place … I believe the rider is a lot more capable at making decisions on how to ride the course than random people online.

 "There is more to a race than one jump/drop."
The Sakura Drop begs to differ as being comfortable with hitting it (whether related to skill PFP/Neff> or trust in equipment MvdP> proved to be critical for both gold medals.

" Making the best decisions in a race does not guarantee you first place"
It definitely helps though. And making the worst possible ones (like not bothering to learn the course for a super important race) sure seems to guarantee one won't get first place. Do you actually think MvdP made the best decision there and just got unlucky?

"I believe the rider is a lot more capable at making decisions on how to ride the course than random people online."
Well, we have the benefit of hindsight and now that it's done and dusted it's not speculation anymore - we KNOW he made a bad decision and that all male and female podium finishers sent the drop.

 @bananowy: Jolanda did not win because she jumped the Sakura drop. She was actually super close to loose her gold medal because she jumped it.

MVDP did not loose the race because he did not jump, he lost because he did not know the bridge would not be there during the race.

Cink was at 3 place when he got a flat … and lost his bronze.

 @magnusc: I never said she won because she jumped though, did I? She won because being comfortable with the drop allowed her to avoid a crash and put her in a good position to overtake. Had she crashed there, she would have been out of contention for gold.

And no, she didn't almost crash "because she jumped". Did you even watch the race? She almost crashed because she was prevented from jumping it by PFP dropping the anchor in the middle of the race course like a complete muppet in probably the worst possible place.

Of course there were other technical features that she bossed and PFP struggled with including the overtake spot 20 seconds later. And she was super strong on the day. But inability to clear the Sakura drop would have ended her race on the first lap.

MvdP 100% lost because he didn't jump, you're just trying to bend reality now for the sake of arguing and you know it... The "didn't know" excuse (which is silly btw) was just a reason for not jumping. The ultimate cause of his crash and DNF was that he did not send the Sakura drop.

Even if he thought the ramp was there, had he made the decision to take the riskier/faster option vs not trusting his tyres, he would have competed for gold, it's that simple. As an added bonus at that point he'd have realised the ramp was gone and likely remember it for the remaining laps.

Who cares about Cink's flat (except for Cink)? We were talking about decisions earlier and that includes gear choices, pressures etc. that fit the course at hand. All medalists in addition to the obvious fitness had the skill, the gear and the will to tackle that specific track's features.

I'm not saying that drop was the only deciding factor in the race (if you think I am, please quote where). But if you're trying to claim it didn't turn out to be a key feature in both races' key moments and that the ability AND willingness to hit it wasn't a major factor in the finishing order, you're either delusional or trolling.

 @bananowy: You said that the «Sakura drop begs to differ» when I said «there is more to a race than one drop/jump».

If Neff knew the ramp was there and she was going to jump, she obviously should have left a bigger gap between her and PFP. If the rider in front of you is going to roll down which is done at a lower speed the best thing to do as the rider behind is obviously also to roll down. Neff almost crashing (if she knew the ramp was there) is only Neff’s fault and that happened because she was jumping and did not leave enough room between herself and PFP.

With your logic MVDP did not loose the race because he did not jump. He lost it because he did not fall smooth enough and bruised his hip.

Sending it or rolling down the Sakura drop was obviously not a major factor in the winning order of the women’s race. By sending it you only saved 1 sec. Cink is a good example of how you can loose it all by risking too much. If the ramp was there in the mens race MVDP might have won and Cink might have made it to the finish.

 @magnusc: How about be honest and quote that full sentence No point in continuing if you're unable to have a conversation in good faith.

"she obviously should have left a bigger gap"
Nah. She was racing, not cruising. She stayed close enough to overtake and did just that. She won. Those who were cruising got dropped.

That next one is so out there I'm not even sure what to say to you. Zero to do with "my logic", you're just being dishonest again. Men's and women's situations were completely different including the lack of the ramp and the fact MvdP had a clear run-in. He lost because he chose to pump the drop. It's that simple.

"Sending it or rolling down the Sakura drop was obviously not a major factor in the winning order of the women’s race. By sending it you only saved 1 sec."
Again, I never said that time saving on the drop won the women's race. I said that being capable of sending it allowed Neff to stay upright and win. Stop trolling, it won't work.

"Cink is a good example"...
...of exactly nothing related to our conversation. Refer to my previous comment, not going to repeat myself.

"If the ramp was there in the mens race"
If my grandma had wheels, she'd have been a bike. If the track was paved with no jumps Cink could run 10 psi in tyres made of paper and not flat.

No one cares what would have happened if the ramp was there because - get this - The. Ramp. Wasn't. There.

I'm done going round in circles with you. Nothing more to add. It's clear we won't find common ground as I'm talking about the actual race that happened in real life and you're on about some imaginary what-ifs. If you take some weird sort of pleasure from this kind of arguing for the sake of arguing, you can continue without me. If you genuinely want to learn what happened, please refer to the race results or better yet, go watch the replay.

 @bananowy: Men and women’s race where not complete different. They had both decisive moments at the exact same section on the course and how it was run, rolling or dropping.

Some do care what would have happened if the ramp was there during the mens race. Some of us was really looking forward to a big fight between MVDP and the rest of the field.

