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

[Bavarianrider]

Talking 90s, He is the Olano of the modern era.

 

[Berflamand]

I'm not worried about the shoulder. 4 out of his 5 wins this year are TT's. I don't think that would be possible if he would have any shoulder issue on the bike since the TT position is the most taxing on the body I guess.

Everything else is a different matter ofcourse. I hope he can still salvage something in autumn but the most important right now is having a stress free off season/winter without any issues.

Ok I have to retract my statement about his shoulder if I'm reading this stuff:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1946499583510483240

View: https://x.com/jonas_creteur/status/1946499583510483240?t=4tJjqsFJAlTqJD5-1C8nqQ&s=19


This does not sound good at all.

 

[Gargamel35]

What does it say?

 

[Miha81]

What does it say?

According to movement analyst Stefan Deckx, a muscle restriction in the shoulder (after Evenepoel's fall in December) could be undermining his physical capabilities. Did not manage to translate the rest.

 

[kingjr]

What does it say?,

I bolded some parts for better readability:

“The body works as a coordinated system, with all parts connected diagonally through fascial chains. If your legs, like Evenepoel’s, are less powerful or efficient, the cause sometimes lies higher up.”


In the Olympic champion’s case, it concerns two inactive parts of the deltoid muscle in his right shoulder. “As his team doctor already said: the deltoid is controlled via the axillary nerve. If that nerve doesn’t function properly, the muscle remains anatomically intact, but it receives too few stimuli. In effect, it’s asleep.” According to Deckx, this can lead to arthrogenic muscle inhibition: when one joint is impaired (in Evenepoel’s case: his shoulder), other muscles become disrupted due to the negative effect on the entire nerve and fascial chain.

---

From Shoulder to Hamstrings


Stefan Deckx explains that the force a rider applies with their arm doesn’t stop in the upper body. “When you pull on your handlebars with your right arm, that force travels through your torso to your left pelvis. That also affects the power and energy delivery of your left quadriceps and hamstrings.”


If that diagonal chain falls out of balance, subtle deviations begin to appear after a few weeks or months. “It’s like the lights on a Christmas tree: if one bulb goes out, the others don’t get any current either.”


“For Remco, that could mean his left leg—diagonally opposite his weaker right shoulder—produces slightly less output. Not a huge difference, but enough to matter during repeated efforts.”


That could explain the reduced explosiveness he showed on the hilly finishes of this Tour. “As long as the tempo stays steady, it’s still manageable. But when he has to respond with maximum explosiveness, the instability becomes apparent,” says Deckx.

---

Not Less Power, but Less Efficiency


Explosiveness requires precise coordination and timing between muscles and nerves. One weak link can already disrupt that balance. “That doesn’t mean you can’t produce the same power, but your body has to compensate—perhaps with a tilted pelvis—so the power doesn’t get transferred to the pedals as effectively,” says Stefan Deckx.


According to him, this also carries a second risk: “An increasing asymmetry, where one leg structurally produces less power. At first, you barely notice. But by the second week of a Grand Tour, you feel it: stiffer muscles, less suppleness, and slower responses during peak efforts.”


That Evenepoel still won the time trials in the Dauphiné and the Tour fits exactly into this biomechanical picture, according to Deckx. “Time trials are stable, symmetrical, and controlled. You rest your arms on the time trial handlebars, your torso barely moves, and the rear deltoid bundles are hardly engaged.” That Evenepoel sustained 390 to 400 watts for nearly 37 minutes in the Tour time trial on day five shows that his fitness is more than fine. “The problem likely isn’t what Remco can do, but how his body produces that power,” says Deckx.

---

Evenepoel Recovers Less Well


Why then couldn’t Evenepoel hold on during longer climbs, even though he could ride at a steady, high pace—just like in a time trial? According to Deckx, his shoulder also plays a role there.


“If it doesn’t form a stable anchor, other muscles—in the neck, torso, and hip region—have to compensate. That creates chronic tension throughout the body. It accumulates and disrupts recovery, even at night.”


Even his breathing is affected. “The back of the shoulder and the diaphragm—your main breathing muscle—are innervated through the same region in the back. If the tension in the shoulder girdle increases, your chest moves less smoothly.”


“Then the diaphragm can’t contract and relax as effectively, and your breathing becomes more shallow. Not dramatically so, but enough to eventually undermine endurance, recovery, and sleep quality.”


That could also explain why Evenepoel spoke of a high Training Stress Score of almost 1800 after just the eight-day Dauphiné. And why, after two intense weeks of Tour racing, he recovered less and less.

