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

[Berniece]

Very clearly Evenepoel has underachieved in GTs and other stage races, and overachieved at the big championship road races. TTs are just his quality. Monuments probably about par, though arguably with how little he's raced them winning LBL twice in years Pogacar crashed and DNS'd is overachieving as well.

He won LBL in 2022 and 2023. I'm not so sure Pogacar would've beaten him then. That wasn't Pogacar 2024 yet.

 

[Valv.Piti]

He won LBL in 2022 and 2023. I'm not so sure Pogacar would've beaten him then. That wasn't Pogacar 2024 yet.

Remco just doesnt drop Pogacar on Redoute and rides off into the sunset in either of these races if Pogacar is present like he did to the rest of the field. That much is obvious. He wins one of these races if we are being generous.

 

[AlpRaid]

But isn't TdF 2024 better than fall 2022?

Personally, as I said, I don’t think so. And according to him as well. You have to remember that in the space of a few months he won LBL by dropping everyone 30+ kilometers from the finish on a climb. He then won San Sebastián dropping everyone again on a 10% climb. Then won the Vuelta, destroying the one time trial, but also destroying his rivals on two mountain top finishes before his crash. He did not win those stages, but he finished second in both, and the second finish was a percentages that we have not seen him do necessarily well at since. He then went on to drop everyone, or at least all the contenders, over 70 km from the finish of the worlds. All at age 22. To me that is better than third at the TDF after a rushed prep. Particularly, since he has never duplicated his performance, I think it was in stage nine or 10 of that Vuelta on incredibly steep gradients.

 

[AmRacer]

Personally, as I said, I don’t think so. And according to him as well. You have to remember that in the space of a few months he won LBL by dropping everyone 30+ kilometers from the finish on a climb. He then won San Sebastián dropping everyone again on a 10% climb. Then won the Vuelta, destroying the one time trial, but also destroying his rivals on two mountain top finishes before his crash. He did not win those stages, but he finished second in both, and the second finish was a percentages that we have not seen him do necessarily well at since. He then went on to drop everyone, or at least all the contenders, over 70 km from the finish of the worlds. All at age 22. To me that is better than third at the TDF after a rushed prep. Particularly, since he has never duplicated his performance, I think it was in stage nine or 10 of that Vuelta on incredibly steep gradients.

Too long to answer
Age has not much to do with it.
Worlds, Mathieu had his issues and Pogi made a fatal tactical mistake letting Remco go. Pogi was supposed to race LBL. Rogla should've won the Vuelta, it isn't Wright.

TdF 2024, he climbed better than 2022.

 

[Berniece]

Remco just doesnt drop Pogacar on Redoute and rides off into the sunset in either of these races if Pogacar is present like he did to the rest of the field. That much is obvious. He wins one of these races if we are being generous.

In 2022, Pogacar was 12th at Fleche. He really wasn't that amazing like he is now at 1-day racing.

 

[AmRacer]

In 2022, Pogacar was 12th at Fleche. He really wasn't that amazing like he is now at 1-day racing.

Remco wouldn't drop 2022 Pogi anyway.

 

[SHAD0W93]

In 2022, Pogacar was 12th at Fleche. He really wasn't that amazing like he is now at 1-day racing.

Evenepoel was 43rd and FW was always considered the hardest of the 3 Ardennes classics for Pogacar to win. Not to mention Pogacar had already won a WT classic, top 5’d two monuments, and top 10 another WT classic that year. On top of winning 2 monuments in 2021 and top 10 in the 3 classic he finished.

 

[Salvarani]

In 2022, Pogacar was 12th at Fleche. He really wasn't that amazing like he is now at 1-day racing.

He had just done Ronde for the first time before it

He won both LBL and Lombardia in 2021

 

[Breh]

In 2022, Pogacar was 12th at Fleche. He really wasn't that amazing like he is now at 1-day racing.

Cope.

Back in 2022 he already had 2 monuments(+ a podium) to his name, Strade, was able to challenge MVDP in Flanders, won an olympic medal and some minor classics.

Then in 2023 he destroyed MVDP on Oude Kwaremont, won Amstel, won Fleche, won Strade again, got another top5 finish in Sanremo (not too spectacular but it is consistent), was beaten on pure sprinting prowess in E3,...


"But He Finished 12th in FW once!!"

 

[James M]

Why are we talking about Pogacar in regard to Remco? Remcos peak so far was only 9 min behind and isnt even close to sniff Jonas even, and expect ppl to take this serious?

Some weird obsessive inferior complex if you ask me considering in real life Remcos task is to prove he can be better than Florian Lipowitz in 2026 in the Tour which certaintly isnt a given. Seems to be a discrepancy here imo.

 

[Berniece]

Cope.

Back in 2022 he already had 2 monuments(+ a podium) to his name, Strade, was able to challenge MVDP in Flanders, won an olympic medal and some minor classics.