Neff did not overtake at the drop. She actually lost time on the drop because she was hot headed, leaving to little room and going for the drop instead of rolling controlled behind PFP.
There where two key moments in the women’s race:
1. Neff almost lost the race by dropping behind PFP instead of rolling, yet miraculously managed to save it.
2. PFP slid out on the rockgarden at the end of the high speed dual line section.

The fact that you think riders lost the gold because they where cruising through an Olympic XCO race. Are you serious or just trolling? I’m not here to discuss your grandma.

 @magnusc: Do you think I wasn't looking forward to seeing MvdP race? Where did I say that exactly? I just pointed out the question of what would happen if the ramp was there is completely irrelevant because in the real world it wasn't there and was never meant to be there.

There were no miracles in Neff's race, just skill and preparation for the specific challenges of the track at hand.

I did not say Neff overtook on the drop.

It's literally impossible discussing anything with you because you keep putting words in my mouth that I did not say. I doubt it's a reading comprehension problem so will just assume bad will and trolling. This is pointless as I said above. Peace out.

 @bananowy: Yes, skill, preparation and a little bit of luck let here make that miracle save.

Where did I say you where not looking forward to see MvdP race? Where did I say you said Neff overtook on the drop? The problem here is that you seem obsessed with some sort of meta discussion about the discussion.

 Looking up? The feature that makes the drop hard is that it’s blind. You cannon see the landing or the ramp when approaching the drop.

 There was no force to counteract his front wheel dropping...Vader physics fail!

 @CSharp: He was hoping to feel the Planck force, when he really should have been Hawking it to terra Fermi.

 @barp: LoL Maybe he got spooked by Schrodingers cat there on the sidelines?

 Yoda’s advice was going through his mind - “Roll the drop do n………ot.”

 Hahahahaha. Epic comment, so underrated!

 I think of something along the lines of MVDP being "an expert bike handler" and "not needing a dropper post"

 It's a learning process, it also costed him a race before he started using a chain guide. Maybe in the future?

 Does it look like he needs one?

 Chance of it breaking. Someone in last WC Cups (i dont remember, Fluckinger?) lost spots, because dropper broke and he had to ride on his legs ending of the race and there were failures in women races as well.

Also, you constantly have to turn it on/off, you don't just send it down and forget about it, so it's one thing less to think about when you are in red zone all the time.

I think these are the reasons one might not choose to use dropper, and seeing MvdP skills (and some other riders who don't use one), he has no problems with difficult tracks.

Also some weight, yeah.

 He's tried a dropped but prefers to ride with a fixed post.

 @bikefuturist: with a dropper post or maybe without an expert bike handler would normally adjust and huck to flat in an instant. Anyway, he was overshooting the ramp by the look of it.

 winning this race is a way less interesting subject, tis true

 Spoiler alert...

 Exactly my thoughts. It seems kinda moronic to have a ramp during practice. The best practice would be on the course setup exactly like race day.

 Why would he even think flatting was possible there if he thought the ramp was always going to be there?

 There is a B Line to the riders left of the drop. It swings way out and then rejoins near the bottom of the landing slope. Nobody was taking it.

 You must be new. Go watch some videos of him riding DH or dirt jumps. Sometimes people who ride bikes crash bikes. Sometimes there are other contributing factors to crashes. Sometimes we use a term like accident to describe crashes. You should stick to trolling on Facebook where people don't know anything about the sport.

 Rolling the ramp would be slower but not much slower. Taking the B line is around 7 seconds per lap slower. The training ramp is there to allow riders the opportunity to build-up to jumping. Seems like everyone else knew the ramp would be removed.

 @RabWardell: Interested in your insight, do you think MvdP got back on his bike after a (reported) minute in the ground because he thought he could still ride his way back into medal contention? Seemed like a massive task given the form everyone else was on.
Second question. I thought Nino did fantastic, I would have loved to see him get that bronze. Do you think his poor UCI WC results this year are a result of his Olympic prep or did he just push himself to another level for the Olympic race?

 It makes perfect sense. Riders can practice the course and that line but if they felt the drop was an injury risk they don't have to hit it. Seems like the removal was common knowledge.

 @Superburner: yeah I think he did, and it could have been possible. Serrano rode to a medal from 35th on the start loop and was 1:12 behind at the halfway mark, cutting that deficit to 34 seconds by the finish. He was the fastest rider on track for all of the last 3 laps.

I don't know about Nino's WC form this year. I just think it could be the case that he can't be on top forever. The 1-year delay really impacted him, and I think it would have been a different outcome if the Olympics was held in 2020. I agree that he did an amazing ride. I was gutted that he didn't win another medal, but he raced full gas with class and is a great sport.

 @RabWardell: thanks for the perspective Rab. That would have been amazing to come from that far back. Seems like it was an injury that cost him a potential medal and not the time loss?
Agreed that 2020 would have been a better year for Nino but certainly much worse for Yolanda. I guess the Swiss can’t have it all.

 This is our year. We also have the top favorite team for the team sprint, so I guess they're gonna get COVID-19 one of these days.

 RTFM!

 Neff would have been calling him a pussy for slowing down for the ramp.

 Yes, he could have hopped, when the missing ramp was noticed.