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

[Red Rick]

How many TT slots does Slovenia have?

If it's 1 slot, and Pogacar does the Vuelta they should not give him that slot if Roglic prepares a full peak for that ITT.

Worlds ITT after a Vuelta GC is systematically a disaster.

 

[Berflamand]

How many TT slots does Slovenia have?

If it's 1 slot, and Pogacar does the Vuelta they should not give him that slot if Roglic prepares a full peak for that ITT.

Worlds ITT after a Vuelta GC is systematically a disaster.

If the Worlds weren't in Australia in 2022, Remco would have won the Worlds ITT that year after his Vuelta win (without jetlag and with proper recon of the course).

Roglic on this parcours is definitely interesting.

 

[Red Rick]

If the Worlds weren't in Australia in 2022, Remco would have won the Worlds ITT that year after his Vuelta win (without jetlag and with proper recon of the course).

Roglic on this parcours is definitely interesting.

Evenepoel is one of the few who has done good championship TTs after a GT GC. The others who did a few good ones were Wiggins and Froome, and neither of those 2 put a focus on the road race. Most others tend to underperform in those circumstances.

Another interesting thing about this ITT is the altitude. We don't typically talk about 1500m as high altitude, but for a time trial that's not an MTT, it is very high altitude, and it should make superior aerodynamics slightly less of an advantage.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Another interesting thing about this ITT is the altitude. We don't typically talk about 1500m as high altitude, but for a time trial that's not an MTT, it is very high altitude, and it should make superior aerodynamics slightly less of an advantage.

Pogi and Remco will suffocate there, Bernal or Nairo to win!

 

[QueenStagiaire]

How many TT slots does Slovenia have?

If it's 1 slot, and Pogacar does the Vuelta they should not give him that slot if Roglic prepares a full peak for that ITT.

Worlds ITT after a Vuelta GC is systematically a disaster.

Everyone has two slots (plus a personal spot for the reigning World Champ)

 

[Berniece]

Another interesting thing about this ITT is the altitude. We don't typically talk about 1500m as high altitude, but for a time trial that's not an MTT, it is very high altitude, and it should make superior aerodynamics slightly less of an advantage.

Should be a difference of around 15%, and on top of that there's the impact of less oxygen, and that could also have a bigger impact on Evenepoel then Pogacar.

 

[jmdirt]

From their webpage i understand that this is for 1 shoe (1/2 pair). So supposedly 65gr times two, lighter than previously? So 130 grams. Though according to their website the regular torch only weighs 200gr, but let's assume they meant including the new plates etc. I guess that could gain him something like 20-30 seconds overall after 3 weeks? Maybe even a bit more assuming we take fatigue (racing 3000 km slightly lighter) into account. Could actually be worth it, assuming it isn't merely a PR pitch.

They wouldn't make a YouTube video if it wasn't a PR pitch.

Most high end shoes list weight per shoe (silly IMO).

Some of the weigh loss is probably just eliminating the second BOA. I thought that the Remco was just under 150 and the S Works 225 so 75 (x2=150+ per pair).

If they are worth a minute over three weeks...

The $700 price tag will likely limit sales.

 

[Andre]

My two cents one some stuff that is talked about:

- Giro comeback : way too soon, and he was not as complete a rider he is now. Sure he'll always be a bit more cautious on the downhill, and he won't ever have Pogacar bike handling, but he's improved considerably since his early days. He has become solid enough. Ofcourse when you're up against pogacar solid enough might not cut it

- Weight: it's normal for a sportman to look for his optimal weight. And preferably find it as fast as possible. The reason people are debating it so much, is in part because Remco and his team themselves seem unsure, and haven't fully found what works best. It ain't like Ullrich, where he was just overweight after the winter. With remco it's more like in what weight does he perform best.

- TDF: i can see why people want to see a marauder style remco, ride the tdf the way he would certain one day races. And there is a certain appeal to it. But i don't think this is the year for it. This year i'd rather see him be quite as a mouse till the TT, then go back to being quite as a mouse till the first real mountain stage. I know there is a short wall climb somewhere before that, but he should be able to minimise damage there.

- Stage hunting: Personally, if a rider is of a certain caliber, i don't care about stage hunting. For most riders a stage win is a big deal, but if you're a page 1 rider, than stage wins just don't matter imo. For a rider like Evenepoel i care about GC, and one day race wins. For instance , if all goes well, remco will probably win (in my subjective opinion) his second important race of the season today. After Brabantse Pijl, national TT. Now i know he won TT's in Romandie and the Dauphiné, and that the opponents were arguable greater. But most of the time I just don't care about stage wins in a stage race when you're a guy like evenepoel. It's a nice little bonus but it don't matter that much. By the end of this season i'll remember his Brabantse Pijl win and hopefully his National TT win, i'll probably 'forget' about his TT wins in the stage races. So when people say Remco should stage hunt in the TdF, for me that is like the option you go to when all else has failed. When you've been found wanting for top 5 GC. Some stage wins do matter. But they are rare. Like first ever GT stage win, or WVA sienna win in the Giro this year. They matter cause of context. But a stage win by itself for a rider like Evenepoel is just a little bonus. they don't change the needle for me.

I see what you mean, but "quiet as a mouse" just doesn't fit his personality at all.

 

[Extinction]

I'm not stating Pogacar opinion but my own. As a body of work, stage wins may end up looking nice. But personally i don't care all that much. people made a big deal out of Cavendish stage wins in the TdF. I understand why people cared (body of work, longevity, professionalism, all that jazz), it just did not raise any emotions for me personally. If anything i was glad it was done, so people stopped harping about it. I know that may sound like me hating. I don't feel that way, i have nothing against Cavendish, and props to him for getting the milestone he set for himself. I personally didn't care at all. Stage wins in stage racing are simply mostly bonus stuff for me. Like being lantern rouge, or being the most combative rider. I can't get excited for that stuff.

Unless you're a Ludo Dierkxsens or that guy who won a stage last year so as to honour his deceased bother or something like that. (after trying to obtain that in his honour for a near decade). If it something special/unique. Now i can see why for most Cavendish record stage wins is like that. But for me it was like Cipollini. If he won 20 or 30 it did not matter to me. All in all i don't care about stage wins in stage racing all that much for certain riders. I don't care how many Stage wins merckx has, how many pogacar will end up having, How many Tom Boonen got, ... It's something (a stage win) you'd expext on their resume. A box to be ticked off and not much more. Again that's my personal opinion.

Take Pogacar tour last year. Ill remember his wobble and the sheer dominance that followed. How he put his stamp on that tour and made it his. How he reduced the field to also rans. I already forgotten half of his stage wins. They just underline his dominance. But to me the stage wins dont matter much. The dominance at display mattered.

Until proven otherwise Tadej (and Jonas) has excluded Remco from winning the Tour. In any other epoch this would not have been the case, for which I'm more perplexed today than I was in the past.