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

[Red Rick]

Most reactions on the HLN article about REv are harsh, claiming he is overrated and not suited to be a leader in the OS RR. Apparently these people have very short attention spans, because I saw a rider the past two seasons whose endurance was exceptional and who was an elite climber, even on steep slopes (Burgos, San Sebastian).
Mentally, it has to be very hard for him to not be able to get close to his pre-crash form. I think we can all agree that with his 2020 form he would have been part of the lead group in the OS RR.

I'm also annoyed by people who claim to know how REvs recovery should have been handled. I don't know and neither do you.
Currently, there are only questions. Will he ever regain his old form and what is the right way forward? Is there permanent physical damage?
Lefeveres choices to slow down a bit for the rest of the season seem to make sense to me. The sky used to be the limit and it isn't any more. Ambitions have to be readjusted.

I sincerely hope that we'll get to see the pre-crash REv. I still consider him to be the biggest and most exciting talent that I have ever seen. It would be a terrible shame if he couldn't exploit his potential.

Based on results in 2021, Evenepoel wasn't good enough to be a co leader in the Olympic road race.

And people claim to know how his recovery should have been handled because it's simply stupendously obvious it was mishandled. That is both on the rider and on the team that manages the rider.

 

[GuntherL1]

Based on results in 2021, Evenepoel wasn't good enough to be a co leader in the Olympic road race.

And people claim to know how his recovery should have been handled because it's simply stupendously obvious it was mishandled. That is both on the rider and on the team that manages the rider.

It's all easy in hindsight. If he had regained his pre-crash form, nobody would have said anything.
The main question remains whether he would be at pre-crash form today if he hadn't had the setback early this year.
Do you know? I don't.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

It's all easy in hindsight. If he had regained his pre-crash form, nobody would have said anything.
The main question remains whether he would be at pre-crash form today if he hadn't had the setback early this year.
Do you know? I don't.

But apparently Lefevere knew, or so he claims. Then why did the team fck up?

 

[spalco]

It's all easy in hindsight. If he had regained his pre-crash form, nobody would have said anything.
The main question remains whether he would be at pre-crash form today if he hadn't had the setback early this year.
Do you know? I don't.

It was predictable in foresight too, even for the half baked know-it-alls in this forum. I don't have the patience or interest to read back what was said in this thread at the time, but in my memory people were very critical of sending him to the Giro straight away.

I have no idea what he or anyone around him was thinking. Maybe they really did think he's the next Eddy Merckx and there's no obstacle he can't crush so they should just give him the biggest challenges to prove himself.

 

[Red Rick]

It's all easy in hindsight. If he had regained his pre-crash form, nobody would have said anything.
The main question remains whether he would be at pre-crash form today if he hadn't had the setback early this year.
Do you know? I don't.

I think almost everyone questioned the idea of going to the Giro as a first race back. I remember saying myself that the Giro route didn't even suit him and that a slow buildup and trying the Vuelta as a first GT was much better.

I will admit that the Evenepoel hype machine trying to build him up as a contender before the Giro probably drowned out a lot of the doubters.

 

[GuntherL1]

As far as I remember, one of the reasons that DQS didn't send him to the Tour of Romandie, was the likelihood of bad weather.
If they had sent him there and he would have crashed or gotten ill because of bad weather, I guarantee you that you would have heard similar criticism.
It's so easy from the sidelines.

Did Lefevere overrule medical advice? If he did, it's another story.

 

[Red Rick]

As far as I remember, one of the reasons that DQS didn't send him to the Tour of Romandie, was the likelihood of bad weather.
If they had sent him there and he would have crashed or gotten ill because of bad weather, I guarantee you that you would have heard similar criticism.
It's so easy from the sidelines.

Did Lefevere overrule medical advice? If he did, it's another story.

That's just a whataboutism. Romandie would surely be a better race to come back, although it's not very good as a Giro prep race.

Where Lefevre failed is that they didn't control their riders training schedule and if it were going in line with expected recovery. It's very basic that training too hard when coming back from injuries can cause huge setbacks and they should've been 100% on top of that.

