Neilson Powless Is Through!

Mathieu van der Poel is through!

Round Two, Match One: Sepp Kuss v. Mathieu van der Poel

Sepp Kuss Propaganda

Vuelta 2023, need I say more. And he even brought his dog there with its little special pass.

you absolutely cannot forget world's greatest domestique and 2023 Vuelta winner (GC Kuss!!!!)

The little domestique that could! He has been steadily working for tjv, been integral in their victories, just participated in all 3 grand tours, helped lead the team to victory, and won one himself. He's also cute af, married a spanish woman and speaks the language well. Oh, and he has an adorable puppy. He is an adorable puppy

Mathieu van der Poel Propaganda

No propaganda submitted.

Mathieu van der Poel is through to round two!

Round One, Match Two: Mathieu van der Poel v. Michael Vanthourenhout

Mathieu van der Poel Propaganda

No propaganda submitted.

Michael Vanthourenhout Propaganda

Tall and super blonde, he is Eli Iserbyt's knight in a shiny armor and won the cyclocross European Championship twice so his jersey can match his role.

I just love Eli and Michael, and watch them race together in cross. They bring team tactics in cyclocross races and it works.

Quarter-Finals, Match Four: Jonas Vingegaard v. Thibaut Pinot

Jonas Vingegaard Propaganda

No propaganda submitted.

Thibaut Pinot Propaganda

how can you not vote for absolute cycling legend Tibo. The small documentary they made at the end of the season? Fucking broke me man.

Chala-la-lala-lala TIIIBOOO PINOOOOO

Please accept Thibaut age 7 in his cycling gear as additional propaganda (x)

He was full of dreams, and already he wanted to be “Champion of the Tour de France”.

Quarter-Finals, Match One: Mathieu van der Poel v. Wout van Aert

Mathieu van der Poel Propaganda

As much as I hate the white bib shorts, Mathieu can definitely pull them off. Hate to admit it but he *does* look good in white.

Wout van Aert Propaganda

No propaganda submitted.

Quarter-Finals, Match Four: Jonas Vingegaard v. Thibaut Pinot

Jonas Vingegaard Propaganda

No propaganda submitted.

Thibaut Pinot Propaganda

how can you not vote for absolute cycling legend Tibo. The small documentary they made at the end of the season? Fucking broke me man.

Chala-la-lala-lala TIIIBOOO PINOOOOO

Please accept Thibaut age 7 in his cycling gear as additional propaganda (x)

He was full of dreams, and already he wanted to be “Champion of the Tour de France”.

Round Two, Match Seven: Jonas Vingegaard v. Marc Soler

Jonas Vingegaard Propaganda

No propaganda submitted.

Marc Soler Propaganda

He may be ranked #130 in the UCI rankings but he is #1 in my heart ❤️

More propaganda under the cut.

As you may know, Marc Soler moved to UAE Team Emirates in 2022 and has since been one of Tadej Pogačar's most valuable mountain domestiques – pulling the peloton for kilometres on end, being there in the final group before Tadej and Jonas start attacking each other. Then there's stage 17 this year; his infamous ‘scary eyes’ and comforting hand, pulling his leader up the Col de la Loze and helping maintain his podium place.

However! There is much more to Marc Soler than that! Before 2022, his entire professional career was spent with Movistar – that blue-clad stalwart of Spanish cycling hopes. With them, he was again an invaluable domestique to the likes of Enric Mas, Alejandro Valverde, Nairo Quintana, and Richard Carapaz. In the intra-team ~drama~ that plagued Movistar’s 2019/2020 seasons, he remained if not neutral, but relatively uninvolved. This is well-documented in their documentary ‘Movistar: The Least Expected Day’, the series that first endeared him to me.

In 2018, he had his day as a GC challenger – a week, really, swooping to victory at Paris-Nice to take the overall win with a fantastic attack on the final stage to make up more than a minute on Simon Yates

Now let me discuss stage 5 of the Vuelta 2022: Marc’s second stage win at this race – the first being in 2020. There was a battle for the breakaway, and Marc missed out! Never fear – the intrepid Spaniard did what he does best; launch a seemingly futile attempt to bridge, riding solo or in a small group for 50km+ that never really gets anywhere. Not today, though! He joined them, when Stewart attacked he countered brilliantly and rode solo for the final 15km. Brilliant stuff. This won him the stage, the combativity award, and later actions brought him the overall super-combative award, all while supporting Juan Ayuso to the podium.

Oh yeah, did I mention the mullet?? And the earring??

Outside of racing, he comes across as a genuinely nice guy – though I have yet to come across an interview in English, translations of Spanish-language seem cheerful and respectful, having fun in UAE’s social media videos!

He recovered brilliantly from having to abandon in both the Giro and the Tour in 2021 – breaking both of his arms in a crash in the latter, yet soldiering on and completing the stage.

Soler in his natural habitats; pulling the peloton up some steep, steep slopes, or breaking away for a hail-Mary attack that’s seemingly done only for the sheer joy of doing so. He’s a valuable domestique, brilliant rider, and most certainly embodies the spirit of ciclismo!

Thus concludes my Soler propaganda.

Vamos, Marc!

Simon Geschke is through!

Round One, Match Eleven: Michael Mørkøv v. Simon Geschke

Michael Mørkøv Propaganda

Incredible leadout man whom I saw forced to try and explain the mechanics of a leadout + sprint on TV using toy cars this last tdf. Was the lanterne rouge after his sprinter abandoned which earns him my sympathies especially as he remained grounded in his expectations yet slightly optimistic in the face of adversity. Danish nickname "Svanen fra banen" - "The swan from the track", which doesn't rhyme as well because we mustn't let road racing results distract from how he's been world champion on track. He is on the older side and a capital-D Dad, but we may see him sprint with Cavendish next year and I for one am excited about the possibility.

Simon Geschke Propaganda

Personal: Simon Geschke is an old man with a magnificent beard, born in East-Berlin (a soft pisces with a fiery aries moon, we stan a king) and despite living in the south of Germany for a while now he never lost his perfect accent and his dry pragmatic way of looking at the world. He is vegan and has a french bulldog (which...okay...), and his favorite hobby is fiddling with his Schwalbe, a vintage GDR scooter.

Professional: The son of a track cycling world champion probably learned to bike before he learned to walk. Now he rides for Cofidis as a mountain specialist and helper for Guillaume Martin. Biggest moment was gaining the polka dot jersey in the 2022 Tour de France. He held it for nine days and did a special and adorable video for KIKA, the kid's channel, where he counted all the dots on the jersey for the kids. There are 75 dots. Here is the video:

Matej Mohorič is through!

Round One, Match Ten: Matej Mohorič v. Cian Uijtdebroeks

Matej Mohorič Propaganda

No propaganda submitted.

Cian Uijtdebroeks Propaganda

No propaganda submitted.

Remco Evenepoel is through!

Round One, Match Fifteen: Remco Evenepoel v. Juan Ayuso

Remco Evenepoel Propaganda

No propaganda submitted.

Juan Ayuso Propaganda

No propaganda submitted.

Round Two, Match Three: Neilson Powless vs. Primož Roglič

Neilson Powless Propaganda

I mean just look at how happy he was starting that many days in the polkadot jersey in the tour this year

Primož Roglič Propaganda

No propaganda submitted.