Teams & Riders The Remco Evenepoel is the next Eddy Merckx thread

[red_flanders]

Remco is not riding b!tch for Lipo. Not going to happen. Not for Roglic either, so I'm frankly puzzled by the Bora strategy. But hey, I'm sure they know better than me, so they must have a good plan sorted out.

My guess would be Remco and Lipo at the Tour with Remco as the stated leader, and Lipo there as a major threat. Not sure what else makes sense from a team POV.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Rogla for sure won't retire before riding with Remco.

 

[AmRacer]

Makes sense…is that speculation or is there info to that effect floating out there?

Rogla has nothing more to proof, he will win TdS and that's it.

 

[red_flanders]

Rogla has nothing more to proof, he will win TdS and that's it.

I find Roglic's situation in all this a harder read. Could definitely see him going for a Giro or a Vuelta, and wouldn't rule out all 3 of them doing the Tour next year. Suisse for sure makes sense. I think for the GT's my early guesses would be...

2026
Giro - Lipo as leader
Tour - Remco as leader (1a) with Lipo as (1b)
Vuelta - Roglic as leader

Dunno. Will be interesting to see how they use all that horsepower.

Would love to see Remco riding the Giro FTW in 2027.

 

[AlpRaid]

Would love to see Remco riding the Giro FTW in 2027.

I'm hoping 2026.

 

[red_flanders]

I'm hoping 2026.

Wouldn't be a bad thing at all. How might you see that breaking out in terms of who is riding what?

 

[Oldman]

But will Remco be the sort of guy happy with that? He know he has expectations of podium or better, if Lipo is better than him there will be some problems for sure

Remco will need to learn a few things that weren't part of his prior support team's focus, or on their radar at all.
First: GTs are, more than ever; a serious team business proposition. You can channel your inner 18 year old fantasies after you find yourself on Tadej's wheel very close to the finish line. Focus on incremental improvement, bike and tactical skills should be foremost on his mind. Confidence will come from that, too.

 

[AlpRaid]

Wouldn't be a bad thing at all. How might you see that breaking out in terms of who is riding what?

oh man, I don't know.

I actually think remco was at least thinking of doing both Giro and TDF this year. the accident changed all that (even as a possibility).

personally, I wouldn't mind him targeting Giro (particularly if the route is somewhat favorable). as long as the crashes have not permanently stymied his abilities, we know he can get in amazing shape for it (as he was in 2023).

then recover and no races between the Giro and TDF. Then, if he feels recovered, head to the TDF to help in the opening TTT and see how far he can go. If he proves not to be able to fight for GC, then I am sure he would support Lipo and maybe go for a stage.

the issue I see is that there does not seem to be much between rog, lipo and remco in climbing and ITT. Sure, one might be slightly better on a certain type of route on a given day, but I am not sure how they parlay that into challenging the alien(s). Lipo and Remco are similar mountain diesels, and rog (probably more consistent in the high mountains) seems to have lost a bit of snap because of age.

 

[Andre]

Wouldn't be a bad thing at all. How might you see that breaking out in terms of who is riding what?

bold prediction for Giro 2026: Remco, Lipo, Hindley, Roglic, Pelizzarri, Van Gils, Meeus, Moscon

 

[FroomeWagon]

Rogla has nothing more to proof, he will win TdS and that's it.

Is it there is nothing more to prove, or nothing more he can prove?

For example, I kind of got the feeling from the Netflix special that he wanted to prove to Visma that they made a mistake by choosing Vingegaard as the team leader.

Likewise, his palmares still lacks a TDF win. Maybe he is too old, but I think if he rides the TDF, stays on his bike, and something bad happens to Pogi and Vinge, he can win it.

Of course it's difficult to tell because he has a hard time finishing a race, but I think he still might be the 3rd best GC rider in the peloton. If he believes the same thing, he should ride the TDF. Of course, Bora-RB might not let him now ... idk.

 

[red_flanders]

bold prediction for Giro 2026: Remco, Lipo, Hindley, Roglic, Pelizzarri, Van Gils, Meeus, Moscon

That is bold!

 

[Berniece]

bold prediction for Giro 2026: Remco, Lipo, Hindley, Roglic, Pelizzarri, Van Gils, Meeus, Moscon

They don’t need to take Meeus though

 

[Links2003]

They don’t need to take Meeus though

Sound interesting. But I think van Gils will have a complete campaign in the spring classics. So Aleotti as a pure helper would be a good fit.

 

[CyclistAbi]

They don’t need to take Meeus though

Why?

 

[Berniece]

Why?

Because the situation is different from this year. For Meeus to join there are 2 things needed.

1. Meeus needs to show he’s in great shape and winning races in June
2. There is doubt about RBH leaders

There won’t be doubt next year. Not because of Remco alone, also because they now know how Lipowitz can perform in a TDF, and on top of that maybe Roglic will have an issue-free build up. So you would need 3 guys in trouble before you are in doubt and you would bring Meeus.

 

[CyclistAbi]

@Berniece

I see.