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

[Wvv]

This weekend, Remco got to take the kick-off at RSC Anderlecht's game, as the honorary guest since he spend the most part of his juvenile football career there.

Anderlecht is arguably the most succesful team in Belgian football history, and developped a lot of big names over the years. In a more recent era we're talking about guys like Romelu Lukaku, Youri Tielemans, Vincent Kompany, Dries Mertens, Jérémy Doku , Dennis Praet, Leander Dendoncker, etcetera. However, as mentioned in a duo-interview with Yari Verschaeren, Remco still holds all the physical endurance records with the U17! Verschaeren, who's playing often with the Anderlecht pros and even got caps and a goal for the first Belgian national team, told that he worked hard back in those days to come close to his teammate, but never managed.

Link to a video report of the get-together, extra fun for those who want to see Remco do some football tricks.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Remco Evenepoel: “Winning the Belgium Tour was a big relief!” | Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl team

The 21-year-old talked about his first GC victory of the season and what made it so special.

www.deceuninck-quickstep.com

Remco Evenepoel: “Winning the Belgium Tour was a big relief!”

The 21-year-old talked about his first GC victory of the season and what made it so special.

“The Belgium Tour was just my second race of the season and winning it was a big relief. After a long injury and a long way back, it was very special to win again, to know that I returned close to my previous level. It also served as confirmation of the hard work I had put in and the support I got from the team, which is something I was and am very grateful for.”
“I remember the race kicking off with a very hot and hard stage, but the guys did a beautiful job and put me in the right place at the right moment, and once I noticed some of our opponents were suffering, I just decided to attack and split the field, which worked out well. I didn’t win that day, but I managed to gain time on the other GC contenders and that made for a perfect start. Then the time trial came – and with it, my first victory of the year – and achieving it on home soil made everything even more special. The only regret of that day is that Yves couldn’t be on the first step of the podium with me, as he too was very strong and would have deserved the win as well.”

“The next couple of days, the Wolfpack continued to do a flawless job, protecting me and making sure nothing would happen on the remaining tricky stages, and that made things easier. All I needed to do was remain attentive and follow my teammates, before wrapping it up on what turned out to be another great day for Deceuninck – Quick-Step, with Mark notching up the victory on the final stage.”

“During that week, everyone could see again the Wolfpack mentality, this incredible spirit that has carried us and continues to carry us to so many amazing victories. We fought hard and we worked hard, always believing in ourselves. Taking the general classification brought back a winning feeling that I had been missing since last year’s Tour de Pologne and an important morale boost for the second part of the season.”

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

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[18-Valve. (pithy)]

Looks like high altitude training in July followed by the Vuelta. No Giro, as expected.



Will Lefevere send Evenepoel to the Vuelta this year? "The course suits him"

Will the Vuelta this year be the new battleground for Evenepoel's Grand Tour dream? Patrick Lefevere, the team boss of Deceuninck Quick-Step, already sees opportunities in Spain for his pupil. "This course should be Evenepoel", said Lefevere.

The architects of Deceuninck-Quick Step are currently working hard on the plans for the 2022 season. Patrick Lefevere was also involved in the drawing board. The Belgian team boss already gave a sneak peek of the plans with his young wolf, Remco Evenepoel.

The announcement of the Vuelta course had everything to do with that. The grueling route, which is full of uphill finishes, seems to be the missing piece in Evenepoel's seasonal puzzle.

If he starts in Spain with normal preparation, I still see opportunities in a few stages Patrick Lefevere, DQS Team Principal “The course should indeed suit him”, thinks team boss Patrick Lefevere. “We have seen in the Giro - despite his lesser preparation - that he has the talent to ride Grand Tours. If he starts in Spain with normal preparation, I still see opportunities in a few stages.”

“But I absolutely do not want to assign him a favorite role. It still remains to be seen how he will react to a three-week stage race. The three finishes above 3,000 meters are also relatively new for him.”

