Mathieu van der Poel won Milan San-Remo, but it’s not on Strava
The Dutchman hasn't used the platform since January
Mathieu van der Poel took an incredible win at Milan-San Remo on Saturday…but you won’t be able to see his numbers. In an interview with Sporza leading up the race, José De Cauwer mentioned how the CX world champ no longer shows his data to the public. “And again I read a lot about Strava. As if you have to prove on that platform that you are ready to win a race and that you necessarily have to show the rest how good you are.”
Watch up close just how fast Mathieu van der Poel attacked up the Poggio
When asked why he doesn’t share his information, the Alpecin–Deceuninck rider was candid.. “I had decided for myself to share it for one year because I received comments left and right that nothing was known about my training,” MvdP said. “Now I don’t feel the need to share that. Other riders do it, but most colleagues don’t put in a heart rate or power and then it’s not much use to you, because you don’t see anything.”
The numbers on the Poggio
Of course, for cycling fans, that means we will never know his watts in the fastest ascent of the famous Poggio. It’s clear Van der Poel broke the record. The previous record was 5’46” of Laurent Jalabert and Maurizio Fondriest in 1995. Wout van Aert and Tadej Pogacar clocked in on Strava segment at 5’36”, and Van der Poel went a few seconds faster.
No need for Strava for estimates
“I wouldn’t put any data on Strava myself. Why not? Why is that? How come football teams train behind closed doors?” Jose De Cauwer said. “”I don’t need Strava to make estimates. “I just look at the race.”
