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

[noob]

Probably the lens. Hah!

Seriously though, he is visibly more lean than during Dauphiné. Halfway this clip -if you pause it- you can get a better view. Let's see where it takes him.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1806048938316685503

View: https://x.com/soudalquickstep/status/1806048938316685503

Omg is he learning mandarin?

 

[red_flanders]

Probably the lens. Hah!

Looks like a 24mm. Makes the face look wide and the neck thin. But then I'm just saying he looks fit, not making .5 kilo definitive statements. Hah...hah!

Seriously though, he is visibly more lean than during Dauphiné. Halfway this clip -if you pause it- you can get a better view. Let's see where it takes him.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1806048938316685503

View: https://x.com/soudalquickstep/status/1806048938316685503

Yeah he looks tan, fit, ready. Sounds ready. Sounds like he's being smart. Hope he can keep himself contained.

Hope his team can be something approximating reasonable. He's gonna need 'em.

 

[Rackham]

For the sake of the Tour & also the chances of Pog's rivals, I do hope this rider has his best legs. His stated goal (top 5 & a stage win) is quite ambitious & pretty much mirrors the goals he set himself - at least publicly - before his victorious Vuelta two years ago.

An Evenepoel with top form can surely be in yellow after the first ITT, in any case. It'll be better for everyone if Pog has someone else to keep an eye on.

 

[AmRacer]

For the sake of the Tour & also the chances of Pog's rivals, I do hope this rider has his best legs. His stated goal (top 5 & a stage win) is quite ambitious & pretty much mirrors the goals he set himself - at least publicly - before his victorious Vuelta two years ago.

An Evenepoel with top form can surely be in yellow after the first ITT, in any case. It'll be better for everyone if Pog has someone else to keep an eye on.

So three of the big 4 going for the yellow, and the last one going for a top 5.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

So three of the big 4 going for the yellow, and the last one going for a top 5.

Smart tactic. Pogi should do the same - saying his goal is top10 and he's feeling the Giro in his legs.

 

[Extinction]

Probably the lens. Hah!

Seriously though, he is visibly more lean than during Dauphiné. Halfway this clip -if you pause it- you can get a better view. Let's see where it takes him.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1806048938316685503

View: https://x.com/soudalquickstep/status/1806048938316685503

Looks like Alaphillipe gave him a few pointers about how to slim down.

 

[Berniece]

An Evenepoel with top form can surely be in yellow after the first ITT, in any case. It'll be better for everyone if Pog has someone else to keep an eye on.

They all need to be in good form and try to attack Pogacar. A bit like the Tour of 2021

 

[scribers]

someone is a bitter Betty

 

[Froome]

Well, honestly, UAE has every right to capitolize on the PR situation, to the same extent Visma, Bora and Soudal can play down their riders or at least not conflate with useless boasting. It's mind games pure and simple. The road, as always, has the final word.

Like i said, they are doing a great job, better than the other teams.

I'm not a fan of Roglic and Remco evenepoel, but at least they not pretend to be something they're not.
Remco evenepoel when when he races, he always talks from his guts, and shows who he really is, Roglic the same like in the Vuelta where he said he was there to compete and to win. They don’t care about showing a image of good guys to everybody. I prefer riders like that, even if i'm not a fan of them.

 

[ontheroad]

Remco is going into this race very low key and I think a top 5 in GC and a win in the first TT would be a good result on his first Tour. However if he is fighting for top 5 it is going to curtail his natural attacking instincts as a rider. How he copes with that will be interesting because he is not a rider who likes to ride conservatively on the wheels.

As for what the teams and riders say in the build up to the race, I'd take much of that with a pinch of salt. A lot of it is just used to generate hype and PR for their team and sponsors. Once the race begins it becomes completely irrelevant.

 

[Didinho]

Hope he can find his best legs again this GT. So we can put all these weight guesses behind and just focus on what he achieved. Top 5 and a stage win will be a strong debut ride. After his interviews I’m optimistic. Hope he rides a bit conservatively the first 2 weeks (TT exception) and be consistent. And no crashes/illness.

This can be a start of something to look forward to every year.

 

[solo80k]

Am I wrong or Remco is cheering for Pog to destroy Visma during TdF in this interview? Is there a bad blood between Remco and Jonas or what?

 

[Didinho]

Am I wrong or Remco is cheering for Pog to destroy Visma during TdF in this interview? Is there a bad blood between Remco and Jonas or what?

He just saw what we all saw in the Giro. Just his honest opinion. And you put the pressure on someone else.

 

[Extinction]

Am I wrong or Remco is cheering for Pog to destroy Visma during TdF in this interview? Is there a bad blood between Remco and Jonas or what?