The team time trial as a hobbyhorse? The Vuelta will again this year with a team time trial. In the camp of Deceuninck Quick Step there are a lot of pacers driving around. Could Evenepoel make the difference against the chrono in Spain? “In the team time trial we could indeed achieve a good result.

The individual time trial lacks a few altimeters to fully please Remco", oracles Lefevere. Can the Blue Brigade whirl again in a team time trial?

See you in Argentina, Evenepoel? It seems to be written in the stars: Evenepoel will take care of the Vuelta this year. However, it will have to wait until the beginning of next year before Deceuninck-Quick Step will officially confirm.

“We will make the decision in January,” said Lefevere. “We will first look at the first part of the season. For example, Remco will probably start his year in Argentina. He has good memories there and gets the necessary time to prepare.” Evenepoel already opened his season in 2019 and 2020 in the Vuelta a San Juan Internacional on Argentine soil.

He does not want to ride the Tour de France yet this year. Skipping steps is not an issue. Patrick Lefevere, DQS Team Principal The focus of our compatriot's season therefore seems to be at the end of the season. "One track we can take next year is the possibility to schedule a during the Tour."

"That way he can close the season with the Vuelta and the World Cup. Evenepoel does not want to ride the Tour itself this year. He absolutely does not want to skip any steps."

"He feels good, you can see that in training" Evenepoel is currently in Spain - on an internship with the team - preparing for the new season. "He will stay here until the 23rd while the rest will pack all their bags today," said Lefevere. "

I sat down with him yesterday and talked to him. He feels good, you can see that in training. His training schedule is nicely finished."

Stuurt Lefevere Evenepoel naar de Vuelta volgend jaar? "Het parcours ligt hem wel" | sporza

Van Utrecht tot Madrid. Wordt de Vuelta volgend jaar het nieuwe strijdtoneel voor Evenepoels Grote Ronde-droom? Patrick Lefevere, de ploegbaas van Deceuninck-Quick Step, ziet in Spanje alvast kansen voor zijn pupil. "Dit parcours zou Evenepoel moeten liggen", aldus Lefevere. Vamos?

sporza.be

 

[tobydawq]

Looks like high altitude training in July followed by the Vuelta. No Giro, as expected.



Will Lefevere send Evenepoel to the Vuelta this year? "The course suits him"

Will the Vuelta this year be the new battleground for Evenepoel's Grand Tour dream? Patrick Lefevere, the team boss of Deceuninck Quick-Step, already sees opportunities in Spain for his pupil. "This course should be Evenepoel", said Lefevere.

The architects of Deceuninck-Quick Step are currently working hard on the plans for the 2022 season. Patrick Lefevere was also involved in the drawing board. The Belgian team boss already gave a sneak peek of the plans with his young wolf, Remco Evenepoel.

The announcement of the Vuelta course had everything to do with that. The grueling route, which is full of uphill finishes, seems to be the missing piece in Evenepoel's seasonal puzzle.

If he starts in Spain with normal preparation, I still see opportunities in a few stages Patrick Lefevere, DQS Team Principal “The course should indeed suit him”, thinks team boss Patrick Lefevere. “We have seen in the Giro - despite his lesser preparation - that he has the talent to ride Grand Tours. If he starts in Spain with normal preparation, I still see opportunities in a few stages.”

“But I absolutely do not want to assign him a favorite role. It still remains to be seen how he will react to a three-week stage race. The three finishes above 3,000 meters are also relatively new for him.”

The team time trial as a hobbyhorse? The Vuelta will again this year with a team time trial. In the camp of Deceuninck Quick Step there are a lot of pacers driving around. Could Evenepoel make the difference against the chrono in Spain? “In the team time trial we could indeed achieve a good result.

The individual time trial lacks a few altimeters to fully please Remco", oracles Lefevere. Can the Blue Brigade whirl again in a team time trial?

