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

[hayneplane]

Stupid move which costs his team a win here. Well i am sure he meant it well.

How do you figure that out. Not his fault that the rest of the team were too far away from where they should be

 

[Salvarani]

How do you figure that out. Not his fault that the rest of the team were too far away from where they should be

Just a question. Once you realize that they are not where they "supposed to be"... do you keep putting the hammer down on the front so no one else can move forward or do you try to look where your teammates are so you can bring them up again?

 

[AlfaLum]

How do you figure that out. Not his fault that the rest of the team were too far away from where they should be

If you want to be part of a good leadout train you need to realize when your team mates are there and when they are not.

If they are in a poor position, keeping the tempo so high that nobody is capable of moving up is the poorest choice one can make. And Remco did just that.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

If you want to be part of a good leadout train you need to realize when your team mates are there and when they are not.

If they are in a poor position, keeping the tempo so high that nobody is capable of moving up is the poorest choice one can make. And Remco did just that.

He has an earpiece and slowed down numerous times. DS could easily have told him what to and likely instructed him to ride.

 

[Big Doopie]

He has an earpiece and slowed down numerous times. DS could easily have told him what to and likely instructed him to ride.

wasting your time.

the haters will hate.

 

[AlfaLum]

wasting your time.

the haters will hate.

Im definitely not a hater. I think Evenepoel is a very good addition to the peloton and even if I found his behavior somewhat immature in previous years I am also starting to like him more in that regard.

However this move was pretty poor on his behalf.

But i am probably wasting my time. Because fanboys are also gonna fanboy.

 

[Big Doopie]

Because fanboys are also gonna fanboy.

actually, i believe, if you read my posts about remco, I have at times been critical and also qualified my statements regarding his eventual abilities - though I think he is definitely one of the five most exciting riders of this era.

the point i am making is why blame him for the team's failures today? Is that really fair? He sacrificed himself for the team and basically set out to do the same long pull that had been successful on stage 2. Is he alone responsible for the fact that the rest of Quickstep lost his wheel momentarily and got totally swamped by other teams? i think that is a harsh judgment. in fact, as Logic points out, he turned around several times and slowed, and apparently then got the order in his earpiece to keep pulling. again, is that his fault that jakobsen was completely boxed in? should he be blamed for stupid racing if he is following his team's orders?

i think that's criticizing for the sake of criticizing, frankly.

 

[Netserk]

wasting your time.

the haters will hate.

All heretics are puppets of the Devil. Don't believe a word they say, your salvation is at stake. #PrayForBambi

 

[Red Rick]

I'm sure Jakobsen will tell Evenepoel what's up if he went against team orders.

 

[Boes]

I think he could have even won the stage if he didn't slow down

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

All heretics are puppets of the Devil. Don't believe a word they say, your salvation is at stake. #PrayForBambi

Wasting your time.

He has you on ignore.

 

[hayneplane]

Just a question. Once you realize that they are not where they "supposed to be"... do you keep putting the hammer down on the front so no one else can move forward or do you try to look where your teammates are so you can bring them up again?

He is second on GC. It was admirable him putting in that effort at all yet now you seem to expect him to drop back and get tangled up in the chaos risking crashes to try and retrieve his colleagues who messed up. Not for me anyway.

 

[Salvarani]

He is second on GC. It was admirable him putting in that effort at all yet now you seem to expect him to drop back and get tangled up in the chaos risking crashes to try and retrieve his colleagues who messed up. Not for me anyway.

You should become a DS, I´ll back you.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

What i wrote in the VCV thread seems to be the case from an interview with Manager Patrick Lefevere and trainer Koen Pelgrim.

He has literally said in an interview earlier this week that they took a different approach this winter. Look at the helicoptershots from the final 1k, he's visibly far too heavy. My guess is they are aiming for the hilly classics and will then work towards the Vuelta after those.

Bigger thighs have to give Evenepoel an advantage especially in Liège: "The Remco of the Vuelta won't be the same"

He's lost his leader's jersey, but the thighs of Remco Evenepoel (22) remain talk of the town in Valencia. Past winter he's worked extra hard on his "explosivity" (punch) in order to be able to follow the world's best on short climbs.


Can't read the rest of the interview as it's behind a paywall. But it's clear that he's more stocky right now, and now we know why.

 

[Andre]

what kind of training and exercise gives bigger thighs?

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

what kind of training and exercise gives bigger thighs?

Also found this:

Van Slycke, DS: “He has more muscles in his legs. He is doing things more consciously: training on explosivity and power. And resting.”
Steels, DS: “Wednesday he won a stage because of that, yesterday he lost because of it.”

 

[AlfaLum]

So he trained his thighs to be a better domestique for Alaphilippe in the Ardennes?

And here i have been Reading that Evenepoel would focus on one week stage races.

 

[Salvarani]

So he trained his thighs to be a better domestique for Alaphilippe in the Ardennes?

And here i have been Reading that Evenepoel would focus on one week stage races.

Winning all the GTs is what I have seen.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

So he trained his thighs to be a better domestique for Alaphilippe in the Ardennes?

Secondary leader, I hope. Evenepoel's upper body is too small for him to be a useful domestique, IMO.

I think this was a mistake. The focus should have been on the Vuelta from the start.

 

[Wvv]

Secondary leader, I hope. Evenepoel's upper body is too small for him to be a useful domestique, IMO.

I think this was a mistake. The focus should have been on the Vuelta from the start.

Nah, don't really agree. It's good for his evolution to try and compete in bigger classics with ambition. And you see this shifting in weight a lot. It's well known that for example Van Aert or Van Avermaet and all these classic guys (even Boonen and Cancellara back in their day) shape down a few kilograms between the spring and summer season. There is no better time for Remco to combine classic and GT racing than his current schedule. There's plenty of space between Liège and the Vuelta.

 

[AlfaLum]

Secondary leader, I hope. Evenepoel's upper body is too small for him to be a useful domestique, IMO.

I think this was a mistake. The focus should have been on the Vuelta from the start.

When you have a leader like Alaphilippe you dont need a secondary leader that is unproven. Alaphilippe deserves to be the only leader.

 

[Red Rick]

When you have a leader like Alaphilippe you dont need a secondary leader that is unproven. Alaphilippe deserves to be the only leader.

Evenepoel isn't really mutually exclusive. You just let him attack and if he gets away solo you just laugh at your direct competitors.

 

[AlfaLum]

Evenepoel isn't really mutually exclusive. You just let him attack and if he gets away solo you just laugh at your direct competitors.

Might be an option. But it changes the name of the game. If Evenepoel is still in front at the foot of the Roche Aux Faucons then Alaphilippe has to ride less aggressive. For me at this point hierarhy should be such that Alaphilippe is the only leader.

 

[Red Rick]

Might be an option. But it changes the name of the game. If Evenepoel is still in front at the foot of the Roche Aux Faucons then Alaphilippe has to ride less aggressive. For me at this point hierarhy should be such that Alaphilippe is the only leader.

Well on the RaF it's pretty straightforward cause if Evenepoel can crest it with an advantage he's a big favorite to win.

Also it depends who's in the Alaphilippe group and how confident he is he can take them in a sprint.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

So he trained his thighs to be a better domestique for Alaphilippe in the Ardennes?

And here i have been Reading that Evenepoel would focus on one week stage races.

Funny stuff.

Why would he train to be a domestique?
Where exactly did you read he would focus on 1 week races? There are a couple on his agenda, en route to the Vuelta, yes.