---

What Can Evenepoel Do About It?


The possible solution to this issue? According to Stefan Deckx, strength training won’t help. “You need to restore the deltoid’s neural activation. That can be done through electrical stimulation, to reactivate the nerve pathways to the shoulder region. At the same time, you need to rebalance the chain system between the shoulder and hip regions.”


Deckx emphasizes that this is not a definitive diagnosis and likely not the only explanation for Evenepoel’s underperformance.


“It’s a scientifically grounded hypothesis, based on the medical information he and his team have shared. Nerve issues are often viewed in isolation—in Remco’s case, in the shoulder. But their effect on the whole body, explosiveness, and recovery is rarely acknowledged, let alone treated.”

 

[AmRacer]

I bolded some parts for better readability:

“The body works as a coordinated system, with all parts connected diagonally through fascial chains. If your legs, like Evenepoel’s, are less powerful or efficient, the cause sometimes lies higher up.”


In the Olympic champion’s case, it concerns two inactive parts of the deltoid muscle in his right shoulder. “As his team doctor already said: the deltoid is controlled via the axillary nerve. If that nerve doesn’t function properly, the muscle remains anatomically intact, but it receives too few stimuli. In effect, it’s asleep.” According to Deckx, this can lead to arthrogenic muscle inhibition: when one joint is impaired (in Evenepoel’s case: his shoulder), other muscles become disrupted due to the negative effect on the entire nerve and fascial chain.

---

From Shoulder to Hamstrings


Stefan Deckx explains that the force a rider applies with their arm doesn’t stop in the upper body. “When you pull on your handlebars with your right arm, that force travels through your torso to your left pelvis. That also affects the power and energy delivery of your left quadriceps and hamstrings.”


If that diagonal chain falls out of balance, subtle deviations begin to appear after a few weeks or months. “It’s like the lights on a Christmas tree: if one bulb goes out, the others don’t get any current either.”


“For Remco, that could mean his left leg—diagonally opposite his weaker right shoulder—produces slightly less output. Not a huge difference, but enough to matter during repeated efforts.”


That could explain the reduced explosiveness he showed on the hilly finishes of this Tour. “As long as the tempo stays steady, it’s still manageable. But when he has to respond with maximum explosiveness, the instability becomes apparent,” says Deckx.

---

Not Less Power, but Less Efficiency


Explosiveness requires precise coordination and timing between muscles and nerves. One weak link can already disrupt that balance. “That doesn’t mean you can’t produce the same power, but your body has to compensate—perhaps with a tilted pelvis—so the power doesn’t get transferred to the pedals as effectively,” says Stefan Deckx.


According to him, this also carries a second risk: “An increasing asymmetry, where one leg structurally produces less power. At first, you barely notice. But by the second week of a Grand Tour, you feel it: stiffer muscles, less suppleness, and slower responses during peak efforts.”


That Evenepoel still won the time trials in the Dauphiné and the Tour fits exactly into this biomechanical picture, according to Deckx. “Time trials are stable, symmetrical, and controlled. You rest your arms on the time trial handlebars, your torso barely moves, and the rear deltoid bundles are hardly engaged.” That Evenepoel sustained 390 to 400 watts for nearly 37 minutes in the Tour time trial on day five shows that his fitness is more than fine. “The problem likely isn’t what Remco can do, but how his body produces that power,” says Deckx.

---

Evenepoel Recovers Less Well


Why then couldn’t Evenepoel hold on during longer climbs, even though he could ride at a steady, high pace—just like in a time trial? According to Deckx, his shoulder also plays a role there.


“If it doesn’t form a stable anchor, other muscles—in the neck, torso, and hip region—have to compensate. That creates chronic tension throughout the body. It accumulates and disrupts recovery, even at night.”


Even his breathing is affected. “The back of the shoulder and the diaphragm—your main breathing muscle—are innervated through the same region in the back. If the tension in the shoulder girdle increases, your chest moves less smoothly.”


“Then the diaphragm can’t contract and relax as effectively, and your breathing becomes more shallow. Not dramatically so, but enough to eventually undermine endurance, recovery, and sleep quality.”


That could also explain why Evenepoel spoke of a high Training Stress Score of almost 1800 after just the eight-day Dauphiné. And why, after two intense weeks of Tour racing, he recovered less and less.

---

What Can Evenepoel Do About It?


The possible solution to this issue? According to Stefan Deckx, strength training won’t help. “You need to restore the deltoid’s neural activation. That can be done through electrical stimulation, to reactivate the nerve pathways to the shoulder region. At the same time, you need to rebalance the chain system between the shoulder and hip regions.”


