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

[Red Rick]

He's an insane junior, but I have a bit of a hard time caring about his wins now and I'm just anxious for him to join the pro's.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Re:

He's an insane junior, but I have a bit of a hard time caring about his wins now and I'm just anxious for him to join the pro's.

I can see why you feel that way. I do however, care that every time he wins, he shows he's not only incredibly strong, but also very consistent. This is something some other recent Belgian juniors have been missing imo (Vanhoucke, Mertens...). If he wants to become a GC rider, that's just as important.

Surprise, surprise: Evenepoel wins the first stage.

Huh... and this time, it was a sprint of a group of 5. I was actually wondering whether the stage would be hard enough for him to drop the opposition.

when he crosses the finish: https://www.facebook.com/ciclismo.live/videos/320198065382914/

 

[DNP-Old]

Vacek beats Evenepoel with one second in the MTT. Not too huge a surprise, as Vacek also beat him on the only real mountain stage the juniors have done this year in Course de la Paix. He was always going to be the biggest danger for Evenepoel in Innsbruck.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

It was only 3.5 km. The shorter, the bigger the odds for the opposition.

 

[WKA311]

If it was a MTT no surprise. Heard that Vacek was considered the best pure climber in the juniors by some.

 

[Max Rockatansky]

The streak is over.

Does anybody know about the junior Colombians? Are they strong enough to contest Remco in Innsbruck?

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Re:

If it was a MTT no surprise. Heard that Vacek was considered the best pure climber in the juniors by some.

DNP-old posted the profiles higher up the page. It was a very short TT (3.5k) slightly uphill.

Evenepoel firmly in the lead:

 

[DNP-Old]

Re: Re:

Vacek is a very good climber, yes. It's impossible to say who is the best because juniors don't do mountain stages all that much. Course de la Paix had one, when Vacek beat Evenepoel in the sprint. Vacek and Evenepoel will be the main contenders in Innsbruck, and I'd add Balmer from Switzerland too. However, it remains to be seen if it's a big goal for him though, as Balmer will be riding the World Championships on the mountainbike next week.

As far as Colombians go, a lot will depend on the selection and how quickly they make the transition to European cycling. Tito Rendón looks like a sure contestant to me, and has been in Europe for quite a while, but he wouldn't get close to a medal.

Surprise, surprise: Evenepoel wins the first stage.

Huh... and this time, it was a sprint of a group of 5. I was actually wondering whether the stage would be hard enough for him to drop the opposition.

when he crosses the finish: https://www.facebook.com/ciclismo.live/videos/320198065382914/

On their Facebook there is a video of the last kilometer. Remco didn't sprint, he just went full gas for a full km without getting out of the saddle.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Re: Re:

Vacek is a very good climber, yes. It's impossible to say who is the best because juniors don't do mountain stages all that much. Course de la Paix had one, when Vacek beat Evenepoel in the sprint. Vacek and Evenepoel will be the main contenders in Innsbruck, and I'd add Balmer from Switzerland too. However, it remains to be seen if it's a big goal for him though, as Balmer will be riding the World Championships on the mountainbike next week.

As far as Colombians go, a lot will depend on the selection and how quickly they make the transition to European cycling. Tito Rendón looks like a sure contestant to me, and has been in Europe for quite a while, but he wouldn't get close to a medal.

Surprise, surprise: Evenepoel wins the first stage.

Huh... and this time, it was a sprint of a group of 5. I was actually wondering whether the stage would be hard enough for him to drop the opposition.

when he crosses the finish: https://www.facebook.com/ciclismo.live/videos/320198065382914/

On their Facebook there is a video of the last kilometer. Remco didn't sprint, he just went full gas for a full km without getting out of the saddle.

Found it. https://www.facebook.com/ciclismo.live/videos/248945635764676/
Seems like Vacek crashed in the descent: https://www.facebook.com/ciclismo.live/videos/2460279620656666/
First stage: https://www.facebook.com/ciclismo.live/videos/5206750186158357/

You think the WC is too hard for Van Wilder? He's been very consistent this year as well, and always very close.

 

[May0maniac]

Re:

If it was a MTT no surprise. Heard that Vacek was considered the best pure climber in the juniors by some.

Vacek is a beast when the road goes uphill, no shame loosing to him.

 

[DNP-Old]

Re: Re:

Vacek is a very good climber, yes. It's impossible to say who is the best because juniors don't do mountain stages all that much. Course de la Paix had one, when Vacek beat Evenepoel in the sprint. Vacek and Evenepoel will be the main contenders in Innsbruck, and I'd add Balmer from Switzerland too. However, it remains to be seen if it's a big goal for him though, as Balmer will be riding the World Championships on the mountainbike next week.

