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

[Red Rick]

We meme Yates for being a mystery, but then there's Remco in 1 day races vs WT stage races.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

We meme Yates for being a mystery, but then there's Remco in 1 day races vs WT stage races.

Remco should just treat every Vuelta stage like a 1-day race. He won't have a problem with winning 10+ stages and the GC success should come naturally! (and if not it's still a good race, isn't it?)

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

We meme Yates for being a mystery, but then there's Remco in 1 day races vs WT stage races.

No need to disrespect Tour de Pologne man!

 

[OlavEH]

The performance yesterday certainly seemed impressive, probably his best race so far in his career and even better than LBL. The reported times up Erlaitz are just too good to be anything else than a top notch performance. And now the expectations for the Vuelta are really cranked-up. I don't expect him to win, but he should certainly be able to follow the top climbers in most of the toughest stages and finish top 3 or top 5. If he finishes top 5 after losing some time on for example the steep ramp to Les Praeres and to Sierra Nevada, that would be fine, but if he is outside top 10 and after losing time on most of the big MTFs, that would be disappointing.

 

[Zoef-Lightning]

He is one of the greatest assets to have for a mid range/long range solo attack to succeed. It also needs ether a bit of luck or the teams behind looking at each other or a suitable parcour or a teammate as a foil. lets hope that he or his team dont have a collective brain meltdown like the WC.

But I think that mid range/long range solo attack would be possible in a big stage race. The riding there is completely different, and the teams would ride much more grouped behind that. Even if he once successfully completed an attack, he would pay for it on the next mountain stages. That's the big difference with a one-day race. In a GT you mainly have to save, until the competitors get more tired than you. To strike once. And extend that in the time trial. Evenepoel will therefore have to follow continuously in the Vuelta, without attacking himself. Hoping that an opponent drops out every now and then. If he still has good legs, he could possibly attack during one of the last mountain stages.

 

[Zoef-Lightning]

Remco should just treat every Vuelta stage like a 1-day race. He won't have a problem with winning 10+ stages and the GC success should come naturally! (and if not it's still a good race, isn't it?)

That's not how it works in a big round. The teams let their teammates work there until the final. Very different from a one day race.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

That's not how it works in a big round. The teams let their teammates work there until the final. Very different from a one day race.

It wasn't quite serious though.

 

[witeken]

The people who say he isn't GT (winning) material (which there are many of despite his remarkable first week in Giro 2020 already two yrs ago despite suboptimal preparation) are throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

The red dot is Pogacar at Splendelles 2022 (30min, 6.25W/kh). The blue dot is Pogacar Peyresourde 2020 (24min, 6.6W/kg). The black dot represents Pogacars best 10 minute efforts (all 7W/kg, 2021). The white dot is probably his best 30+ minute effort (2021). The white dot also represents Vingegaard's Hautacam performance. The green dot is Pogacar Mende 2022 (7.36W/kg).

In addition, the other two aqua dots are his Norway performance. It seems the naysayers are clamping on to his TdS performance as if that is his "real" or "expected" performance, despite that his San Sebastian performance is exactly in line with Norway.

Conclusion: Vingegaard 2022 seems on par with Pogacar 2021, while Evenepoel's San Sebastian and Norway efforts are the only ones above the red "mutant" line. (While Pogacar had higher W/kg in Mende, it was a shorter effort.)

Since saying he isn't (will never be) capable of winning GTs is a clear exaggeration, I will make a reverse exaggeration: if he doesn't stop attacking and rides like WvA did in the Tour, and if no better competition than Yates steps up (Rogic? Froome?), then he will win La Vuelta by many minutes. (Okay, and if he doesn't collapse like in the Giro or TdS.)

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

The people who say he isn't GT (winning) material (which there are many of despite his remarkable first week in Giro 2020 already two yrs ago despite suboptimal preparation) are throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

The red dot is Pogacar at Splendelles 2022 (30min, 6.25W/kh). The blue dot is Pogacar Peyresourde 2020 (24min, 6.6W/kg). The black dots are Pogacars best 10 minute efforts (7W/kg, 2021). The white dot is probably his best 30+ minute effort (2021). The white dot is also represents Vingegaard's Hautacam performance. The green dot is Pogacar Mende 2022 (7.36W/kg).

In addition, the other two aqua dots are his Norway performance. It seems the naysayers are clamping on to his TdS performance as if that is his "real" or "expected" performance, despite that his San Sebastian performance is exactly in line with Norway.

