Danny van Poppel uploads suspect Strava ride featuring 78km/h average

Danny van Poppel has uploaded a ride to Strava that contains some suspect data.

The Jumbo-Visma sprinter posted a 17.85km right on Wednesday afternoon (May 22) from a circuit in Belgium, with the speeds raising a few questions.

Van Poppel averaged a monstrous 78.3km/h for 13 minutes, hitting a maximum speed of 129.2km/h on the pan-flat circuit.

The ride is just titled ‘afternoon ride,’ but the Strava segments listed may shed some light.

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Van Poppel took third overall on a segment called ‘Gank Kart Circuit,’ which suggests the 25-year-old may have flicked on his Garmin device while go-karting near the city of Genk in Belgium.

While Van Poppel does have a huge engine, 78km/h seems a touch too high even for someone of his sprinting prowess, while 129km/h on the flat is just superhuman.

We’ve seen plenty of imaginative uses for Strava, but go-karting would be a new one.

He has received 188 Kudos on the ride, which has not been flagged.

The Dutchman is currently between goals after he abandoned his last race, the Tour of California, on the road to Mount Baldy on stage six.

His next race will be the Tour of Norway, which starts on May 28.

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Victory has eluded Van Poppel so far in the 2019 season, his best results being podium places in the Tour Down Under and the Vuelta a Andalucia.

He has had a mixed career up to this point, starting with Rabobank Continental Team back in 2012 before going on to ride for Trek-Segafredo and Team Sky.

Van Poppel joined Jumbo-Visma at the start of 2018 from the British WorldTour team, where is no second in line behind compatriot Dylan Groenewegen.

His career highlights include a stage victory at the 2015 Tour de France and a stage of the Tour de Yorkshire in 2016.