See you in Argentina, Evenepoel? It seems to be written in the stars: Evenepoel will take care of the Vuelta this year. However, it will have to wait until the beginning of next year before Deceuninck-Quick Step will officially confirm.

“We will make the decision in January,” said Lefevere. “We will first look at the first part of the season. For example, Remco will probably start his year in Argentina. He has good memories there and gets the necessary time to prepare.” Evenepoel already opened his season in 2019 and 2020 in the Vuelta a San Juan Internacional on Argentine soil.

He does not want to ride the Tour de France yet this year. Skipping steps is not an issue. Patrick Lefevere, DQS Team Principal The focus of our compatriot's season therefore seems to be at the end of the season. "One track we can take next year is the possibility to schedule a during the Tour."

"That way he can close the season with the Vuelta and the World Cup. Evenepoel does not want to ride the Tour itself this year. He absolutely does not want to skip any steps."

"He feels good, you can see that in training" Evenepoel is currently in Spain - on an internship with the team - preparing for the new season. "He will stay here until the 23rd while the rest will pack all their bags today," said Lefevere. "

I sat down with him yesterday and talked to him. He feels good, you can see that in training. His training schedule is nicely finished."

Stuurt Lefevere Evenepoel naar de Vuelta volgend jaar? "Het parcours ligt hem wel" | sporza

Van Utrecht tot Madrid. Wordt de Vuelta volgend jaar het nieuwe strijdtoneel voor Evenepoels Grote Ronde-droom? Patrick Lefevere, de ploegbaas van Deceuninck-Quick Step, ziet in Spanje alvast kansen voor zijn pupil. "Dit parcours zou Evenepoel moeten liggen", aldus Lefevere. Vamos?

sporza.be

Three finishes above 3000 metres?

Poor Valverde.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Three finishes above 3000 metres?

Poor Valverde.

Colombia approves!

 

[Krzysztof_O]

So how much time will Remco put into his nearest rival at the Vuelta? Primoz will be fighting hard to stay competitive while Tadej will stay home with Urshka grateful that Remco skipped the Tour again.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

So only a few hours later than that Sporza interview, Lefevere is said to have confirmed Evenepoel to ride the Vuelta.

https://www.rtbf.be/sport/cyclisme/detail_patrick-lefevere-confirme-que-remco-evenepoel-sera-sur-la-vuelta-en-2022?id=10899926

 

[Red Rick]

Kinda annoying to have to wait for the last GT of the year tbh. That said, I don't really have a strong opinion on which one he should ride. It does largely depend on the objective, and it's probably very important to target the hilly classics in the first place anyway

 

[AlfaLum]

Tour is for Alaphilippe of course and Evenepoel does nog really fit.

Giro is for Masnada and even though he deserves a Domestique of Evenepoels level it would be strange to bring Remco.

so Vuelta is het obvious choice. With the lack of multi mountain stages it is a perfect route for him as well. Now he just has to hope Roglic doesn’t make a goal of making it four in a Row.

 

[Red Rick]

Tour is for Alaphilippe of course and Evenepoel does nog really fit.

Giro is for Masnada and even though he deserves a Domestique of Evenepoels level it would be strange to bring Remco.

so Vuelta is het obvious choice. With the lack of multi mountain stages it is a perfect route for him as well. Now he just has to hope Roglic doesn’t make a goal of making it four in a Row.

Yeah he probably doesn't fit into the Tour team. Vuelta is a better race for him than the Giro at this point, though and the only upside to the Giro would be the softer field probably

 

[hayneplane]

Kinda annoying to have to wait for the last GT of the year tbh. That said, I don't really have a strong opinion on which one he should ride. It does largely depend on the objective, and it's probably very important to target the hilly classics in the first place anyway

Will be good to see him able to build his first part of the season around being the alternative card to Alaphillipe in the Hilly Classics.