Deckx emphasizes that this is not a definitive diagnosis and likely not the only explanation for Evenepoel’s underperformance.


“It’s a scientifically grounded hypothesis, based on the medical information he and his team have shared. Nerve issues are often viewed in isolation—in Remco’s case, in the shoulder. But their effect on the whole body, explosiveness, and recovery is rarely acknowledged, let alone treated.”

It doesn't sound good at all.

 

[Cycling111]

@glassmoon
According to you, Remco wouldn't have won because of two riders. He wouldn't have won this Tour without them and the way he was going. And there are stage races he hasn't won without them either.

Calling Pogacar a suspicious clown is hypocritical because you expected Remco to be doing the same thing, and then he wouldn't seem like a clown or suspicious to you.
It's very hypocritical to think that Remco was going to dominate everything, that it was natural that he could achieve it, but when someone else does it, you attack him out of frustration that it's not Remco who does it.

Those kinds of arguments don't do Remco any good. Presenting him as a victim.

I think he needs to start winning small stage races. Because he still hasn't won any of the important ones, and that's not Pogacar's fault. He's lost those races against several riders.

He needs to start with those kinds of races first, and when he has a solid base in stage races, consider a Giro.

If Jorgenson beats him in Paris-Nice at Finestre, a better climber could beat him.

 

[KoopaCycling]

Whatever is bothering him, he needs to get healthy first and built that base.
And if what is written above is posted is true, he might have to switch to one day races and 1 week races.
I hope it won't have to come to that. That he can continue to pursue his dreams.

I read that depending on the severity nerve damage can take up a year to heal.
With any luck his nerve is in fact healing. But no proper news on that, except that there is nerve damage.
And that since it's still bothering him, it's pretty severe. If it's permanent damage, than remco needs to start looking (if he has not already done so) what can be done to compensate the damage so as to negate performance damage as much as possible.

In any case something is wrong. wether it's the nerve, the base, something else. His performance this year have been subpar for his standards.

 

[AmRacer]

Couldn't they have figured it out he doesn't recover as he should, during training camps.

 

[fenns]

To challenge for the Tour you've got to start your racing season at Paris-Nice time or earlier - preferably earlier

 

[Charlyghoul]

As the 1st bolded part: That is not what happened.

Don't get me wrong, Nibali was a good rider, but he has a very… devoted following, who are prone to swooning over his abilities, making them seem larger than they were.

As to the 2nd: Based on what?

Well, maybe I don’t remember some of that tour right, but still, Nibali was a much better climber , better grand tour rider than Remco , and had to be somewhat fortunate to win that tour.
Pogacar and Vingegaard are better or as good as Froome as well, so that leaves Remco with a big struggle to win one.

 

[EddyMazzoleni]

I bolded some parts for better readability:

“The body works as a coordinated system, with all parts connected diagonally through fascial chains. If your legs, like Evenepoel’s, are less powerful or efficient, the cause sometimes lies higher up.”


In the Olympic champion’s case, it concerns two inactive parts of the deltoid muscle in his right shoulder. “As his team doctor already said: the deltoid is controlled via the axillary nerve. If that nerve doesn’t function properly, the muscle remains anatomically intact, but it receives too few stimuli. In effect, it’s asleep.” According to Deckx, this can lead to arthrogenic muscle inhibition: when one joint is impaired (in Evenepoel’s case: his shoulder), other muscles become disrupted due to the negative effect on the entire nerve and fascial chain.

---

From Shoulder to Hamstrings


Stefan Deckx explains that the force a rider applies with their arm doesn’t stop in the upper body. “When you pull on your handlebars with your right arm, that force travels through your torso to your left pelvis. That also affects the power and energy delivery of your left quadriceps and hamstrings.”


If that diagonal chain falls out of balance, subtle deviations begin to appear after a few weeks or months. “It’s like the lights on a Christmas tree: if one bulb goes out, the others don’t get any current either.”


“For Remco, that could mean his left leg—diagonally opposite his weaker right shoulder—produces slightly less output. Not a huge difference, but enough to matter during repeated efforts.”


That could explain the reduced explosiveness he showed on the hilly finishes of this Tour. “As long as the tempo stays steady, it’s still manageable. But when he has to respond with maximum explosiveness, the instability becomes apparent,” says Deckx.

---

Not Less Power, but Less Efficiency


Explosiveness requires precise coordination and timing between muscles and nerves. One weak link can already disrupt that balance. “That doesn’t mean you can’t produce the same power, but your body has to compensate—perhaps with a tilted pelvis—so the power doesn’t get transferred to the pedals as effectively,” says Stefan Deckx.