Then in 2023 he destroyed MVDP on Oude Kwaremont, won Amstel, won Fleche, won Strade again, got another top5 finish in Sanremo (not too spectacular but it is consistent), was beaten on pure sprinting prowess in E3,...


"But He Finished 12th in FW once!!"

What do you mean "cope"? I don't see any reason on why Evenepoel wouldn't have won those two LBL editions. Like I said, Pogacar wasn't as dominant during those years as he was since 2024.

 

[Valv.Piti]

What do you mean "cope"? I don't see any reason on why Evenepoel wouldn't have won those two LBL editions. Like I said, Pogacar wasn't as dominant during those years as he was since 2024.

Okay, so you're saying Remco just drops Pogacar on La Redoute then in 22 and 23. Good to know lmao

"Pogacar not being as good as 2024" sure buddy, he was still the worlds best cyclist in that period, riding a race that suits Pogacar better than Remco.

 

[theyoungest]

What do you mean "cope"? I don't see any reason on why Evenepoel wouldn't have won those two LBL editions. Like I said, Pogacar wasn't as dominant during those years as he was since 2024.

You don't see any reason? Evenepoel never once being able to drop Pogacar might be one. Pogi wasn't as dominant yet in the Tour (in fact he lost it, twice) but he definitely was very dominant in every other race.

 

[Unchained]

That's interesting, I would very much agree he's got a lot of time left. He's been around so long coming from the juniors that it's easy to forget the guy is 25 and if he wants, has a long career ahead of him. He has an impressive palmares already.

Personally I think the timing is good, as to my view another year at SQS was another year wondering if he is maximizing his level. I do think it was overdue if anything.

The sport is better with Remco winning, love him or hate him. More rivalries is a good thing. I hope he and Lipo can both thrive in this environment, and I hope Roglic finds whatever he's looking for at this point. Would love to see the snap back in his finish. More winners battling it out is a very good thing.

There is a point in life were you go with what you know, what you are good at, where you can succeed. Unfortunately Remco is in a social circle and mind space were people keep telling him that he is a stage racer, grand tour contender..
" Remy you are only missing..____ , _____ fill in the blank..
I am so glad that MVP, Wout are surrounded by realistic people with realistic expectations and get something out of every season..
It's like your mom telling you that you will make it to the NBA if you just keep practicing!! Remco is a fantastic talent but maybe not in a 3 weeks ,everyday format..

 

[AlpRaid]

Too long to answer
Age has not much to do with it.
Worlds, Mathieu had his issues and Pogi made a fatal tactical mistake letting Remco go. Pogi was supposed to race LBL. Rogla should've won the Vuelta, it isn't Wright.

TdF 2024, he climbed better than 2022.

gotta love the remco derangement syndrome.

sure, so now remco has to beat pog in 24-25 form at every race or else he must truly suck and be a failure.

as noted elsewhere, MVDP would never have followed remco 73 kms from the finish. never. it was all over after that. also, Mads Pedersen literally chose not to travel to Australia after seeing remco at the Vuelta. he said it would be pointless.

wait a minute, would MVDP have then handled pog this year in Ronde? after all MVDP was recovering from illness and on antibiotics that weakened him. oh, no, we don't do the same bs with any other rider but Remco's wins.

I just love the false-equivalency also of saying that pog had injuries to overcome "as well". Let's compare: pog broke his wrist just as he was about to take a break anyway to "refuel" after the spring. He missed LBL -- that is all.

Meanwhile, remco crashed at Lombardy in 2020, had to abandon the 2023 Giro while wearing the pink because of Covid, crashed hard ruining his 2024 spring and rushing his TDF prep, and crashed hard again before the 2025 season ruining his season prep. No excuses. Sh!t happens and in some instances, I have no problem saying he may be at fault for bike-handling issues (Covid and postal truck door, surely, need to be excluded). So to equate the two -- in terms of time forced away from competing at the top level -- it is not even close. LOL!

and of course no mention of the fact that remco had crashed just before the only two days rog took any seconds back in the 2022 Vuelta. LOL! meanwhile rog's a$$ had already been firmly handed to him on pretty much every GC stage up until then. Lol. Lol. And LOL again.

I have absolutely zero problem saying pog is on a completely different level since the start of 2024. There is no competition. None.

but the pog fan boys' world view seems to be really threatened by an oft-injured, much more relatable, human champion, it's pretty sad (for them), frankly.

 

[Salvarani]

What do you mean "cope"? I don't see any reason on why Evenepoel wouldn't have won those two LBL editions. Like I said, Pogacar wasn't as dominant during those years as he was since 2024.

He won Jaen, Ronde, Amstel, Fleche, NC and Lombardia in 2023.

