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

[CyclistAbi]

He wants to be a father in his life. Not now. His wife wants to focus on her career too, and she only just graduated.

We'll see.

 

[Taxus4a]

Seixas was hard dropped by Izaguire on 1km uphill section at the finish of stage 4 in Itzulia. If Pogacar decides to drop him, he will. 4 minute climbs are not Seixas's strong side (yet)

Seixas did what he wanted at País Vasco. Ion didnt drop him becouse Ion just wanted ro help him mate Aramburu, and Seixas noted he couldnt get the stage yet. Seixas did the world previous Ion attacked. Ion is very good anyway for this kind of end...
Pogacar attacked at Strade and Seixas clse the gap, that was amazing .he was really close to Pogacar level that day..and of course much better than Del Toro. UAE entre Del Toro to win or at least el be second, but even with the advantage of havibng Pogacar ahead and not pulling Seixas droped gun at the end. I dont t think he can hold a super attack of Pogacar at Liege, but he can be close, as well as Remco if he is ok and if they collaborate that can get Pogacar, as happened at Amstel.

 

[AlpRaid]

Seixas was hard dropped by Izaguire on 1km uphill section at the finish of stage 4 in Itzulia. If Pogacar decides to drop him, he will. 4 minute climbs are not Seixas's strong side (yet)

again, my post is unclear. I would like him to crush pog soon in the future (like 2027 TDF, can I dream?). I don't think for a second anyone will come close to challenging pog at LBL.

 

[AlpRaid]

I think Remco has better sprint than Lipowitz and prolly can use his brain cells wisely enough not to open sprint 700 meters out...

hmm.

he has pretty much always started his sprint from too far out, and is not exactly renowned for using his brain cells.

just saying.

 

[peterfin]

hmm.

he has pretty much always started his sprint from too far out, and is not exactly renowned for using his brain cells.

just saying.

In the heat of the moment his emotional brain can make it hard for him. On the other hand, waiting too long is neither good because he lacks peak power for a 20 sec sprint. Maybe it works against Seixas and a 'tired' Van Aert as we saw last year but probably not against Pogacar.

 

[vappa]

Seixas did what he wanted at País Vasco. Ion didnt drop him becouse Ion just wanted ro help him mate Aramburu, and Seixas noted he couldnt get the stage yet. Seixas did the world previous Ion attacked. Ion is very good anyway for this kind of end...
Pogacar attacked at Strade and Seixas clse the gap, that was amazing .he was really close to Pogacar level that day..and of course much better than Del Toro. UAE entre Del Toro to win or at least el be second, but even with the advantage of havibng Pogacar ahead and not pulling Seixas droped gun at the end. I dont t think he can hold a super attack of Pogacar at Liege, but he can be close, as well as Remco if he is ok and if they collaborate that can get Pogacar, as happened at Amstel.

So he went all out on the descend, with the sole purpose of gaining more time and adding emotional blow (as confirmed by him later) but couldn't be bothered in the last km?

 

[Oldman]

Seixas did what he wanted at País Vasco. Ion didnt drop him becouse Ion just wanted ro help him mate Aramburu, and Seixas noted he couldnt get the stage yet. Seixas did the world previous Ion attacked. Ion is very good anyway for this kind of end...
Pogacar attacked at Strade and Seixas clse the gap, that was amazing .he was really close to Pogacar level that day..and of course much better than Del Toro. UAE entre Del Toro to win or at least el be second, but even with the advantage of havibng Pogacar ahead and not pulling Seixas droped gun at the end. I dont t think he can hold a super attack of Pogacar at Liege, but he can be close, as well as Remco if he is ok and if they collaborate that can get Pogacar, as happened at Amstel.

Watching Pogacar in general at Strade; he probably would welcome some help at that distance from the finish. Like he rides against Mathieu and Remco; if the contribution isn't enough to increase the gap he simply drops the follower. That's what he did. It's more dramatically obvious what Pogacar does when it's on good pavement because the gap grows instantly and there is no chasing back unless he adjusts tempo. PR was an example of a seriously fatigued version of Tadej and Wout knew he should stay protected until the velodrome. Because Wout is smart.

 

[AlpRaid]

Watching Pogacar in general at Strade; he probably would welcome some help at that distance from the finish. Like he rides against Mathieu and Remco; if the contribution isn't enough to increase the gap he simply drops the follower. That's what he did. It's more dramatically obvious what Pogacar does when it's on good pavement because the gap grows instantly and there is no chasing back unless he adjusts tempo. PR was an example of a seriously fatigued version of Tadej and Wout knew he should stay protected until the velodrome. Because Wout is smart.

it was still weird to see WVA at the absolute limit desperately trying to stay on terms that time Pog surged and opened a gap (when they dropped Mads). WVA's absolute power must be larger, and yet he had to strain incredibly to get back on Pog's wheel. So it's kind of crazy to think what kind of power pog was putting out on the flat (cobbles) when much lighter. It boggles.