Tour probably suits him best but can certainly see the wisdom in not pitching him up with Pog and Rog next time around until he has had a Grand Tour under his belt with a standard type of buildup.

 

[Breh]

So Alaphilippe and Evenepoel can co-lead the classics but the LeTour, in which Alaphilippe has no GC aspirations whatsoever, is purely for Alaphilippe?

 

[Bonimenier]

So Alaphilippe and Evenepoel can co-lead the classics but the LeTour, in which Alaphilippe has no GC aspirations whatsoever, is purely for Alaphilippe?

What do you mean 'purely'? Have you forgotten where most of their Tour victories in recent years have come from?

If Evenepoel in the future eventually seems capable of going for GC in the Tour, it's possible that Quickstep will stop bringing a sprinter + full lead out to France.

 

[Big Doopie]

Kinda annoying to have to wait for the last GT of the year tbh. That said, I don't really have a strong opinion on which one he should ride. It does largely depend on the objective, and it's probably very important to target the hilly classics in the first place anyway

agreed, kind of annoying for us (including me) who are so impatient to find out, but i think it is a wise choice for a variety of reasons:

1. Going to the giro would not show if remco can do a GT. the giro is not a test of a GT in 2022. it is a ludicrous route that will have very few real GT riders competing for the win.
2. This gives remco a chance to line up in several week-long world tour races throughout the year.
3. Vuelta should include those who failed or crashed out of the TDF -- so something he may truly measure up to (the giro will have virtually no one...)

my 2 cents.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

The Giro has the hardest route by far (as per usual). Including a number of actual mountain stages. I think it would be the best test in that regard. I think plenty of real (2nd and 3rd tier) GT specialists will show up. MAL (all but certain) and Carapaz are likely starters. MAL has dropped all of the biggest names in cycling and Carapaz' track record in GTs speaks for itself.

The Giro has the most opportunities by far for stage wins.

The Tour has the least amount of climbing - but has a cobbled stage and is usually a crash fest in week 1. The Granon - Alpe double whammy is something the 2022 Vuelta doesn't have. The Sierra Nevada finish is very hard, but the preceding MTF stage is, of course, doable.

I would say the Vuelta is the best to get a GC result, but also the one GT that doesn't have 2 hard mountain stages back to back. It also lacks big climbs, other than the one Esp climb.

 

[Red Rick]

The Giro has the hardest route by far (as per usual). Including a number of actual mountain stages. I think it would be the best test in that regard. I think plenty of real (2nd and 3rd tier) GT specialists will show up. MAL (all but certain) and Carapaz are likely starters. MAL has dropped all of the biggest names in cycling and Carapaz' track record in GTs speaks for itself.

The Giro has the most opportunities by far for stage wins.

The Tour has the least amount of climbing - but has a cobbled stage and is usually a crash fest in week 1. The Granon - Alpe double whammy is something the 2022 Vuelta doesn't have. The Sierra Nevada finish is very hard, but the preceding MTF stage is, of course, doable.

I would say the Vuelta is the best to get a GC result, but also the one GT that doesn't have 2 hard mountain stages back to back. It also lacks big climbs, other than the one Esp climb.

I'm not sure the Giro is harder than the Tour, nor am I sure the cobbles would be guaranteed to be a problem. But still Tour being out of question because DQS doesn't wanna gamble on Evenepoel when they have a formula that works there is normal.

I do wonder if their objective is to "we'll see what he can do" or if they back him to go for the win there, but I guess that depends on the spring races. If they already backed him to win GTs now I wouldn't really see a big reason to not go to the Giro.

 

[Breh]

What do you mean 'purely'? Have you forgotten where most of their Tour victories in recent years have come from?

If Evenepoel in the future eventually seems capable of going for GC in the Tour, it's possible that Quickstep will stop bringing a sprinter + full lead out to France.

I mean, I dont know why Alaphilippe and Evenepoel would not be able to both go le Tour.
A previous post implied they could share leadership in the classics but had to be seperated for le Tour.