I don't think so, after all, he said he thought Jonas wouldn't get dropped in the opening stages, although he might well wish that he does. Such are rivalries. All is fair in love and war.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Like i said, they are doing a great job, better than the other teams.

I'm not a fan of Roglic and Remco evenepoel, but at least they not pretend to be something they're not.
Remco evenepoel when when he races, he always talks from his guts, and shows who he really is, Roglic the same like in the Vuelta where he said he was there to compete and to win. They don’t care about showing a image of good guys to everybody. I prefer riders like that, even if i'm not a fan of them.

Well, we all have reasons to like or dislike others. I was quite fond of Roglic back in 2016-2018, to the point i was actively cheering for him to do well. He was unpredictable and had this x factor. But that changed when Visma turned him into this utterly predictable wheelsucking mountainsprinter. And for the life of me, i can not understand so many people still like him. In interviews he's just as boring and predictable as during races. The aura of a sphinx works, when you are tight-lipped in front of the camera and then blow up the race on the bike. Then it's funny. It doesn't work when you are just as boring on the bike as off the bike. Then there was the Fred Wright case, where blame was laid when introspection would have been preferable (with many voices from the peloton claiming it is actually Roglic who is a danger to others, more than the other way around). I also think he is a bit of a child when things don't go his way and his behaviour becomes quite petty.

Not the biggest Pogacar fan, and have found much of his persona to have been crafted around him since his first TDF victory. But you can't argue with how the guy races, even when he is digging his own grave while doing it, like in the '22 TDF. The dude goes and goes hard. Clinic considerations aside, he is an exciting rider. The argument of "luck" (as per Red Rick) does hold some truth, the worst he's faced in his career so far was a broken wrist. Where as Evenepoel, Roglic and now Vingegaard as well, have all faced much worse injuries.

Vingegaard, well, i'm sure he's a very friendly and polite guy, you just have to wonder who neutered him and how long ago that happened. I kid, but to me he's giving off these vibes of a person who was bullied as a child/teen and that has left a permanent mark. If that is indeed the case, i do not intend to mock him as i have tried my whole life to stick up for people who got bullied and the first time i got disciplined at school was for punching someone else's bully in the face. Whether or not that is part of Vingegaard's story, if i were to go to a bar with any of these guys, he would be the last one on my list. Can't imagine having much of a conversation with him.

I understand where people's dislike for Evenepoel comes from, or at least i think much of it comes from him being "announced" while being a junior, and people immediately get into a defensive attitude towards such a potential phenomenon. I think a lot started then and there. Him speaking his mind, is then quickly perceived as arrogant instead of honest and ambitious. This forum is proof of how for no good reason misfortune turns into ridicule. And as if him not winning turns into a personal succes for some people.

And then there are riders like Bernal, who i can not imagine anyone disliking.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

First time since august 2022, that he will ride in the regular team's jersey. In the past two years he either wore the WCC RR, WCC ITT, NC RR, NC ITT, leaders jersey, BYR jersey, mountain jersey or points jersey.

 

[Froome]

Well, we all have reasons to like or dislike others. I was quite fond of Roglic back in 2016-2018, to the point i was actively cheering for him to do well. He was unpredictable and had this x factor. But that changed when Visma turned him into this utterly predictable wheelsucking mountainsprinter. And for the life of me, i can not understand so many people still like him. In interviews he's just as boring and predictable as during races. The aura of a sphinx works, when you are tight-lipped in front of the camera and then blow up the race on the bike. Then it's funny. It doesn't work when you are just as boring on the bike as off the bike. Then there was the Fred Wright case, where blame was laid when introspection would have been preferable (with many voices from the peloton claiming it is actually Roglic who is a danger to others, more than the other way around). I also think he is a bit of a child when things don't go his way and his behaviour becomes quite petty.

Not the biggest Pogacar fan, and have found much of his persona to have been crafted around him since his first TDF victory. But you can't argue with how the guy races, even when he is digging his own grave while doing it, like in the '22 TDF. The dude goes and goes hard. Clinic considerations aside, he is an exciting rider. The argument of "luck" (as per Red Rick) does hold some truth, the worst he's faced in his career so far was a broken wrist. Where as Evenepoel, Roglic and now Vingegaard as well, have all faced much worse injuries.

Vingegaard, well, i'm sure he's a very friendly and polite guy, you just have to wonder who neutered him and how long ago that happened. I kid, but to me he's giving off these vibes of a person who was bullied as a child/teen and that has left a permanent mark. If that is indeed the case, i do not intend to mock him as i have tried my whole life to stick up for people who got bullied and the first time i got disciplined at school was for punching someone else's bully in the face. Whether or not that is part of Vingegaard's story, if i were to go to a bar with any of these guys, he would be the last one on my list. Can't imagine having much of a conversation with him.

