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

[houtdffan]

the real (and frightening) question is whether from San Sebastian until now is just one heightened period of form for Remco or is it actually possibly his new "baseline"? this is in a sense where he would have been had there been no Lombardia crash...

If this is his base form, we will see multiple seasons better than Merckx. We WILL be wondering if we will ever see another Evenepoel. Pog and Vingegaard cannot compete with this. Maybe Ayuso can, but he had BETTER learn how to ride a TT bike and yesterday

 

[Scarponi]

If this is his base form, we will see multiple seasons better than Merckx. We WILL be wondering if we will ever see another Evenepoel. Pog and Vingegaard cannot compete with this. Maybe Ayuso can, but he had BETTER learn how to ride a TT bike and yesterday

I still think he has to prove himself against Pog and Ving attacking for three weeks after a poor Roglic dropped him a few times but you would be a brave man to bet against him improving

 

[houtdffan]

I still think he has to prove himself against Pog and Ving attacking for three weeks after a poor Roglic dropped him a few times but you would be a brave man to bet against him improving

Doubt they would have attacked like they did in July if they were attacking an in form Remco. Exceptionally difficult to attack him once he gets to the front and has full diesel tempo going

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

It's not gonna be easy to win a lot of tours. Vingegaard(specially in this tour) and pogacar are on another level at grand tours. And in my opinion, i believe uijtdebroeks and ayuso will be better grand tours riders than remco.
Nevertheless, i bet that remco will win all of the monuments, a lot of one week races, and a couple of giro and vueltas, including giro 2023 until the end of his career.

Yeah, well, what do you know, you only won 1 TDF anyway!

Seriously though, for me we're like back in 2020 before his crash. Meaning, all bets are off. Who knows, he might not be a better GT rider than those mentioned, but i'm sure you also didn't flat out assume he would win the Vuelta either. He's thrown all previous complaints in the trash and knocked this season out of the park. Hard to dismiss his chances of winning the TDF based on 1 GT... which he actually won, while he's shown a remarkable will to improve.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Thanks for posting the Gilbert video, very nice. I couldn’t make out his comment he made to (or about) Lefevre at the very end?

i couldn’t either. I could only infer based on the tone he said it.

Basically "Patrick, take good care of the little one, he's going places."

 

[Hugo Koblet]

He improved a lot from the summer onwards and has basically been unstoppable since San Sebastian. Something must have changed since earlier this season when he was destroyed left and right in Tirreno, Pais Vasco and Suisse. Whatever it is, he has clearly found the right approach now. Rider of the year without a doubt.

 

[Berflamand]

He improved a lot from the summer onwards and has basically been unstoppable since San Sebastian. Something must have changed since earlier this season when he was destroyed left and right in Tirreno, Pais Vasco and Suisse. Whatever it is, he has clearly found the right approach now. Rider of the year without a doubt.

Well, according to the Belgian Press (the very trustworthy HLN) it is because he was wearing his fluorescent 'killer' glasses instead of his white glasses which he wore at Tirreno, Pais Vasco and Suisse. (https://www.hln.be/wielrennen/waaro...-alles-verliest-met-zijn-witte-bril~a4bb8acc/)

Fluorescent glasses at Vuelta, Liège and Clasica

White glasses at Tirreno, Suisse and Pais Vasco:

 

[Extinction]

He improved a lot from the summer onwards and has basically been unstoppable since San Sebastian. Something must have changed since earlier this season when he was destroyed left and right in Tirreno, Pais Vasco and Suisse. Whatever it is, he has clearly found the right approach now. Rider of the year without a doubt.

Simple, it's called he got in better shape. Now, what I'll be curious to see is his and his coaches' approach to next year. For clearly Remco was not at his best (for that momment in the season) at either Tirreno, Pais Vasco or Swisse. Whereas the winners of those races were clearly the best they could be for those races. So will Remco next year enter a Paris-Nice or Tirreno or Pais Vasco or Dauphine ready to win, or with a larger margin for improvement, like this year, for bigger goals down the road?