 

[AlpRaid]

Delgado saying Remco reminds him of Hinault.

I have always said/thought that.

Hinault, however, benefitted from the weakest competition (a bunch of aged riders from Merckx's era: Zoetemelk, Van Impe, Agostinho, etc...), a long flat ITT (70+ kms) and maybe close to 200 kms of ITT total. The combination of weak competition and courses designed towards his strengths helped his GT palmares.

 

[vappa]

it was still weird to see WVA at the absolute limit desperately trying to stay on terms that time Pog surged and opened a gap (when they dropped Mads). WVA's absolute power must be larger, and yet he had to strain incredibly to get back on Pog's wheel. So it's kind of crazy to think what kind of power pog was putting out on the flat (cobbles) when much lighter. It boggles.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2044054402302947779

Not to mention, that was a fatigued Pogacar. Very few riders would be able to follow that

 

[Sciatic]

it was still weird to see WVA at the absolute limit desperately trying to stay on terms that time Pog surged and opened a gap (when they dropped Mads). WVA's absolute power must be larger, and yet he had to strain incredibly to get back on Pog's wheel. So it's kind of crazy to think what kind of power pog was putting out on the flat (cobbles) when much lighter. It boggles.

I think that’s fairly accurate. But Van Aert’s body language tends to show that he’s making a bigger effort, definitely moreso than Pogacar going very hard. So the latter may have been putting in a max effort at that point as well.

 

[BahamontesPhantom]

Delgado saying Remco reminds him of Hinault.

I have always said/thought that.

Hinault, however, benefitted from the weakest competition (a bunch of aged riders from Merckx's era: Zoetemelk, Van Impe, Agostinho, etc...), a long flat ITT (70+ kms) and maybe close to 200 kms of ITT total. The combination of weak competition and courses designed towards his strengths helped his GT palmares.

Zoetemelk won two years after Hinaults first win. And what about Fignon and Lemond??

 

[KoopaCycling]

No hour record for Evenepoel btw. I know some people were hoping for an attempt. But it's not looking likely for years to come if not ever.

 

[BahamontesPhantom]

No hour record for Evenepoel btw. I know some people were hoping for an attempt. But it's not looking likely for years to come if not ever.

Is that what he said ?
I hope he gets the European road race, completing regional and Olympic one day racing would be cool

 

[KZD]

No hour record for Evenepoel btw. I know some people were hoping for an attempt. But it's not looking likely for years to come if not ever.

Remco should definitely try it at least once in his career, I can see him taking the reocrd.

I hope more top level riders try the hour record.

 

[AlpRaid]

Zoetemelk won two years after Hinaults first win. And what about Fignon and Lemond??

That’s easy. Zoetemelk only won because Hinault had to abandon that TDF. He was still competition that was over the hill. He was the oldest winner of the TDF in a long while. Agostinho was ancient when he got his best two finishes in 78 and 79. And Van Impe also old when he finished 2nd in 81. From 78-82 Hinaults competition was weak and mostly from Merckx’era.

Fignon and Lemond were the next generation and basically beat Hinault immediately. Don’t want to relitigate 85, but it could be argued that from 83 on Hinault had been surpassed already by the new generation.

Hinault ultimately still has the best TDF record of anyone. Five wins and two seconds (Pog to equal that this year?). But it very clear his competition was not the strongest.

 

[red_flanders]

Delgado saying Remco reminds him of Hinault.

I have always said/thought that.

Hinault, however, benefitted from the weakest competition (a bunch of aged riders from Merckx's era: Zoetemelk, Van Impe, Agostinho, etc...), a long flat ITT (70+ kms) and maybe close to 200 kms of ITT total. The combination of weak competition and courses designed towards his strengths helped his GT palmares.

All true. Maybe most relevant is that Hinault was a lot better of a climber than Evenepoel.

I don't really agree with Delgado, but...going out on a limb he MAY have a more informed perspective than I do. 😂 That said, for me Hinault was much more a forceful leader, full of self-confidence about who he was and his place in the peloton. The natural Patron. In his first TdF, the riders had him be the spokesman when issues came up.

Remco I see as a character who questions himself much more. All the talent and brashness of Hinault, but with a nagging sense of...well...doubt in many of his actions and interactions.

 

[Berniece]

Apparently he was doing long 6 hour sessions on the bike past few days. I expect him to fly on Sunday

 

[Oldman]

Delgado saying Remco reminds him of Hinault.

I have always said/thought that.

Hinault, however, benefitted from the weakest competition (a bunch of aged riders from Merckx's era: Zoetemelk, Van Impe, Agostinho, etc...), a long flat ITT (70+ kms) and maybe close to 200 kms of ITT total. The combination of weak competition and courses designed towards his strengths helped his GT palmares.