I understand where people's dislike for Evenepoel comes from, or at least i think much of it comes from him being "announced" while being a junior, and people immediately get into a defensive attitude towards such a potential phenomenon. I think a lot started then and there. Him speaking his mind, is then quickly perceived as arrogant instead of honest and ambitious. This forum is proof of how for no good reason misfortune turns into ridicule. And as if him not winning turns into a personal succes for some people.

And then there are riders like Bernal, who i can not imagine anyone disliking.

The talent of Pogacar and the fact he is an interesting rider in the race, is not in question, even if they are creating an aura of him very exaggerated, like an invincible guy.

What annoys me most is some attitudes inside and outside the bike in comparation with other riders like Vingegaard, Roglic or Remco.

Every rider has virtues and defects, but they are making an image of Pogacar of a guy with no defects, where everything he does is beatiful, and when he wins, the world is also beautiful.

Let's take some examples, the guy is not criticized for nothing. When he does a superb performance, there's never difficult questions like in other riders, there's no criticism or "clinical issues". When he attacked in 2022 on the dangerous descent of Spandelles where the organisation was telling to the riders ro not risk in the descent since there were loose gravel in the road, he still attacked Vingegaard, and continued to push even when Vingegaard almost crashed. Another example is when he started to mumble with Van baarle after losing Tour Flandres in 2022.
If it was other rider with a different image, they would criticize him a lot, for what he done.

Those examples of Evenepoel or Roglic where he had childish attitudes, shows that they have defects like all the humans, but for some reasons, it looks like there is one guy who looks like he is a holiness, but like i said emirates is doing a great job in terms of communication.

I'm not trying to pass an image of my favourite rider has someone with no defects, since certainly he already made mistakes like in the Vuelta with Kuss, and i already said about him that "miracles" happens in cycling, i know how this sports works. Everybody has virtues and defects.

 

[Andre]

Well, we all have reasons to like or dislike others. I was quite fond of Roglic back in 2016-2018, to the point i was actively cheering for him to do well. He was unpredictable and had this x factor. But that changed when Visma turned him into this utterly predictable wheelsucking mountainsprinter. And for the life of me, i can not understand so many people still like him. In interviews he's just as boring and predictable as during races. The aura of a sphinx works, when you are tight-lipped in front of the camera and then blow up the race on the bike. Then it's funny. It doesn't work when you are just as boring on the bike as off the bike. Then there was the Fred Wright case, where blame was laid when introspection would have been preferable (with many voices from the peloton claiming it is actually Roglic who is a danger to others, more than the other way around). I also think he is a bit of a child when things don't go his way and his behaviour becomes quite petty.

Not the biggest Pogacar fan, and have found much of his persona to have been crafted around him since his first TDF victory. But you can't argue with how the guy races, even when he is digging his own grave while doing it, like in the '22 TDF. The dude goes and goes hard. Clinic considerations aside, he is an exciting rider. The argument of "luck" (as per Red Rick) does hold some truth, the worst he's faced in his career so far was a broken wrist. Where as Evenepoel, Roglic and now Vingegaard as well, have all faced much worse injuries.

Vingegaard, well, i'm sure he's a very friendly and polite guy, you just have to wonder who neutered him and how long ago that happened. I kid, but to me he's giving off these vibes of a person who was bullied as a child/teen and that has left a permanent mark. If that is indeed the case, i do not intend to mock him as i have tried my whole life to stick up for people who got bullied and the first time i got disciplined at school was for punching someone else's bully in the face. Whether or not that is part of Vingegaard's story, if i were to go to a bar with any of these guys, he would be the last one on my list. Can't imagine having much of a conversation with him.

I understand where people's dislike for Evenepoel comes from, or at least i think much of it comes from him being "announced" while being a junior, and people immediately get into a defensive attitude towards such a potential phenomenon. I think a lot started then and there. Him speaking his mind, is then quickly perceived as arrogant instead of honest and ambitious. This forum is proof of how for no good reason misfortune turns into ridicule. And as if him not winning turns into a personal succes for some people.

And then there are riders like Bernal, who i can not imagine anyone disliking.

I too would never have a drink with Vingegaard. I would even feel uncomfortable telling him a joke or two. Remco and Tadej would probably be fun to have a drink with, or even go watch a sporting event....Roglic, not so much

 

[Krzysztof_O]

I too would never have a drink with Vingegaard. I would even feel uncomfortable telling him a joke or two. Remco and Tadej would probably be fun to have a drink with, or even go watch a sporting event....Roglic, not so much

I think Rogla would be pretty funny to hang out with if you spoke in Slovenian with him. Tadej and Remco, surely both seem to be interesting and outspoken company. Vingo is probably too shy with strangers.