As far as Colombians go, a lot will depend on the selection and how quickly they make the transition to European cycling. Tito Rendón looks like a sure contestant to me, and has been in Europe for quite a while, but he wouldn't get close to a medal.

Surprise, surprise: Evenepoel wins the first stage.

Huh... and this time, it was a sprint of a group of 5. I was actually wondering whether the stage would be hard enough for him to drop the opposition.

when he crosses the finish: https://www.facebook.com/ciclismo.live/videos/320198065382914/

On their Facebook there is a video of the last kilometer. Remco didn't sprint, he just went full gas for a full km without getting out of the saddle.

Found it. https://www.facebook.com/ciclismo.live/videos/248945635764676/
Seems like Vacek crashed in the descent: https://www.facebook.com/ciclismo.live/videos/2460279620656666/
First stage: https://www.facebook.com/ciclismo.live/videos/5206750186158357/

You think the WC is too hard for Van Wilder? He's been very consistent this year as well, and always very close.

In general, Van Wilder is probably the best junior of the year. He is a very good shout indeed. I think he is a candidate to finish on the podium, especially since he is able to profit from the entire world looking at Evenepoel, but overall, I'd say he is just a level below Vacek and Evenepoel on that course in Innsbruck.

 

[boomcie]

Re:

Vacek beats Evenepoel with one second in the MTT.

http://www.instagram.com/p/BnG_0VCnjHe/?hl=nl According to that source it's actually a 100th of a second. Pretty confident he's going to crush Vacek on Sunday.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Please look at the stage recap (i already posted): https://www.facebook.com/ciclismo.live/videos/5206750186158357/

Nothing short of ridiculous. DNP-old said Remco just went full gas in the final 1k ... after looking at the recap, it seems as if Remco went full gas for 70k, with literally nobody of the break taking over for not even one second. They weren't able to outsprint him, because he choked/cooked them.

That might have cost him the ITT win on the other hand.

You think the WC is too hard for Van Wilder? He's been very consistent this year as well, and always very close.

In general, Van Wilder is probably the best junior of the year. He is a very good shout indeed. I think he is a candidate to finish on the podium, especially since he is able to profit from the entire world looking at Evenepoel, but overall, I'd say he is just a level below Vacek and Evenepoel on that course in Innsbruck.

Cheers

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Evenepoel, Van Wilder, Vervloesem, Gessner, Mayrhofer, Vacek, Frigo, Carpene are heading for the finish.

98km – attacco di Evenepoel
100km - Vittoria di Remco Evenepoel

https://www.facebook.com/ciclismo.live/videos/1092042637618400/

EDIT: top 3 is now completely Belgian in GC.

Stage recap: https://www.facebook.com/ciclismo.live/videos/1888116497933531
In fairness... he could lose some more than 2-3 kg imo. He could also preserve energy by improving his posture on the bike. Now he's basically in Latour/Mollema territory.

 

[DNP-Old]

Third time a race finishes uphill, third time Vacek beats Evenepoel.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

"Our boy @karelvacek9 wins Queen stage of #lunigiana ahead of Fancellu and Evenepoel! "

so Evenepoel even 3rd. Shocking!

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Re:

Third time a race finishes uphill, third time Vacek beats Evenepoel.

I'm willing to bet there are more than 3 races that finish uphill, and that Vacek didn't win all of them

Time difference: 00.00s, Ciclismo.live will probably put a video up tonight at 9 CET with a recap, will be interesting to see. In the past stages, he has always done most of the work, be it leading the break or the peloton. Others just try to attack him from behind (obviously). So there is still a lot to improve for Evenepoel, he rides rather wastefully.

EDIT: stage recap: https://www.facebook.com/ciclismo.live/videos/682807028753715/
EDIT 2: looks like those time differences were off, Vacek won with a few seconds advance. As expected, Evenepoel leading the group when Vacek attacked. Didn't see Vacek do any work or take any turns.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

10 seconds, according to Porcyclingstats. The top-9 all within 24 seconds.

Saw the vid. Doesn't necessarily scream future top climber, so I don't why all this talk about him targeting Tour Giro and Vuelta wins in four years ( and top-10s in three) came from, assuming he's in decent shape.

How much does he weigh?

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Re:

10 seconds, according to Porcyclingstats. The top-9 all within 24 seconds.

Saw the vid. Doesn't necessarily scream future top climber, so I don't why all this talk about him targeting Tour Giro and Vuelta wins in four years ( and top-10s in three) came from, assuming he's in decent shape.