Conclusion: Vingegaard 2022 seems on par with Pogacar 2021, while Evenepoel's San Sebastian and Norway efforts are the only ones above the red "mutant" line. (While Pogacar had higher W/kg in Mende, it was a shorter effort.)

Since saying he isn't (will never be) capable of winning GTs is a clear exaggeration, I will make a reverse exaggeration: if he doesn't stop attacking and rides like WvA did in the Tour, and if no better competition than Yates steps up (Rogic? Froome?), then he will win La Vuelta by many minutes.

Giro was last year. It was not one but two weeks that he was good. Even after a "bad" day on Zoncolan he was still in the top 10 on day 15.

I doubt throwing away the baby with the bathwater is used as a saying in English, though i could be mistaking.

The hole point is that a one day supereffort is not a reference for a 3 week GT. Numbers and watts don't matter if you tank one day and lose 20 minutes. So that's what we need to see in the Vuelta. I'm convinced he has it in him, but i'm starting to doubt his (professional) entourage to bring it out of him.

 

[Davesta]

The hole point is that a one day supereffort is not a reference for a 3 week GT. Numbers and watts don't matter if you tank one day and lose 20 minutes. So that's what we need to see in the Vuelta. I'm convinced he has it in him, but i'm starting to doubt his (professional) entourage to bring it out of him.

Exactly. And also bear in mind that Pogacar’s & Vingegaard’s performances on the chart came from the 2nd half, or even the last few days, of a 3 weeks race…Remco can certainly match their climbing performances on a single day - that’s indisputable - but can he do it at the end of a 3 week race, after multiple days of similar climbing efforts? That’s still the unknown question. I’m looking forward to seeing the answer in a month or so…

 

[KZD]

Translated from Het Nieuwsblad.

Remco Evenepoel is already looking ahead after a high-profile victory The Tour has barely been digested, but there is Remco Evenepoel. With an impressive solo, the 22-year-old super talent won the Clasica San Sebastian for the second time in his career. Next to Wout van Aert, Belgium clearly has a second gem. His story! Remco, is this your most sensational victory ever? “Maybe because of the way, but I grade my victory in Liège-Bastogne-Liège still a bit higher than this one. But I highly value this win because of the team's perfect work. They have done a fantastic job. I was delivered perfectly at the foot of every climb.” Was this the plan? “The plan was for Pieter Serry to set the pace on the Jaizkibel. And he did that perfectly by riding two of the best climbers in the world (Pogacar, ed.) off the wheels. Then he would continue his effort to the foot of the Erlaitz. There it was intended that James Knox would take over, but suddenly EF Education decided to attack.” The start of your demonstration? “I saw that everything exploded behind us. So I decided to pick up the pace myself, after which only Simon Yates could follow. Okay, with two is good, but a little later he also had to let go. From then on it became a long effort to the finish. I quickly had a one minute lead, at the top of the last slope I had more than two minutes. That's when I knew I shouldn't take too many risks anymore." Is this the new cycling: few races, win a lot? “It's not that I had a small amount of race days this year. Recently I haven't raced that much, but I've trained a lot, perhaps the equivalent of a Grand Tour. Physically I may not have been fresh, but mentally I was. So yes, maybe this is the new way to prepare big goals. On the other hand, I have 45 race days on the counter which is already quite a lot." "That is also the reason why I am not doing the Tour of Burgos. After the Vuelta and hopefully the World Championships, I will close my season with about seventy competition days. Which is quite a lot! And believe me, the next few weeks will not be a holiday either.” Does this victory provide extra confidence regarding the Vuelta? “Gosh, this was a one-day race, the Vuelta lasts three weeks. But we showed today that the team is ready and that I am good. If everything goes according to plan, I will be a few percent better at the start of the Vuelta. But my expectations do not change. A stage win and a place in the top ten of the final classification are the goal and the dream. If it turns out to be better later, I will be very satisfied.”

Certainly the last paragraph is interesting. Think it's the first time he put a number on his GC ambitions in the Vuelta.

Interesting that he still plans going to the World Championships after the Vuelta. I guess that it will depend on how tired does he come out of the Vuelta but if he comes still with some freshness the RR should suit him well

 

[Big Doopie]

Interesting that he still plans going to the World Championships after the Vuelta. I guess that it will depend on how tired does he come out of the Vuelta but if he comes still with some freshness the RR should suit him well

I actually would prefer him to focus only on that. Given the correct prep I have way more confidence that he could be world champion than win the Vuelta.

