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

[Big Doopie]

Sure, I completely agree with you, but that is what they did last year to prepare for LBL. So i'm wondering if they will still do that, or just keep the focus on how he is currently riding and focussing on small improvements here and there over the years. That would also mean he would be more focussed on GT work and a little less for explosive attacks like he did in LBL. (altough i wonder if it mattered that much for him, but they still did it).

I think Remco has 2 paths before him being an absolute GT focus or absolute Classic focus (the start of this year). I hope they do the current GT focus, because i argue his perfromance in the classics won't be any lower because of it. (and i think that is also your point, because he is flying in every direction atm)

Just checked, and if he focussed more on WT 1week stage races instead of 2.Pro he would be close to #1st in the world if he can win a classic/GT as well. Depending on what Pog does ofcourse.)

He may already be first in the world if he wins Vuelta and does well at worlds or (I hope) lombardia…no?

Personally I hope he focuses on LBL, Lombardia, Worlds and GTs. Nothing else. Just amass many wins there in extraordinary fashion.

 

[Tonton]

not sure covid would stop Remco. May have the "low viral load" excuse if he tests positive

Huh...like the bilharzia thing?

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

He may already be first in the world if he wins Vuelta and does well at worlds or (I hope) lombardia…no?

Personally I hope he focuses on LBL, Lombardia, Worlds and GTs. Nothing else. Just amass many wins there in extraordinary fashion.

Isn't he doing that already? His goals were Liège + Vuelta. He's currently well on his way to win both.

 

[Tonton]

Rare footage of Remco this morning on his way to the start line...

View: https://media.giphy.com/media/3o6Zt64XMEIVWgrIBO/giphy.gif

 

[Big Doopie]

Isn't he doing that already? His goals were Liège + Vuelta. He's currently well on his way to win both.

I know. And I love it!!

Do not want him to focus only on GTs or whatever. Just those races. And win them multiple times. Make Merckx as horrendous a predictor as he has always been.

Aside. I do not get a sense Lombardia is on the menu for this season. Looks like things end after WCs.

 

[groogster]

Evenepoel needs to start thinking about his racing calendar and goals in such a way that he can keep at top level for as many years as possible (same with all the young guys that showed up in the last years, Pogacar, Bernal, now Ayuso) because, and we will know it better in a few years, they are subject to tremendous physical efforts much sooner than traditionally happened.
I'm not seeing Poga or Remco being able to remain at their peaks after their 30's, so the likes of guys like Nibali and Valverde being at top level beyond their 30s will be much rare imo!

 

[Oldermanish]

I'm not going to go through the trouble of reading how people exactly formulated it. Not fit, not as good as usual, still suffering from his crash... however it was put. In the past years Remco wasn't at the Vuelta, so as an exercise it is interesting to hypothesise if Roglic was better the past years than he is now. Two years ago he needed all the bonis he could get to beat Carapaz. Last year he was less than 30s ahead of... Mas, after stage 10. So without Evenepoel, Mas would not have taken (as much) time on Roglic on stage 6, and without Evenepoel Roglic would have won the TT and would have taken the lead by a lot more than the same time last year.

A hypothesis is what we can actually call speculation and can be an interesting exercise. Not fact, but conjecture.
The cosseted suggestion that if Remco had attended all of the Vuelta's that Roglic participated in Primoz wouldn't have won is your own reality. Enjoy the fact that Remco is doing well today; not that he could've, would've, deserved to win every other race he didn't race.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

A hypothesis is what we can actually call speculation and can be an interesting exercise. Not fact, but conjecture.
The cosseted suggestion that if Remco had attended all of the Vuelta's that Roglic participated in Primoz wouldn't have won is your own reality. Enjoy the fact that Remco is doing well today; not that he could've, would've, deserved to win every other race he didn't race.

I think it's clear to everyone from both posts i made on the subject what i was saying. If you want to take something else out of it, be my guest.

Rare footage of Remco this morning on his way to the start line...

View: https://media.giphy.com/media/3o6Zt64XMEIVWgrIBO/giphy.gif

God damn, i forgot about Ray Donovan and for a moment i was hyped that there could be a new season until i remembered the series ended two years ago.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Congratulations for the first GT stage win.

 

[The Hegelian]

I've seen enough. Have been very much a fence sitter in the GT question.

But the question is answered. Even he drops 20mins+ on some disaster stage, he still goes into future GT's as a major threat in my book.

It's a very classy GC field, and he's destroyed all comers thus far.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Interestingly, the 3rd week of this Vuelta is the easiest I've seen in GTs for years. Not backloaded at all. If Remco stays in good form until Sierra Nevada then it should be easier to defend from then on with only one really dangerous stage left (Navacerrada).