How much does he weigh?

Supposedly 61.5 kg. He says he could lose 2 to 3 kg. I think he could lose a lot more than that. He doesn't exactly look skinny.

He may not scream top climber, but he's basically riding into the wind all the time, only rarely is he on somebody's wheel. He's burning way too much energy all the time, and still manages to dominate the others. If you look at the three stage recaps, the other guys in the top 5 barely do any work, it's always Evenepoel that's pulling. The others know this, and try to attack him. Like i said in a previous post, he could really work on his posture on the bike, he is moving around way too much, i also think he's pushing too big a gear. There's a lot to improve, which only bodes well for what's still to come.

 

[boomcie]

He's such a greedy and ambitious ***. Obviously wanted revenge after yesterday's loss. Killing the peloton as we speak. Boss.

 

[Flamin]

Finished it off with a 60k solo. This kid has two extra gears compared to everyone else.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

His engine is just so big, he can put in long high intensity efforts day after day. For instance, Vacek beat him with 0.001 seconds in the ITT, after Evenepoel had been bossing the opening stage earlier that same day. Yesterday Vacek beat him with 12 seconds, today Vacek is 9 minutes down. He may not be the best climber per se, but the overall package is simply leagues ahead of the other juniors.

 

[May0maniac]

Re:

His engine is just so big, he can put in long high intensity efforts day after day. For instance, Vacek beat him with 0.001 seconds in the ITT, after Evenepoel had been bossing the opening stage earlier that same day. Yesterday Vacek beat him with 12 seconds, today Vacek is 9 minutes down. He may not be the best climber per se, but the overall package is simply leagues ahead of the other juniors.

Tbf, Vacek also crashed before the ITT durning the opening stage, but other than that I have to agree, his engine is just in another league, Vacek on the other hand is only able to create gaps when the road goes uphill.
Yesterday allegedly he refused to shake Vacek's hand after the stage, that sounds a bit childish an stupid.
For him progressing fast and racing against stronger riders is probably the right thing to do, he doesn't really learn a lot from smashing every other junior rider and in the long run it will be better for him when he can't just blow every race apart with pure strength from the start and starts loosing to strong pros.
Still, he seems to be a monster talent and turning pro with Quickstep should only help him.

 

[Flamin]

Re: Re:

His engine is just so big, he can put in long high intensity efforts day after day. For instance, Vacek beat him with 0.001 seconds in the ITT, after Evenepoel had been bossing the opening stage earlier that same day. Yesterday Vacek beat him with 12 seconds, today Vacek is 9 minutes down. He may not be the best climber per se, but the overall package is simply leagues ahead of the other juniors.

Tbf, Vacek also crashed before the ITT durning the opening stage, but other than that I have to agree, his engine is just in another league, Vacek on the other hand is only able to create gaps when the road goes uphill.
Yesterday allegedly he refused to shake Vacek's hand after the stage, that sounds a bit childish an stupid.
For him progressing fast and racing against stronger riders is probably the right thing to do, he doesn't really learn a lot from smashing every other junior rider and in the long run it will be better for him when he can't just blow every race apart with pure strength from the start and starts loosing to strong pros.
Still, he seems to be a monster talent and turning pro with Quickstep should only help him.

You know what happened?

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Re: Re:

His engine is just so big, he can put in long high intensity efforts day after day. For instance, Vacek beat him with 0.001 seconds in the ITT, after Evenepoel had been bossing the opening stage earlier that same day. Yesterday Vacek beat him with 12 seconds, today Vacek is 9 minutes down. He may not be the best climber per se, but the overall package is simply leagues ahead of the other juniors.

Tbf, Vacek also crashed before the ITT durning the opening stage, but other than that I have to agree, his engine is just in another league, Vacek on the other hand is only able to create gaps when the road goes uphill.
Yesterday allegedly he refused to shake Vacek's hand after the stage, that sounds a bit childish an stupid.
For him progressing fast and racing against stronger riders is probably the right thing to do, he doesn't really learn a lot from smashing every other junior rider and in the long run it will be better for him when he can't just blow every race apart with pure strength from the start and starts loosing to strong pros.
Still, he seems to be a monster talent and turning pro with Quickstep should only help him.

You know what happened?

If i had to take a guess, i think it would be that Vacek has been wheelsucking his way through the race (judging by the recaps of the previous 3 stages), and attacking Evenepoel. The sooner he learns, the better. I don't think he's dumb, but he lacks racing instincts. He is always in front of the group/peloton, instead of his teammates. Plenty to learn for Evenepoel.