Evenepoel and Alaphilippe both competing in leTour would have the Belgian and French press drooling like never before.

 

[Red Rick]

I mean, I dont know why Alaphilippe and Evenepoel would not be able to both go le Tour.
A previous post implied they could share leadership in the classics but had to be seperated for le Tour.

Evenepoel and Alaphilippe both competing in leTour would have the Belgian and French press drooling like never before.

Unless their egos clash, which I doubt, then you can easily fit Evenepoel in if you want him there but are fine with him trying to Meintjens his way to a GC place. I'm sure he can do a shift in the sprint train too if he needs to.

 

[Carrick-On-Seine]

So Alaphilippe and Evenepoel can co-lead the classics but the LeTour, in which Alaphilippe has no GC aspirations whatsoever, is purely for Alaphilippe?

Maybe he is going for green but has yet to do the press conference?

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Sending Remco to do gc in any race is stupid
If he doesn't crash out he can't last 3 weeks yet. Or at least he hasn't proven he can get close to it (obviously he is a phenomenonally talented rider).

Giro is for Fausto Masnada and Cattaneo as a lieutenant.

Tour is for Alaphillipe, classics guys and sprinters stage hunting. Usual strategy.

Vuelta makes sense to send a joung Belgian team with Remco trying a GC. Vansevenont, Van wilde, etc .

 

[Ilmaestro99]

So Alaphilippe and Evenepoel can co-lead the classics but the LeTour, in which Alaphilippe has no GC aspirations whatsoever, is purely for Alaphilippe?

Lol, in which classic is remco a co leader?

He was dropped at 50km on Lombardia, meanwhile Alaphilippe and Fausto were contesting the victory.

For sure take him to see how he can do on Liege or Sanremo or something. But he is not leader when you have the worlds best classic rider Julian Alaphilippe on the team. And Fausto was only guy who could match Pogačar on road to Bergamo

 

[Salvarani]

Remco has potential to be a rider that can win the big one-day races and GTs.

He has won a lot of races already to give him a shot to prove himself and to be considered a leader in most races, among other great riders. Neither above or below. Cycling is just as much a team sport as it is an individual sport.

We dont really know what he can do yet in a GT when in good form, so you saying they shouldnt send him because he hasnt proven himself is pretty pointless. Duh, thats why they have to send him to see how he goes as a start. Then valuate afterwards.

It is hard to win GTs. A lot of things has to come together perfectly. Some never win. Some do.

 

[SHAD0W93]

Sending Remco to do gc in any race is stupid
If he doesn't crash out he can't last 3 weeks yet. Or at least he hasn't proven he can get close to it (obviously he is a phenomenonally talented rider).

Giro is for Fausto Masnada and Cattaneo as a lieutenant.

Tour is for Alaphillipe, classics guys and sprinters stage hunting. Usual strategy.

Vuelta makes sense to send a joung Belgian team with Remco trying a GC. Vansevenont, Van wilde, etc .

I’d be surprised if they don’t send Cav or Jakobsen to the Giro with 7 stages they could win and 4 within the first six stages (at least according to PCS and wiki about the race, I’m not sure the exact profiles) and minus that , Ballerini or Senechal. Not with full team like they would at the Tour but able to ride for the sprint stages. They might even send whatever one doesn’t go to the Tour the ability to do Giro and Vuelta.

 

[Bonimenier]

I’d be surprised if they don’t send Cav or Jakobsen to the Giro with 7 stages they could win and 4 within the first six stages (at least according to PCS and wiki about the race, I’m not sure the exact profiles) and minus that , Ballerini or Senechal. Not with full team like they would at the Tour but able to ride for the sprint stages. They might even send whatever one doesn’t go to the Tour the ability to do Giro and Vuelta.

I would think they send Jakobsen to the Tour, but then I'm wondering how willing Cavendish would be to go the another GT that isn't the Tour.