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

[Big Doopie]

Remco would lose minutes on 2 proper tour climbing stages IMO
even something as 'easy' as alpe d'huez i think he would drop pretty hard against the top guys

why do u think that? What actual evidence gives you that impression. At this point giro 2021 really cannot be used as a barometer.

sure, one can wonder if he can handle it. However, I question how anyone can be so sure of his demise on that terrain.

as @Extinction pointed out, it is becoming clearer each day that his mild setbacks at the end of last week were more and more likely directly due to his crash.

 

[Riek s]

How Remco would do in the tour is guessing. Different climbs, different riders.
In terms of W/kg he can compete without a problem, can he still deliver those watts? atm it looks like it.
Can he attack on a climb? we haven't seen it, but he also didn't need it. ?
W/kg are on such a level, that i don't think Pog/Ving can ride away from him. (doesn't mean they can't attack and hold that gap).

Pog (and for some reason ving as well) have very sharp finish bursts which i don't think/know if Remco can follow/handle it. Which was also the only strong suite for Roglic over Remco, the ability to take boni seconds. Remco solved this in the current Vuelta, by having red very early, and giving every break a shot for victory. That tactic is not flying in the tour i think.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

If Remco does go to the giro next year, his schedule should be something like this

Scrap Murcia and Algarve

Races
TA
Catalyunia
Iztulia
Amstel
LBL
Giro
San Sebastien
Vuelta
Worlds?
Lombardia

You'd have him do 2 GT's already?

Yes, there are nuances to the climbing skills and I would agree with your comments about week 1. And yes, he's got the watts and power to stay with or even pressure/drop those guys in theory.

My comments were meant for how they would all fare over the course of the Tour. To match those two in that race is a different animal. The teams will be stronger, all the contenders fully in peak form, the pressure much, much greater, and the pace and risk on every stage is far higher. That race is just another level in many ways, and Pog/Vingo are another level of competition.

It's the next step, and I'm excited to see it. I think he can definitely get there, and what an epic Tour it would be.

Not disagreeing, but i think for him personally as well as the team there would be less pressure than in this Vuelta where he only faced Mas, a semi-injured Roglic, some Tour/Giro rejects and a few teenagers.

 

[Extinction]

How Remco would do in the tour is guessing. Different climbs, different riders.
In terms of W/kg he can compete without a problem, can he still deliver those watts? atm it looks like it.
Can he attack on a climb? we haven't seen it, but he also didn't need it. ?
W/kg are on such a level, that i don't think Pog/Ving can ride away from him. (doesn't mean they can't attack and hold that gap).

Pog (and for some reason ving as well) have very sharp finish bursts which i don't think/know if Remco can follow/handle it. Which was also the only strong suite for Roglic over Remco, the ability to take boni seconds. Remco solved this in the current Vuelta, by having red very early, and giving every break a shot for victory. That tactic is not flying in the tour i think.

At 22 and coming out of a broken hip, I think he will gain much from this Vuelta, at least as much as Pogacar gained from his first Vuelta. Of course, this doesn't translate into victory at the Tour, but it does bode well for his future, also because surely next year he will come back much stronger. And that is going to be a lot to handle no matter who the competition is.

 

[Riek s]

At 22 and coming out of a broken hip, I think he will gain much from this Vuelta, at least as much as Pogacar gained from his first Vuelta. Of course, this doesn't translate into victory at the Tour, but it does bode well for his future, also because surely next year he will come back much stronger. And that is going to be a lot to handle no matter who the competition is.

Ow for sure. But i was going of from what we know now.
With how he rides in the vuelta he can compete for sure. I think he would have been at least on the podium with his current form. I put his current level a big step above Thomas (better TTer and better climber).
So he can't be that far of the other 2. but to order those, they would need to ride, because all 3 of them are different type of riders. While he is very similar to Thomas in style.

 

[houtdffan]

You'd have him do 2 GT's already?


Not disagreeing, but i think for him personally as well as the team there would be less pressure than in this Vuelta where he only faced Mas, a semi-injured Roglic, some Tour/Giro rejects and a few teenagers.