 

[yaco]

Interesting that he still plans going to the World Championships after the Vuelta. I guess that it will depend on how tired does he come out of the Vuelta but if he comes still with some freshness the RR should suit him well

I think that Remco is a more reliable bet than Wout on this course.

 

[KZD]

I think that Remco is a more reliable bet than Wout on this course.

Its not even about Remco being more reliable than Wout but about having two cards to play as the all-in Wout strategy didn't go well last year (in 2020 the course wasn't as good for him so I don't see it as failure). Plus, the TT course should suit Wout really well and there, only Ganna should beat him under normal circumstances so makes sense that he trains his TT too.

 

[Riek s]

Keep in mind he is still only 22, he still has 4 more years to get consistency and that would still be earlier than many others.

 

[hayneplane]

Giro was last year. It was not one but two weeks that he was good. Even after a "bad" day on Zoncolan he was still in the top 10 on day 15.

I doubt throwing away the baby with the bathwater is used as a saying in English, though i could be mistaking.

The hole point is that a one day supereffort is not a reference for a 3 week GT. Numbers and watts don't matter if you tank one day and lose 20 minutes. So that's what we need to see in the Vuelta. I'm convinced he has it in him, but i'm starting to doubt his (professional) entourage to bring it out of him.

That is indeed a phrase in English and one used as a description for over reacting

 

[Red Rick]

Keep in mind he is still only 22, he still has 4 more years to get consistency and that would still be earlier than many others.

Meanwhile Pogacar is washed at 23.

 

[Lequack]

Meanwhile Pogacar is washed at 23.

Clearly on the downturn. Couldn't even beat Roglic's helper at the Tour, and dropped by Remco on a shallow climb.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

Clearly on the downturn. Couldn't even beat Roglic's helper at the Tour, and dropped by Remco on a shallow climb.

Yep, almost time for that Israel – Premier Tech contract

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

That is indeed a phrase in English and one used as a description for over reacting

Same in Dutch, but it somehow sounds like a bad translation, lol.

 

[red_flanders]

I actually would prefer him to focus only on that. Given the correct prep I have way more confidence that he could be world champion than win the Vuelta.

100%. And just think of how it would skewer the haters to have him parading around Europe in that jersey. All. Year. Long.

Delicious.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

100%. And just think of how it would skewer the haters to have him parading around Europe in that jersey. All. Year. Long.

Delicious.

Wearing the jersey all year would be fun, but even the haters by now understand that on any single day he has the potential to beat the opposition, including the ''other freaks''. I don't think even the biggest trolls or haters are willing to bet their house against him in a WCC. However, for 2 to 3 years, we've seen ardent claims of how he would never be able to win a GT. I think him winning the Vuelta would be more delicious and the salt and tears would reach epic proportions, about how the Vuelta is not really a GT, that it is the GT for babies and losers and whatnot.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Wearing the jersey all year would be fun, but even the haters by now understand that on any single day he has the potential to beat the opposition, including the ''other freaks''. I don't think even the biggest trolls or haters are willing to bet their house against him in a WCC. However, for 2 to 3 years, we've seen ardent claims of how he would never be able to win a GT. I think him winning the Vuelta would be more delicious and the salt and tears would reach epic proportions, about how the Vuelta is not really a GT, that it is the GT for babies and losers and whatnot.

Just don't talk before he has at least 2 TdF. Remember, 1 TdF can be a fluke, 2 cannot.

 

[red_flanders]

Wearing the jersey all year would be fun, but even the haters by now understand that on any single day he has the potential to beat the opposition, including the ''other freaks''. I don't think even the biggest trolls or haters are willing to bet their house against him in a WCC. However, for 2 to 3 years, we've seen ardent claims of how he would never be able to win a GT. I think him winning the Vuelta would be more delicious and the salt and tears would reach epic proportions, about how the Vuelta is not really a GT, that it is the GT for babies and losers and whatnot.

Oh, I’m just thinking of how arrogant it’ll make him seem to win and move around the bunch with those stripes on. I’m confident this will be more annoying than winning the GT with the lowest viewership. He is a cocky little f****er. It would be good fun all year.

 

[Red Rick]

Forever in fantasy about avenging imagined slights.