According to him, this also carries a second risk: “An increasing asymmetry, where one leg structurally produces less power. At first, you barely notice. But by the second week of a Grand Tour, you feel it: stiffer muscles, less suppleness, and slower responses during peak efforts.”


That Evenepoel still won the time trials in the Dauphiné and the Tour fits exactly into this biomechanical picture, according to Deckx. “Time trials are stable, symmetrical, and controlled. You rest your arms on the time trial handlebars, your torso barely moves, and the rear deltoid bundles are hardly engaged.” That Evenepoel sustained 390 to 400 watts for nearly 37 minutes in the Tour time trial on day five shows that his fitness is more than fine. “The problem likely isn’t what Remco can do, but how his body produces that power,” says Deckx.

---

Evenepoel Recovers Less Well


Why then couldn’t Evenepoel hold on during longer climbs, even though he could ride at a steady, high pace—just like in a time trial? According to Deckx, his shoulder also plays a role there.


“If it doesn’t form a stable anchor, other muscles—in the neck, torso, and hip region—have to compensate. That creates chronic tension throughout the body. It accumulates and disrupts recovery, even at night.”


Even his breathing is affected. “The back of the shoulder and the diaphragm—your main breathing muscle—are innervated through the same region in the back. If the tension in the shoulder girdle increases, your chest moves less smoothly.”


“Then the diaphragm can’t contract and relax as effectively, and your breathing becomes more shallow. Not dramatically so, but enough to eventually undermine endurance, recovery, and sleep quality.”


That could also explain why Evenepoel spoke of a high Training Stress Score of almost 1800 after just the eight-day Dauphiné. And why, after two intense weeks of Tour racing, he recovered less and less.

---

What Can Evenepoel Do About It?


The possible solution to this issue? According to Stefan Deckx, strength training won’t help. “You need to restore the deltoid’s neural activation. That can be done through electrical stimulation, to reactivate the nerve pathways to the shoulder region. At the same time, you need to rebalance the chain system between the shoulder and hip regions.”


Deckx emphasizes that this is not a definitive diagnosis and likely not the only explanation for Evenepoel’s underperformance.


“It’s a scientifically grounded hypothesis, based on the medical information he and his team have shared. Nerve issues are often viewed in isolation—in Remco’s case, in the shoulder. But their effect on the whole body, explosiveness, and recovery is rarely acknowledged, let alone treated.”

That's ***.
I don't really know a lot about nerve damage, hope it can be cured somehow

 

[Peyroteo94]

In ITT? Do you even take yourself seriously?

It's not a flat TT by any means. We will see, I'm pretty convinced Pogacar will beat him if he doesn't race the Vuelta.

 

[LongtimeLurker]

Remco is an amazing rider, there is no question on this. Is he though an actual GT rider?

GT history:
2021 Giro - DNF
2022 Vuelta - 1st
2023 Giro - DNF
2023 Vuelta - 23rd
2024 TDF - 3rd
2025 TDF DNF

I see him more in the 1 day classics and week long stage races. Not GT rider.

 

[steffr222]

Lol just have a look at his record in week long stage races apart from UAE Tour and Algarve and think about it again @LongtimeLurker

Just give him a proper team and no injuries and Everything will be fine GT-wise

 

[Berniece]

It's not a flat TT by any means. We will see, I'm pretty convinced Pogacar will beat him if he doesn't race the Vuelta.

Yeah a Pogacar in perfect shape and Evenepoel not

 

[Jan the Man]

Remco is an amazing rider, there is no question on this. Is he though an actual GT rider?

GT history:
2021 Giro - DNF
2022 Vuelta - 1st
2023 Giro - DNF
2023 Vuelta - 23rd
2024 TDF - 3rd
2025 TDF DNF

I see him more in the 1 day classics and week long stage races. Not GT rider.

He is obviously a GC rider - he has won one and another podium. I think it is fair to say that his obvious number 1 power is ITTs and also that one day classics suit him more than GTs - the fact he’s a level below Pog and Vigne in GTs does not mean he is not a GT rider. He is more than capable of being the best of the rest as he showed last year

 

[AdonisP91]

Remco is an amazing rider, there is no question on this. Is he though an actual GT rider?

GT history:
2021 Giro - DNF
2022 Vuelta - 1st
2023 Giro - DNF
2023 Vuelta - 23rd
2024 TDF - 3rd
2025 TDF DNF

I see him more in the 1 day classics and week long stage races. Not GT rider.