Yes, if he does the Giro, then do the Vuelta. He's 23 next year. 23 year olds these days are able to do 2 GTs

 

[Lequack]

Remco haters will like this

https://twitter.com/x/status/1567532177314791426

View: https://twitter.com/Eurosport_NL/status/1567532177314791426?s=20&t=mV6XF7U9dro6yx3ry-4I7A

 

[yaco]

Remco is like Pogacar in that riding 2 GT's in a season is a waste of their talents - They can win a variety of races if they only ride one GT.

 

[houtdffan]

Remco is like Pogacar in that riding 2 GT's in a season is a waste of their talents - They can win a variety of races if they only ride one GT.

Remco would still race in several week long races, plus a few classics , if he does 2 GT. He'd just have to drop the smaller stage races

 

[spalco]

Agreed. He punctured outside 3 km to go, but gamed the rules to gain an advantage.

"gamed the rules" - what? Since when do the rules indicate in words or meaning that a rider has to stop immediately when he has a mechanical now?

Here's what the rule actually says:

In the case of a duly noted incident in the last three kilometres of a road race stage, the rider or riders affected shall be credited with the time of the rider or riders in whose company they were riding at the moment of the incident

The incident must be duly noted in the last 3km, nowhere does it say it has to originate within the last 3km. If Sagan breaks his fork 5 km from the finish and wheelies into the 3km zone, there's nothing preventing him from getting the same time as whoever is around him at that point. He just has to make it into the 3km before stopping.

That's not gaming the rules, that is the rules.

 

[Extinction]

Remco haters will like this

https://twitter.com/x/status/1567532177314791426

View: https://twitter.com/Eurosport_NL/status/1567532177314791426?s=20&t=mV6XF7U9dro6yx3ry-4I7A

In the ancient Roman world a slave during a triumphal procession whispered in the victorious general's ear "remember thou art but a mortal!'

 

[Extinction]

Remco is like Pogacar in that riding 2 GT's in a season is a waste of their talents - They can win a variety of races if they only ride one GT.

Nah, it used to be a fine Giro was just the prep needed for the Tour, but then everything changed for the worse.

 

[VayaVayaVaya]

I hope he is focused on just winning the Vuelta, but I think he should go to the Giro next. He is still very young and if he can pick up a Giro and a Vuelta before he even goes to the Tour, that gives him valuable experience and secures his palmares. He will test himself on a less friendly route with I imagine more alpine stages at altitude. Then he should do the Tour in 2024. I won’t blame him if he goes in 2023, and I won’t be shocked if he wins, but I don’t think he’s quite ready. Then again, he appears more ready to me now than Vingegaard did in 2021…

I think the main challenge is those guys can match or exceed his W/kg for longer and they’re more explosive, so they can create separation and hold it. Do you remember all of the violent attacks in the Tour? Over and over again and ultimately I think only 2 stuck, although those were very decisive. They probably attacked each other 30 times? And put out supreme watts on high alpine climbs multiple times. Tough to say if he can do that or not based on this Vuelta.

 

[houtdffan]

I hope he is focused on just winning the Vuelta, but I think he should go to the Giro next. He is still very young and if he can pick up a Giro and a Vuelta before he even goes to the Tour, that gives him valuable experience and secured his palmares. He will test himself on a less friendly route with I imagine more alpine stages at altitude. Then he should do the Tour in 2024. I won’t blame him if he goes in 2023, and I won’t be shocked if he wins, but I don’t think he’s quite ready. Then again, he appears more ready to me now than Vingegaard did in 2021…

I think the main challenge is those guys can match or exceed his W/kg for longer and they’re more explosive, so they can create separation and hold it. Do you remember all of the violent atttacks in the Tour? Over and over again and ultimately I think only 2 stuck, although those were very decisive. They probably attacked each other 30 times? And put out supreme watts on high alpine climbs multiple times. Tough to say if he can do that or not based on this Vuelta.

What would work in Remco's advantage, however, is his tempo is so high it is nearly impossible to launch an attack.

