{"id":463780,"date":"2026-02-09T13:28:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T13:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/463780\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T13:28:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T13:28:12","slug":"michael-matthews-has-everything-to-challenge-pogacar-and-van-der-poel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/463780\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cMichael Matthews has everything to challenge Pogacar and Van der Poel\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nIt is that contrast between ability and outcome that Dries De Bondt<\/a> addressed on the Pickx Sports Podcast<\/a>. \u201cThere have been some frustrations within the team with Matthews,\u201d De Bondt said. \u201cHe has the qualities to really put pressure on Tadej and Mathieu in races like the Tour of Flanders or E3. But his biggest stumbling block is his positioning.\u201dWhen belief becomes pressure<\/p>\n

For Jayco, this is not a question of a physical ceiling. Matthews has already shown he can survive the hardest terrain, sprint after long distances, and read finales well enough to remain relevant against riders who now dominate the classics landscape.<\/p>\n

The issue is that surviving is no longer enough. Against Pogacar and Van der Poel, the race is often decided before the final kilometre, sometimes before the final climb. Being present without control becomes a weakness rather than a strength.<\/p>\n

That is why Jayco moved to reinforce their classics leadership structure rather than overhaul their leader.<\/p>\n

Why Jayco brought in De Bondt<\/p>\n

De Bondt explained that the team\u2019s struggles in races like E3 were not accidental. \u201cThe team has always struggled to be well-positioned on the Taaienberg,\u201d he said. \u201cAfter Jens Keukeleire, there was no Belgian left in the squad either. His presence brought a lot in the classics. That\u2019s why they wanted an experienced Belgian who could guide the team towards the key moments in the spring.\u201d<\/p>\n

His role is designed to remove the margins that have repeatedly separated Matthews from the decisive moves. \u201cI\u2019ll be the road captain, but I\u2019m also allowed to ride my own race in the spring,\u201d De Bondt said. \u201cMatthews doesn\u2019t ride the entire spring programme either. He picks his races.\u201d<\/p>\n

Positioning as the final separator<\/p>\n

Crucially, De Bondt framed the problem as tactical rather than physical. \u201cThose Flemish races are the last discipline where watts per kilogram are the decisive factor,\u201d he said. \u201cIn those races it\u2019s also about the tactical decisions you make.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pointed to the benchmark set by rivals. \u201cYou have to read races. The Taaienberg in E3 is an enormous key moment, and everyone knows it, but many teams don\u2019t analyse the best way to be at the front there. Visma were masters of that in recent years, while Alpecin are also extremely good at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Matthews, the message from inside Jayco is uncomfortable but clear. The team believes he can challenge Pogacar and Van der Poel. That belief is precisely why patience is thinning. Talent has never been the issue. Turning presence into control is now the expectation.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It is that contrast between ability and outcome that Dries De Bondt addressed on the Pickx Sports…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":463781,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,189450,13633,145857,82,1422,130310],"class_list":{"0":"post-463780","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-cycling","11":"tag-dries-de-bondt","12":"tag-mathieu-van-der-poel","13":"tag-michael-matthews","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-tadej-pogacar","16":"tag-team-jayco-alula"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=463780"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463780\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/463781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=463780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=463780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=463780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}