 

[peterfin]

There is a point in life were you go with what you know, what you are good at, where you can succeed. Unfortunately Remco is in a social circle and mind space were people keep telling him that he is a stage racer, grand tour contender..
" Remy you are only missing..____ , _____ fill in the blank..
I am so glad that MVP, Wout are surrounded by realistic people with realistic expectations and get something out of every season..
It's like your mom telling you that you will make it to the NBA if you just keep practicing!! Remco is a fantastic talent but maybe not in a 3 weeks ,everyday format..

He is getting out something out of every season. That's why he was top 3 of the UCI ranking for the last 3 years.

He is also not doing what other people tell him to do but what he wants to do. As long as a team gives him the means to do it, he's not unrealistic in his approach.

My opinion is that he both has the talent and the mindset to reach his goal and win multiple GTs. For the TdF he probably needs some luck. However, I expect only 25% here to agree with me so feel free to disagree.

 

[YavorD]

What do you mean "cope"? I don't see any reason on why Evenepoel wouldn't have won those two LBL editions. Like I said, Pogacar wasn't as dominant during those years as he was since 2024.

I see what are you doing here.
Making a case to include Evenepoel in the most overrated rider thread, no?


I see even less reason for Evenepoel to win these editions against Pogacar. Just for the record, while Pogacar was nearly dropping MVDP in Flanders, Evenepoel was getting dropped by Dani Martinez, so he (Evenepoel) wasn't exactly shining in April 2022 either. You could make a case for 2023 and Pogacar being too tired, although Evenepoel beating him looks rather unlikely as well.

 

[Karl Merckx]

Evenepoel was 43rd and FW

For the record, he was a dom for Alaf that day.

 

[BubbaChuck]

remco is great talent,but not well tyrant level like it was hoped.no matter how you slice it,we gotta admit its quite funny,that he was hoped to be eddie and than pog happened.ups.

 

[KoopaCycling]

Hot take, despite him having a bad season, i would take Remco's season over WVA.
As spectacular as his Giro and Tour stage wins were, and his giro win gave him the trifecta, it remains 'just' stage wins.

I'm probably in the minority on this, but i rather have Belgian TT, and Brabantse Pijl.

 

[Unchained]

He is getting out something out of every season. That's why he was top 3 of the UCI ranking for the last 3 years.

He is also not doing what other people tell him to do but what he wants to do. As long as a team gives him the means to do it, he's not unrealistic in his approach.

My opinion is that he both has the talent and the mindset to reach his goal and win multiple GTs. For the TdF he probably needs some luck. However, I expect only 25% here to agree with me so feel free to disagree.

You are right!! His public relations team is failing completely!!
Remco leaving multiple races in the back of a car, looking beat down, defeated, Remco leaving one team for another because of goal failures,
Remco not winning GT GC battles.. Remco headline was " he abandoned " he gave up.. So which is true?
Is he third best as you would suggest because UCI says so? Or is Remco a bicycle nomad willing to do anything to be a winner, meditation, tattoos, secret training, breaking contract, switching teams.. Why is everything surrounding Evenepoel portrayed as some level of failure? Did he podium and we missed it?
Did his body double get into the TDF team car? Was Remco's social media hijacked and some fake sent messages about fatigue, broken bones, inability?
Did I miss something from one of his 2 or 3 public personalities?
If Remco wants to win, I can't know about her parents background.. I can't know he is doing some unknown meditation.. He needs to race, win, not discuss love life, spiritual practices, discontent with contract or co workers, management..
Win..just win..sell pizza and insurance, sports drinks later..
win first talk about everything else later..don't listen to the UCI, even with their level of corruption, TDF was a DNF, not a win or podium. Remco is top 3 if you care about that number, 1 is the only number who anyone cares about

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iRLdubCCOUg&pp=ygURQ3ljbGluZyAxMDEgcmVtY28%3D


Remco's team needs to put up videos immediately saying that this is completely BS..

 

[Charlyghoul]

Hot take, despite him having a bad season, i would take Remco's season over WVA.
As spectacular as his Giro and Tour stage wins were, and his giro win gave him the trifecta, it remains 'just' stage wins.

I'm probably in the minority on this, but i rather have Belgian TT, and Brabantse Pijl.

Yes and Remco also has a tour stage win of course

 

[Berniece]

Okay, so you're saying Remco just drops Pogacar on La Redoute then in 22 and 23. Good to know lmao

"Pogacar not being as good as 2024" sure buddy, he was still the worlds best cyclist in that period, riding a race that suits Pogacar better than Remco.

Sorry are you saying Pogacar didn’t improve a lot since 2024? Just because he was the world’s best cyclist before 2024, doesn’t mean he automatically wins LBL. Did he win TDF those years?

You don't see any reason? Evenepoel never once being able to drop Pogacar might be one. Pogi wasn't as dominant yet in the Tour (in fact he lost it, twice) but he definitely was very dominant in every other race.

Wollongong 2022

 

[Karl Merckx]

Wollongong 2022

EC 21