While his palmares compare to Merckx at the same age, he's not developing into a Merckx, but an Indurain. Indurain wasn't attacked all that often because nobody could

 

[Extinction]

I hope he is focused on just winning the Vuelta, but I think he should go to the Giro next. He is still very young and if he can pick up a Giro and a Vuelta before he even goes to the Tour, that gives him valuable experience and secured his palmares. He will test himself on a less friendly route with I imagine more alpine stages at altitude. Then he should do the Tour in 2024. I won’t blame him if he goes in 2023, and I won’t be shocked if he wins, but I don’t think he’s quite ready. Then again, he appears more ready to me now than Vingegaard did in 2021…

I think the main challenge is those guys can match or exceed his W/kg for longer and they’re more explosive, so they can create separation and hold it. Do you remember all of the violent atttacks in the Tour? Over and over again and ultimately I think only 2 stuck, although those were very decisive. They probably attacked each other 30 times? And put out supreme watts on high alpine climbs multiple times. Tough to say if he can do that or not based on this Vuelta.

Unfotunately a win in the Giro is a sure death sentance for anyone who has not already won the Tour.

 

[Cookster15]

Considering Vingegaard nearly beat a rampant WvA in the TdF stage 20 TT I don't think we can assume Remco would be better than that in the Tour? WvA was 38 seconds faster than Remco in the 2021 World's TT which was a genuine head-to-head when they were both going for it.

 

[red_flanders]

Considering Vingegaard nearly beat a rampant WvA in the TdF stage 20 TT I don't think we can assume Remco would be better than that in the Tour? WvA was 38 seconds faster than Remco in the 2021 World's TT which was a genuine head-to-head when they were both going for it.

Yep. Lots of TT k's would be great, but I'm not sure how it would all shake out. They can all put in a great TT. Would love to see it.

 

[Volderke]

I predict Remco will eat too much pizza after winning the vuelta, and end up like Ullrich each winter.

 

[VayaVayaVaya]

I think Vingegaard against Remco in the Tour ITT would be close. In the Vuelta ITT, think Vingegaard loses 1:30 to Remco.

 

[KZD]

Considering Vingegaard nearly beat a rampant WvA in the TdF stage 20 TT I don't think we can assume Remco would be better than that in the Tour? WvA was 38 seconds faster than Remco in the 2021 World's TT which was a genuine head-to-head when they were both going for it.

No one can be sure and the difference would probably be relatively small, but it seems clear that Remco is better this year than the last one even in flat efforts.

 

[Cookster15]

No one can be sure and the difference would probably be relatively small, but it seems clear that Remco is better this year than the last one even in flat efforts.

Yes but surely beating WvA in the white-hot form he was showing in the TdF strengthens the case for Vingegaard? Like I said we should not assume Remco is better in TT when they are both at peak level and even Pogacar is no chump even if we consider stage 20 2020 TdF was an outlier.

You are right nobody can be sure, but just pointing out we should not assume Remco would better in TT either. Anyway, it will be good to follow Remco's progress in the next year or two.

 

[Wvv]

Remco haters will like this

https://twitter.com/x/status/1567532177314791426

View: https://twitter.com/Eurosport_NL/status/1567532177314791426?s=20&t=mV6XF7U9dro6yx3ry-4I7A

To be honest:

1. He already expessed his 'anger' with the loose measures by the race organizers and the Spanish people when it comes to Covid. He wants to do all he can in order to keep the virus out.
2. The guy just throwing that shirt is a dozen times more impolite, in my book.

I only regret the situation for the kid, but I understand Remco.

 

[Sciatic]

At 22 and coming out of a broken hip, I think he will gain much from this Vuelta, at least as much as Pogacar gained from his first Vuelta. Of course, this doesn't translate into victory at the Tour, but it does bode well for his future, also because surely next year he will come back much stronger. And that is going to be a lot to handle no matter who the competition is.

It’s stupendously great for our future of watching these future GTs!

 

[houtdffan]

Considering Vingegaard nearly beat a rampant WvA in the TdF stage 20 TT I don't think we can assume Remco would be better than that in the Tour? WvA was 38 seconds faster than Remco in the 2021 World's TT which was a genuine head-to-head when they were both going for it.

Remco dusted Vingegaard at all TTs this year where they both competed. He blew an in form Rog off the course in the TT at la Vuelta

 

[SHAD0W93]

Unfotunately a win in the Giro is a sure death sentance for anyone who has not already won the Tour.

Could always do a Nibali.