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

[Riek s]

So the crash did come at the worst time, just before this weekend.
He did look sharp when talking or just after the finish. It doesn't seem like he is conditionnaly bad or worse. But if he is pushing 20W less due to it tomorrow... it will be a tough day.

If it is really due to the crash, he might still try something later in the vuelta (in case he is behind). But the difference with 2 days ago is very big though.

But he kept good pacing afterwards, looking on his monitor to see what he can and can't do. better to ride like this than like MAs and really explode.

 

[HelloDolly]

Remco says he will stay away from Ayuso due to COVID almost hoping the Spaniard will withdraw. Some hilarious scenes are possible on the weekend's MTFs.

Seems to hang alot with Ayuso on the final climb today though

 

[KZD]

Remco managed his tough moment very well and showed discipline. He managed to bluff the other guys for a couple of kms that definitely kept the gap down. He was out of the saddle a few times following his last teammate and that didn't go unnoticed by Primoz.
This wasn't the hardest climb to come, either. Tomorrow is the tallest and Stages 18, 20 have some steep ramps as well.

I don't expect anything major to happen on stage 18, Alto del Piornal is a 5% climb so Remco should do well there.

Tomorrow is the pivotal day, I am almost sure that he is going to lose some time to Roglic and people like Lopez and Almeida but unless he has a really bad day he should keep himself in a podium spot until stage 20 which should give him the chance to take back the red jersey there (I know its not very likely but one can dream)

 

[topcat]

@Logic is your friend
Is it over or not? Asking for a friend.

 

[DoYouEvenRideBruh]

I was going to wait until stage 20 to joke that even if he can go twenty days there's no guarantee he can do the full three weeks. But now even two full weeks look uncertain.

 

[SHAD0W93]

Are we just ignoring that he crashed hard and already throwing on that he can’t handle climbs because of the hype Evenepoel receives or did it really get forgotten?

 

[Riek s]

 

[Panda Claws]

Just don't feed the trolls in the thread.

 

[groogster]

As i always said, tomorrow will be the D day for Evenepoel and this Vuelta. If he survives he will win it.

 

[Netserk]

Lucky Remco, the others didn’t bother today.

They tried but they were either carrying injuries, were undertrained, were not yet at their peak, had no team support blah blah blah

and this is just a training race for their future goals.

forgot that one. ;-)

Excuses are illegitimate for his competition, but quick, here's the explanation why he lost time today: blah blah blah

 

[Riek s]

Excuses are illegitimate for his competition, but quick, here's the explanation why he lost time today: blah blah blah

Really? a crash that happened in the race 2 days ago, you see him stepping of his bike hinking and you have the frigging guts to say this isn't valid? bla bla bla?

 

[Netserk]

Rally? a crash that happened in the race 2 days ago, you see him stepping of his bike hinking and you have the frigging guts to say this isn't valid?

I'm not judging the legitimacy of the excuses for today, I'm saying that similar excuses are not tolerated for others.

I'm all for informing performances by putting them in context. Clearly, not everyone is.

 

[Riek s]

I'm not judging the legitimacy of the excuses for today, I'm saying that similar excuses are not tolerated for others.

I'm all for informing performances by putting them in context. Clearly, not everyone is.

I think there is a huge difference between someone crashing in race, and 10 potential candidate winners all trying to peak towards the vuelta, but all happened to be out of form no?

When Ayuso was sick, nobody here said the TT he did was his max level. Heck he was even praised by still contending while feeling sick.
When roglic crashed in the tour, nobody complained about him being bad. We all knew the reason.

So yes people mock because a GT is a GT, and assuming everyone is out of form is just bonkers. Roglic is clearly good this vuelta, he almost did the same time as Heras. But yet, if he ended up second he would have been out of form.

 

[Netserk]

I think there is a huge difference between someone crashing in race, and 10 potential candidate winners all trying to peak towards the vuelta, but all happened to be out of form no?

When Ayuso was sick, nobody here said the TT he did was his max level. Heck he was even praised by still contending while feeling sick.
When roglic crashed in the tour, nobody complained about him being bad. We all knew the reason.