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

I don't see the point of going to the Giro unless you're very aversive to losing at the Tour. The Giro just does not fit that well into the rest of the season unless you want to do Giro/Vuelta which he likely wouldn't do. The only upside is he can actually be really good in Liege before the Giro based on CSS this year, but you don't know how much time he needs to build up his form over the spring. Especially with the WC being the week after the Tour

The main reason seems to be $$$

According to Lefevere, RCS allegedly sold their races to CVC Capital Partners.

Reading between the lines, he expects an appearance fee of several million euros.

 

[yaco]

Of course it is the dollars and the organizers seem to have organised a suitable parcours to suit his talents.

 

[VayaVayaVaya]

Impressive ride. Glad he’s overcome that awful crash, which I watched live while on a bikepacking trip and found so disturbing the trip was somewhat ruined.

Anyone who says he won’t win a Tour is obviously saying they don't want him to win a Tour. It’d be defensible to bet on him never winning because things come up, there’s always Pogi, Vingo, or a new Pogi or Vingo, always crashes, etc. and you never know. But clearly he has the tools to win it and time is on his side. Based on his performances, age, and trajectory, I would expect him to win at least one Tour (in addition to Giro, more Monuments, etc.). Different skill sets than Pogacar, but maybe as versatile, or if he isn’t now he will be soon.

 

[xREv]

He is back in Belgium.

 

[IndianCyclist]

Make hay while the sun shines
Goto Lombardia- unfinished business

 

[Bolder]

Simple, it's called he got in better shape. Now, what I'll be curious to see is his and his coaches' approach to next year. For clearly Remco was not at his best (for that momment in the season) at either Tirreno, Pais Vasco or Swisse. Whereas the winners of those races were clearly the best they could be for those races. So will Remco next year enter a Paris-Nice or Tirreno or Pais Vasco or Dauphine ready to win, or with a larger margin for improvement, like this year, for bigger goals down the road?

I'd take the same training plan but shift it up by 6 weeks so he can crush the Tour. This is his moment.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Make hay while the sun shines
Goto Lombardia- unfinished business

He's getting married. Nothing to prove in Lombardia now.

 

[Red Rick]

The main reason seems to be $$$

According to Lefevere, RCS allegedly sold their races to CVC Capital Partners.

Reading between the lines, he expects an appearance fee of several million euros.

If they combine that with the parcours, and only go after one rider, it gets really, really lame.

 

[tobydawq]

If they combine that with the parcours, and only go after one rider, it gets really, really lame.

Didn't they do that with Dumoulin?

 

[Red Rick]

Didn't they do that with Dumoulin?

When?

I think they paid to have Dumoulin and Froome in 2018, I don't know about the others.

 

[tobydawq]

When?

I think they paid to have Dumoulin and Froome in 2018, I don't know about the others.

Also having long-ish TTs when the Tour didn't.

But I was being a little facetious, I don't really think they did anything purely to have him ride.

 

[Red Rick]

Also having long-ish TTs when the Tour didn't.

But I was being a little facetious, I don't really think they did anything purely to have him ride.

I think they obviously pay some appearance fees, but I wouldn't think it's multi million deals.

 

[tobydawq]

I think they obviously pay some appearance fees, but I wouldn't think it's multi million deals.

Sagan has probably been their most expensive participant. He even skipped Flanders to go.

 

[Extinction]

I think they obviously pay some appearance fees, but I wouldn't think it's multi million deals.

With Froome the quota through the grapevine was 1 million. And since the Giro has been demoted, what else is there to do?

 

[Extinction]

I don't approve of Vegni's behavior, but after all pro cycling is a business.

 

[yaco]

Didn't they do that with Dumoulin?

Why do you think MVDP made a last minute decision to ride the Giro?

 

[Cookster15]

I still think he has to prove himself against Pog and Ving attacking for three weeks after a poor Roglic dropped him a few times but you would be a brave man to bet against him improving

When Roglic dropped him he wasn't on top form. I can't see Roglic dropping him in his 2022 Vuelta form.

I am also pretty sure Pog and Ving would be worried based upon what they saw in the Vuelta.