 

[Karl Merckx]

First time since august 2022, that he will ride in the regular team's jersey. In the past two years he either wore the WCC RR, WCC ITT, NC RR, NC ITT, leaders jersey, BYR jersey, mountain jersey or points jersey.

He wore the QS jersey in the vuelta TTT last year.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

He wore the QS jersey in the vuelta TTT last year.

Yeah the Sporza article is misleading. He also wore it during the NC ITT '23. Two times since august 25, 2022.

 

[Berflamand]

Yeah the Sporza article is misleading. He also wore it during the NC ITT '23. Two times since august 25, 2022.

Let's hope the first stage is actually the only stage he wears the regular QS jersey in the Tour.

Or wait no, I actually want him to ride the TT in his Worlds TT jersey. Either that or the yellow jersey, that would be fine too.

But not any other classification like the BYR jersey. I mean, it would be nice if he wore any other classification jersey but (at least until the TT) only as a hand-off from the actual leader of that classification so he can choose to wear his Worlds TT jersey during the TT.

I'm not asking for too much right?

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

(as Mod)
Can we try to stay on topic? I know that conversation naturally evolves, but I have just moved 25 posts over the the Who will win the tour thread which were mainly about course design and expectation, an d the UAE and Visma publicity machines: Brandon McNulty got many more mentions in that budle of posts than did Evenepoel.

 

[Extinction]

Well, we all have reasons to like or dislike others. I was quite fond of Roglic back in 2016-2018, to the point i was actively cheering for him to do well. He was unpredictable and had this x factor. But that changed when Visma turned him into this utterly predictable wheelsucking mountainsprinter. And for the life of me, i can not understand so many people still like him. In interviews he's just as boring and predictable as during races. The aura of a sphinx works, when you are tight-lipped in front of the camera and then blow up the race on the bike. Then it's funny. It doesn't work when you are just as boring on the bike as off the bike. Then there was the Fred Wright case, where blame was laid when introspection would have been preferable (with many voices from the peloton claiming it is actually Roglic who is a danger to others, more than the other way around). I also think he is a bit of a child when things don't go his way and his behaviour becomes quite petty.

Not the biggest Pogacar fan, and have found much of his persona to have been crafted around him since his first TDF victory. But you can't argue with how the guy races, even when he is digging his own grave while doing it, like in the '22 TDF. The dude goes and goes hard. Clinic considerations aside, he is an exciting rider. The argument of "luck" (as per Red Rick) does hold some truth, the worst he's faced in his career so far was a broken wrist. Where as Evenepoel, Roglic and now Vingegaard as well, have all faced much worse injuries.

Vingegaard, well, i'm sure he's a very friendly and polite guy, you just have to wonder who neutered him and how long ago that happened. I kid, but to me he's giving off these vibes of a person who was bullied as a child/teen and that has left a permanent mark. If that is indeed the case, i do not intend to mock him as i have tried my whole life to stick up for people who got bullied and the first time i got disciplined at school was for punching someone else's bully in the face. Whether or not that is part of Vingegaard's story, if i were to go to a bar with any of these guys, he would be the last one on my list. Can't imagine having much of a conversation with him.

I understand where people's dislike for Evenepoel comes from, or at least i think much of it comes from him being "announced" while being a junior, and people immediately get into a defensive attitude towards such a potential phenomenon. I think a lot started then and there. Him speaking his mind, is then quickly perceived as arrogant instead of honest and ambitious. This forum is proof of how for no good reason misfortune turns into ridicule. And as if him not winning turns into a personal succes for some people.

And then there are riders like Bernal, who i can not imagine anyone disliking.

I guess him losing those last kg got to you, huh? But seriously, good post.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I guess him losing those last kg got to you, huh? But seriously, good post.

Well, that has nothing to do with it. I have always been convinced of his potential and i have always liked him as a rider, i think that much was obvious from this thread. I think had he gone to UAE in 2019, he would have already won the TDF. My frustration comes from this ridiculous narrative that he supposedly is not able to get his climbing weight down without a Giro '21 or Vuelta '23 scenario happen (while he was a lot more heavy that last time, but for that his weight is never mentioned). If the 61.5kg is true (and they achieved that riskfree), he is not far off of what i think would put him in dominator mode (by which i mean ballpark Vingegaard/Pogacar). But that's simply not going to happen when he's waggling around looking like a pastry.