Not really fair. 2021 he crashed out, so severely could have easily lost his life or ended his career. 2023 he left with Covid and if I recall right, wearing the Pink jersey. So he is definitely a top 10 GT rider, as good as say Enric Mas. But absent disaster from Tadej and Jonas, he ain’t got a shot at winning and will struggle against the young pups like Lipowitz.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Not really fair. 2021 he crashed out, so severely could have easily lost his life or ended his career. 2023 he left with Covid and if I recall right, wearing the Pink jersey. So he is definitely a top 10 GT rider, as good as say Enric Mas. But absent disaster from Tadej and Jonas, he ain’t got a shot at winning and will struggle against the young pups like Lipowitz.

He didn't crash in the Giro 2021. He crashed in the GdL 2020.

 

[KoopaCycling]

Remco is an amazing rider, there is no question on this. Is he though an actual GT rider?

GT history:
2021 Giro - DNF
2022 Vuelta - 1st
2023 Giro - DNF
2023 Vuelta - 23rd
2024 TDF - 3rd
2025 TDF DNF

I see him more in the 1 day classics and week long stage races. Not GT rider.

When people forget context exists.

Every now and then you need to repeat this for the people that somehow feel the need to push down a rider.
- Giro 21 - Lombardy crash, no prep, and multiple crashes during the Giro.
-Vuelta 22 - Won
- Giro 23 - Covid
- Vuelta 23 - Rushed prep after wanting to do another GT after having to leave the Giro early. became 12th won the mountain jersey and several stages. Not the GT he hoped for, but not a downright terrible showing either.
- TDF 24 Became Third despite a rushed comeback
- TDF 25 Even worse winter crash than Basque crash, never got fully healthy and rushed back, raced with hope and lousy prep. His participation now giving ammo to people that want to bring him down.

The moment Remco entered a GT healthy and with solid prep and he is terrible and/or the accumulation of his injuries has made the grind of a 3 week race too much, only then should he rethink his GT ambitions. Right now that's not the case. So far he has been good whenever he was healthy and had good prep.

 

[AdonisP91]

He didn't crash in the Giro 2021. He crashed in the GdL 2020.

Ok I mixed up the major crash with a lessor one but didn’t he crash stage 17 of 2021 giro?

Remco Evenepoel stops at the Giro d’Italia | Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team

Following his unfortunate accident on Wednesday’s stage 17, it has been decided that the 21-year-old Belgian will leave the race.

www.soudal-quickstepteam.com

 

[Peyroteo94]

Ok I mixed up the major crash with a lessor one but didn’t he crash stage 17 of 2021 giro?

Remco Evenepoel stops at the Giro d’Italia | Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team

Following his unfortunate accident on Wednesday’s stage 17, it has been decided that the 21-year-old Belgian will leave the race.

www.soudal-quickstepteam.com

No, he "took advantage" of that incident to quit. He was completely empty physically before this.

 

[AmRacer]

He is obviously a GC rider - he has won one and another podium. I think it is fair to say that his obvious number 1 power is ITTs and also that one day classics suit him more than GTs - the fact he’s a level below Pog and Vigne in GTs does not mean he is not a GT rider. He is more than capable of being the best of the rest as he showed last year

He has been best of the rest once. Lots of riders have done that too.

 

[SHAD0W93]

Remco is an amazing rider, there is no question on this. Is he though an actual GT rider?

GT history:
2021 Giro - DNF
2022 Vuelta - 1st
2023 Giro - DNF
2023 Vuelta - 23rd
2024 TDF - 3rd
2025 TDF DNF

I see him more in the 1 day classics and week long stage races. Not GT rider.

In a way it reminds me of Klöden’s GC record:
DNF, 62, DNF, 26, DNF, DNF, 2, DNF, 2, DNF, DNF, 20, 5*, 12*, DNF, DNF, 11, 30

But he had high finishes lost from: 2007 TdF Astana withdrawing when that was a top 5 minimum finish, 2008 Giro when he got sick, and the 2011 Tour when he crashed. Without that crash I think he top 7s and maybe higher 2011 and top 10s 2012.


Evenepoel just unfortunately needs a lot to go right but I think on a different team his results would be better.

 

[Berniece]

So he is definitely a top 10 GT rider, as good as say Enric Mas. But absent disaster from Tadej and Jonas, he ain’t got a shot at winning and will struggle against the young pups like Lipowitz.

He is the 3rd best GT rider. There has always been a good reason for not finishing a GT or not riding a decent result.