 

[HelloDolly]

I dont think anyone over ruled medical advice . These are professional teams

The issue is the kid is both overly confident and under pressure .

The time to talk is when he has won big not before. The talent these days in GTs is immense and he may never compete with it for the win. He may only win one week races and one day races in his career

If you want to dial down the pressure maybe stop talking about him for awhile

The pressure is perhaps killing him and making him take poor decisions. He is very very young and needs the space and time to learn without pressure . Failure is the best teacher too. How else can he learn

 

[GuntherL1]

That's just a whataboutism. Romandie would surely be a better race to come back, although it's not very good as a Giro prep race.

Where Lefevre failed is that they didn't control their riders training schedule and if it were going in line with expected recovery. It's very basic that training too hard when coming back from injuries can cause huge setbacks and they should've been 100% on top of that.

Wasn't it Remco's fault that he didn't mention the pain he was feeling early in his recovery? Maybe he shouldn't have been on his bike at all that soon, but that seems to be a medical decision to me. They took him off the bike as soon as it became clear that he was still suffering.

 

[Red Rick]

Wasn't it Remco's fault that he didn't mention the pain he was feeling early in his recovery? Maybe he shouldn't have been on his bike at all that soon, but that seems to be a medical decision to me. They took him off the bike as soon as it became clear that he was still suffering.

Well that is *** stupid indeed. But how much did they ask him even?

 

[Salvarani]

Yeah, I dont understand the talk about winning GTs.

Let him focus on one-day races and one-week races.

 

[Red Rick]

Yeah, I dont understand the talk about winning GTs.

Let him focus on one-day races and one-week races.

Get fitness back. Give it a shot at a GT or a few shots. Then, if it doesn't work, focus on one day races and TTs.

 

[Salvarani]

Get fitness back. Give it a shot at a GT or a few shots. Then, if it doesn't work, focus on one day races and TTs.

I think the complete opposite on the order of those things. At least for the next year or so.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Wasn't it Remco's fault that he didn't mention the pain he was feeling early in his recovery? Maybe he shouldn't have been on his bike at all that soon, but that seems to be a medical decision to me. They took him off the bike as soon as it became clear that he was still suffering.

They let him go to Spain on his own, just after he got back on the bike. He isn't a doctor, he doesn't know what he's supposed to feel, and he doesn't know what the implications can be if he goes about it all wrong. This was mismanaged from start to finish. He wasn't a 33 year old experienced cyclist who already recovered from half a dozen of crashes. Not to mention the fact that had they taken their responsibility in the first place, he probably wouldn't have crashed to begin with.

 

[Red Rick]

They let him go to Spain on his own, just after he got back on the bike. He isn't a doctor, he doesn't know what he's supposed to feel, and he doesn't know what the implications can be if he goes about it all wrong. This was mismanaged from start to finish. He wasn't a 33 year old experienced cyclist who already recovered from half a dozen of crashes. Not to mention the fact that had they taken their responsibility in the first place, he probably wouldn't have crashed to begin with.

I thought it was bad but that's just next level tbh.

 

[Tinnekeisabella]

Lefevre could not have waited a week before announcing this would be wasted season for Remco?…

He mentions Remco is mentally suffering, how demotivating must it be to read this before the timetrial again? (or knowing Remco it could be extra motivation)

Yes, I do not like the arrogance, but this guy is 21 years old and skipped several years in bike riding years. He needs/deserves better guidance, because his motivation to succeed is there.

They need to stop treating him like a God and start working with him.

Just a few close to home races wont do him good either. He needs experience. Racing. But with less expectations. Just to learn.

Maybe let him start the Vuelta with the challenge to finish it (if he does not fall)?

 

[Bolder]

That's just a whataboutism. Romandie would surely be a better race to come back, although it's not very good as a Giro prep race.

Where Lefevre failed is that they didn't control their riders training schedule and if it were going in line with expected recovery. It's very basic that training too hard when coming back from injuries can cause huge setbacks and they should've been 100% on top of that.