Evenepoel needs to start thinking about his racing calendar and goals in such a way that he can keep at top level for as many years as possible (same with all the young guys that showed up in the last years, Pogacar, Bernal, now Ayuso) because, and we will know it better in a few years, they are subject to tremendous physical efforts much sooner than traditionally happened.
I'm not seeing Poga or Remco being able to remain at their peaks after their 30's, so the likes of guys like Nibali and Valverde being at top level beyond their 30s will be much rare imo!

Yeah, those guys have early peaks. In fact, Pogi's peak ended this spring and he's already on his way to retirement.

 

[Extinction]

The beginning of today's la Gazzetta dello Sport article by Paolo Marabini on yesterday's TT reads:

"Win the individual TT of 30.9 km from Elche to Alicante flying at almost 56 kmph, the third fastest average speed in Vuelta history? Done. Beat the Olympic champion of the specialty and inflict another 48 second advantage? Done. Consolidate the maillot rojo of leader of the course and send the same Primoz Roglic referred to above further back in GC at 2:41, when we are just nearly half way through Vuelta? Done. Send back to third place the Spaniard Enric Mas? Done likewise. The balance is calculated, however, naturally only when all is said and done in Madrid on 11 September. And the road still to be ridden is very long and full of pitfalls, not only for the climbs, which could put he who is only in his second GT in difficulty. Yet, in the meantime, Remco Evenepoel is the indisputable King of Spain; in accordance with yes the prognostications that anticipated him lively in the early stages, but honestly not already so dominant."

You gotta love the melodramatic Italian prose.

 

[Bolder]

I've seen enough. Have been very much a fence sitter in the GT question.

But the question is answered. Even he drops 20mins+ on some disaster stage, he still goes into future GT's as a major threat in my book.

It's a very classy GC field, and he's destroyed all comers thus far.

Agree 100%. To me he's racing this Vuelta like LA, but without the train tactics. Drop the hammer on certain climbs then dominate the ITT while bossing the peloton around. (no clinic insinuations; he just reminds me a bit of Lance on the bike).

I really do hope he wins. That would set up an EPIC TdF battle next year.

 

[Pantani_lives]

He's got his stage win. It's okay if he loses twenty minutes today.

 

[tobydawq]

not sure covid would stop Remco. May have the "low viral load" excuse if he tests positive

Definitely.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

He's got his stage win. It's okay if he loses twenty minutes today.

Yes, helping the world champion win stages and prepare for WC hat-trick should be the priority right now.

 

[steffr222]

He should drop out of Vuelta just to smash WvA at the worlds. Priorities..

 

[Rollthedice]

He should drop out of Vuelta just to smash WvA at the worlds. Priorities..

Worlds will be interesting for Belgium.

 

[IndurainsTdF1994]

Worlds will be interesting for Belgium.

If both Remco & Primoz work for WvA, it's pretty much in the bag - for the Weasel.

 

[Carrick-On-Seine]

Worlds will be interesting for Belgium.

France should outdo both of the Belgian teams.

 

[Breezy1985]

Agree 100%. To me he's racing this Vuelta like LA, but without the train tactics. Drop the hammer on certain climbs then dominate the ITT while bossing the peloton around. (no clinic insinuations; he just reminds me a bit of Lance on the bike).

I really do hope he wins. That would set up an EPIC TdF battle next year.

No more Pog vs Rog. Next year is the Vingo, Pogo, Remco show

 

[CyclistAbi]

No more Pog vs Rog. Next year is the Vingo, Pogo, Remco show

Yeah. Rogla will let them have it. To fight it out for the second place.

 

[Riek s]

Covid is really holding house in GC atm. Realy realy hope Remco wont be affected...

 

[memyselfandI]

Fully deserved victory for Remco… I say this as Primoz‘ fan…

After watching this ITT, one thing became clear to me: Remco has learned from MvdP and Jumbo-Visma. Mathieu and Jumbo know how to prepare properly:

I noticed Remco has these cannonball shoulders. Furthermore, his front thighs look extremely good.

It‘s clear to me that Remco must have spent the last months in the gym. He must have trained entensively on the leg press, and, even more important, trained lateral raises.

You see more and more guys now with these well-developed shoulders. Primoz has them, too. Mathieu‘s shoulders get better, year after year.

As I mentioned, in the past, you had Adrien Petit, Damien Gaudin and Jimmy Engoulvent with these shoulders. Also Kruijswiik.

Then, MvdP came. Afterwards, Primoz. Recently, Laporte. And now, Remco shows excellent shoulder and front thigh development.

Remco‘s prep for this Vuelta, as I would assume: 30-45 mins of cycling on the indoor trainer a day, sleeping in an altitude hotel a la Kolobnev‘s, and 120 mins in the gym, daily (60 lateral raises, 60 leg press)…

That's how he got too fat, as they say.

 

[Extinction]

Any gym training for cyclists is in pre-season, no way is Remco doing leg presses as prep for a GT. There is too much work out on the road to be done and recovery. Ride, eat, rest. Repeat.