So yes people mock because a GT is a GT, and assuming everyone is out of form is just bonkers. Roglic is clearly good this vuelta, he almost did the same time as Heras. But yet, if he ended up second he would have been out of form.

Has anyone said that today was Evenepoel's max level?

 

[Pantani_lives]

I hope this was his bad day, but I fear an even worse day tomorrow.

He handled it well by continuing the pace that he could handle, but Madrid is suddenly a long way away.

 

[Red Rick]

There's like 5 reasons that could explain today, and I think it's pretty unlikely 1 explains 100% of it and the rest are bs.

Crash could've easily played a part. But I don't doubt Roglic and MAL have gotten better during the race. Similarly, fatigue, altitude and heat could play a role, but I don't think those are necessarily too big.

It is hard to see him be his week 1 level tomorrow. And if he's gonna be the like 6th best climber going forward, even the easier mountain stages can become hard if everyone's putting on max pressure. Jumbo also looked better today.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I hope this was his bad day, but I fear an even worse day tomorrow.

Tomorrow has to be better or it's probably game over. At least for red. Even if after again losing time tomorrow he manages to keep red until the rest day, it's difficult to see him regain form in the last week and holding off Roglic. If tomorrow is better again, then this might have been one bad day, and the odds would again be in his favor.

But if tomorrow is not better... Peaked to early? Too good in San Sebastian? His bruise affecting him? Pelgrim talking out of his ass that the problem in the Giro was his weight?

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

I saw this on Twitter:
“19/5 end of altitude camp syncrosfera
16/6 tour de suiss colapsing
(Almost 3 weeks of high level, than collapsing week4 after altitude )
10/8 end of altitude camp syncrosfera
3/9 first time dropped in vuelta
(Almost 3 weeks of high level after altitude, signs of colapsing )”

 

[DoYouEvenRideBruh]

I didn't see the crash. How bad was it? Feels like with no injury other than bruises it shouldn't impact his performance that much, or at least he shouldn't ship minutes on Sierra Nevada because of it.

 

[Extinction]

He is hurt, big time, simple as that. Look at that swell!

 

[Extinction]

I didn't see the crash. How bad was it? Feels like with no injury other than bruises it shouldn't impact his performance that much, or at least he shouldn't ship minutes on Sierra Nevada because of it.

His thigh in the affected part is as big as your head!

 

[DoYouEvenRideBruh]

His thigh in the affected part is as big as your head!

Don't you read my posts? I have a very small head.

 

[DoYouEvenRideBruh]

He is hurt, big time, simple as that. Look at that swell!

To be clear, I am not saying the crash does not affect him. Just wondering if it can be the sole cause of his drop in performance, especially if he does badly tomorrow.

I agree with RR that there are probably many factors, including the heat, a possible premature peak in his form, and Jumbo/MAL getting better (or fading less as some like to say).

 

[roundabout]

He is hurt, big time, simple as that. Look at that swell!

Looks like a bandage over the spot where he lost skin in the crash.

 

[Riek s]

Tomorrow has to be better or it's probably game over. At least for red. Even if after again losing time tomorrow he manages to keep red until the rest day, it's difficult to see him regain form in the last week and holding off Roglic. If tomorrow is better again, then this might have been one bad day, and the odds would again be in his favor.

But if tomorrow is not better... Peaked to early? Too good in San Sebastian? His bruise affecting him? Pelgrim talking out of his ass that the problem in the Giro was his weight?

If it is the bruise we won't be able to tell the difference tomorrow. It is also not like he is completely of pace, probably missing 15W or something. problem is that it isn't a sliding wound, but a real bump/swelling since it wasn't a high speed crash.
Think you also correctly pointed that out on the crash day itself that he had a major swelling on his hip/upper tight. Big Doopie also saw that during the race itself Evenepoel was shifting around alot. (something that i noted as well)

I guess if he loses red, which seems more likely today than yesterday we need to see what he does for the remainder in week 3. If he still attacks or tries something, it is for sure not a fading issue. And to be honest, if you see him standing after the finish/podium/rolling it doesn't look like someone who is fading; He doesn't seem overly fatigued, eyes sinking/swolling skin around the eyes.. etc like he had in the Giro. I think it would also not align with 2 days ago, where he was still the best uphil by a significant distance.