To be fair, Pinot, Dumoulin and Froome also messed up their recoveries from injury. I would not blame youth for this. What I do see is a combination of athletes wanting to get back in the game, teams that want a result from their investments, and compliant team doctors who say what they think the teams want to hear...

 

[Salvarani]

Lefevre could not have waited a week before announcing this would be wasted season for Remco?…

He mentions Remco is mentally suffering, how demotivating must it be to read this before the timetrial again? (or knowing Remco it could be extra motivation)

Yes, I do not like the arrogance, but this guy is 21 years old and skipped several years in bike riding years. He needs/deserves better guidance, because his motivation to succeed is there.

They need to stop treating him like a God and start working with him.

Just a few close to home races wont do him good either. He needs experience. Racing. But with less expectations. Just to learn.

Maybe let him start the Vuelta with the challenge to finish it (if he does not fall)?

I heard a story about him when he was playing football. The team and coaches thought the players should rest and a training session got cancelled. Remco went out and ran half a marathon instead.

Of course the team has some responsibility to develop and protect their rider. DQS has always been pretty good at this, so I find it unbelievable that they somehow failed to do this completely and deserve all the blame in this story. There is some information missing here and I think only Remco might have the answers to that.

And with the mentally suffering part. For the first time in his life he hit a wall with the crash and had to stop what he was doing. Sidelined for months. Complications in the recovery. A humbling experience that he will hopefully grow from and not break him down. Add that to the pressure and expectations people and himself have on him. Not easy. To be successful the mental aspect might be even more important than just being in good shape.

 

[roundabout]

They let him go to Spain on his own, just after he got back on the bike. He isn't a doctor, he doesn't know what he's supposed to feel, and he doesn't know what the implications can be if he goes about it all wrong. This was mismanaged from start to finish. He wasn't a 33 year old experienced cyclist who already recovered from half a dozen of crashes. Not to mention the fact that had they taken their responsibility in the first place, he probably wouldn't have crashed to begin with.

He is also not a 10 year old who needs to be asked every day how he is feeling.

The only way that the team could have mismanaged the recovery process was giving Evenepoel zero training guidance and cutting off all the communication with him. And somehow I doubt that this was the case. Or that the team told him to ignore the pain and just to keep on riding.

 

[roundabout]

I heard a story about him when he was playing football. The team and coaches thought the players should rest and a training session got cancelled. Remco went out and ran half a marathon instead.

Of course the team has some responsibility to develop and protect their rider. DQS has always been pretty good at this, so I find it unbelievable that they somehow failed to do this completely and deserve all the blame in this story. There is some information missing here and I think only Remco might have the answers to that.

And with the mentally suffering part. For the first time in his life he hit a wall with the crash and had to stop what he was doing. Sidelined for months. Complications in the recovery. A humbling experience that he will hopefully grow from and not break him down. Add that to the pressure and expectations people and himself have on him. Not easy. To be successful the mental aspect might be even more important than just being in good shape.

There will be no humbling experience as long as there are people willing to push the Evenepoel can do no wrong narrative.

 

[Salvarani]

There will be no humbling experience as long as there are people willing to push the Evenepoel can do no wrong narrative.

Who is doing that?

 

[houtdffan]

Did Remco go far too deep on the Sterrato stage of the giro. He's been riding since that day like he lost a cylinder on his engine. Prior to that stage, he was right up there with Bernal and the best

 

[Red Rick]

Did Remco go far too deep on the Sterrato stage of the giro. He's been riding since that day like he lost a cylinder on his engine. Prior to that stage, he was right up there with Bernal and the best

He's not suffering cause he went too deep this one stage with sterrato lol.

 

[SHAD0W93]

He's not suffering cause he went too deep this one stage with sterrato lol.

Maybe if he had completed the 2011 Giro.

 

[Red Rick]

I think he's also experiencing that the peloton is going much faster now than in the first half of 2020.