I enjoyed the absolute aggression he raced with but I'd have to agree. He worked the political side of his team to abscond with that last Tour that should have been Lemond's in a Fair World.

 

[BahamontesPhantom]

That’s easy. Zoetemelk only won because Hinault had to abandon that TDF. He was still competition that was over the hill. He was the oldest winner of the TDF in a long while. Agostinho was ancient when he got his best two finishes in 78 and 79. And Van Impe also old when he finished 2nd in 81. From 78-82 Hinaults competition was weak and mostly from Merckx’era.

Fignon and Lemond were the next generation and basically beat Hinault immediately. Don’t want to relitigate 85, but it could be argued that from 83 on Hinault had been surpassed already by the new generation.

Hinault ultimately still has the best TDF record of anyone. Five wins and two seconds (Pog to equal that this year?). But it very clear his competition was not the strongest.

Fair enough, Joop did seem to age like wine though.
I still think Merckx had the best competition of all the the 5 time winners in the tour

 

[Oldman]

All true. Maybe most relevant is that Hinault was a lot better of a climber than Evenepoel.

I don't really agree with Delgado, but...going out on a limb he MAY have a more informed perspective than I do. 😂 That said, for me Hinault was much more a forceful leader, full of self-confidence about who he was and his place in the peloton. The natural Patron. In his first TdF, the riders had him be the spokesman when issues came up.

Remco I see as a character who questions himself much more. All the talent and brashness of Hinault, but with a nagging sense of...well...doubt in many of his actions and interactions.

Hinault was a better climber for his era. He had the confidence to back it up when there wasn't the nagging nanny of wattage data. I'd wager he also knew the breaking point of his adversaries and tactically exploited whatever he could. His teams could also very overwhelming in support.

 

[Oldman]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2044054402302947779

Not to mention, that was a fatigued Pogacar. Very few riders would be able to follow that

That attack was what, 100 meters on smooth pavement and a corner that was set up by Laporte's screen?
Pogacar came back and over him and his posture trying to regain Pogacar's wheel suggested more that he was smart enough to know what Pogi might do.
Anticipating Tadej's move and hanging on for dear life became the deciding move. His peak power output came when he was fighting back to Tadej's wheel, I'll bet. A smart and lucky moment at the same time.

 

[AlpRaid]

Hinault was a better climber for his era. He had the confidence to back it up when there wasn't the nagging nanny of wattage data. I'd wager he also knew the breaking point of his adversaries and tactically exploited whatever he could. His teams could also very overwhelming in support.

He was a solid climber but not sure he ever won an MTF.

He gained a lot of time in the long ITTs. He took 3-4 mins from Zoetemelk (in yellow) in the last 70+ km ITT of the 1978 TDF to win it. He climbed at his pace. Steady. He was more consistent than Remco in the mountains, I give u that, but very similar in terms of limits.

 

[Oldman]

He was a solid climber but not sure he ever won an MTF.

He gained a lot of time in the long ITTs. He took 3-4 mins from Zoetemelk (in yellow) in the last 70+ km ITT of the 1978 TDF to win it. He climbed at his pace. Steady. He was more consistent than Remco in the mountains, I give u that, but very similar in terms of limits.

Hinault attacked his teammate, Lemond on stage 17 of the '86 Tour. He managed to get a large gap with the help of primarily French teammates. Lemond came back from over 2 minutes down with the help of Steve Bauer, Andy Hampsten. When he caught Hinault he buried him all the way to the finish.
Hinault, particularly graceless in the light of Lemond gifting him (team orders) the '85 Tour in exchange for Hinault's promised support in '86; attempted to shed Lemond again on stage 18 to Le Alpe. Lemond caught him again and tortured him for awhile and then towed him to the summit and gifted him that MTF win. Lemond still had to fight through the next stage's TT with what he thought were suspicious wheel problems that caused a crash. He managed to get back on and beat Hinault again. He won the Tour, the French hearts and then got shot that Summer hunting pheasant. It took to '89 to recover and win then and the next year.

 

[houtdffan]

All true. Maybe most relevant is that Hinault was a lot better of a climber than Evenepoel.

I don't really agree with Delgado, but...going out on a limb he MAY have a more informed perspective than I do. 😂 That said, for me Hinault was much more a forceful leader, full of self-confidence about who he was and his place in the peloton. The natural Patron. In his first TdF, the riders had him be the spokesman when issues came up.

Remco I see as a character who questions himself much more. All the talent and brashness of Hinault, but with a nagging sense of...well...doubt in many of his actions and interactions.

I have the feeling that an in form Remco from Plateau de Beille would have dropped HInault.

Remco is only a bad climber when compared to Pog. He'd bad compared to Vingo when Remco has an off day, but did drop Vingo on Stage 18 at the TDF