The Cobbled Classics Begin: Mathieu van der Poel Versus The World

The Cobbled Classics Begin: Mathieu van der Poel Versus The World

From Beyond the Peloton Podcast by Spencer Martin

February 28, 2026 · 56 min

About this episode

Spencer Martin and Andrew Vontz preview the upcoming cobbled classics and discuss various cycling topics.

Spencer Martin and co-host Andrew Vontz discuss the upcoming weekend of racing at the unofficial season opening on the Belgian cobbles with Omloop Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, where Mathieu van der Poel will take on the field while Wout van Aert continues to struggle to get, and stay, healthly, before veering into a wide range of topics, including the continuing trend of road pros turning to gravel, and if the worst WorldTour roster could compete on your local group ride. Weekend Preview: Cobbled Classics Kickoff ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to Andrew’s Choose the Hard Way Podcast Follow Spencer & Andrew on Strava This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beyondthepeloton.substack.com/subscribe

People in this episode

Host: Spencer Martin

Guest: Andrew Vontz

Topics covered

  • Cobbled Classics
  • Mathieu van der Poel
  • Wout van Aert
  • road pros
  • gravel racing
  • WorldTour roster

Keywords

  • cobbled classics
  • Mathieu van der Poel
  • Wout van Aert
  • gravel racing
  • cycling
  • Omloop Nieuwsblad
  • Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Choose the Hard Way Podcast

Places: Belgium

More episodes of Beyond the Peloton Podcast

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Beyond the Peloton Podcast podcast page.