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

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frisenfruitig

Jul 28, 2010
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OlavEH said:
How much saying do the riders have on where they start their seasons? I've always believed that if I were a top rider, I would never start in some of the races in the Middle East, but rather start my season with the Mallorca races, Valenciana and Andalucia or Algarve.
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Money talks. These "sh*thole countries" as Trump would say have one thing going for them: they have buttloads of money for their sportswashing.
 
Netserk

Netserk

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OlavEH said:
How much saying do the riders have on where they start their seasons? I've always believed that if I were a top rider, I would never start in some of the races in the Middle East, but rather start my season with the Mallorca races, Valenciana and Andalucia or Algarve.
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Formally, the team decides, unless the contract stipulates otherwise.

But it's obviously up for negotiation. So the question then is: How much would you offer in exchange for greater control of your schedule?
 
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Oldermanish

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frisenfruitig said:
Money talks. These "sh*thole countries" as Trump would say have one thing going for them: they have buttloads of money for their sportswashing.
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Not that any of those countries would be characterized as you said but the geography and weather make them very artificial. They do have money which attracts the sport's Vampire Class: UCI and fellow travellers. Ask any rider how they feel about going to China and Sandbox races...after they retire.
 
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Salvarani

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yaco said:
Riders have been doing Middle East races for 15 years and many have experienced successful seasons - It's good preparation for future goals. And I doubt riders are overly concerned about the countries, especially seeing there are at least four teams who are sponsored or have an association with Middle East countries.
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I responded to a post which mentioned why riders could decline participating in these races. I had some suggestions on why they might, since the poster was wondering, not that they necessarily will or that riders shouldnt go to these races.

We are having a completely different conversation and I am not disputing anything you say about it or that those are bad preparation races. For some they might work very well and for some they might not. Everything has pros and cons, you just gotta choose what might be best for you in the moment and evaluate afterwards. Some riders are probably not given a choice and are assigned by their teams to races. Very few can pick and choose.
 
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Skijumper Roglic fan

Aug 28, 2021
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To the Middle East issue: I‘m glad the riders can race there (Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE) safely, and don‘t have to fear terrorist attacks or similar. I think (and hope) organizers do a lot for the safety of race and staff.

To Remco in UAE: good race for him probably. He normally will face an Adam Yates there who is in top shape - Yates is almost as fast as Pogacar in these mountains, and so this could become a valuable duel for Remco.

Jais and Hafeet decisive as always - good thing is that the ITT is massively longer than usual (still only 17kms though).
 
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Oldermanish

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Skijumper Roglic fan said:
To the Middle East issue: I‘m glad the riders can race there (Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE) safely, and don‘t have to fear terrorist attacks or similar. I think (and hope) organizers do a lot for the safety of race and staff.

To Remco in UAE: good race for him probably. He normally will face an Adam Yates there who is in top shape - Yates is almost as fast as Pogacar in these mountains, and so this could become a valuable duel for Remco.

Jais and Hafeet decisive as always - good thing is that the ITT is massively longer than usual (still only 17kms though).
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Yeah, there's probably zero concern regarding attacks on riders. As has been said; there's a "buttload" of money there and attackers know who pays their bills, too.

Yates and Remco will have a good go of it on some climbs but generally; the races tend to be long and windy landscapes. I guess it beats doing early season Belgian races for weather, though.
Yates and Remco both should have contracts that grant them specific appearance money in addition to team incentives. Good to make that money and stay warm even it the racing can be boring.
 
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Extinction

Extinction

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Oldermanish said:
Yeah, there's probably zero concern regarding attacks on riders. As has been said; there's a "buttload" of money there and attackers know who pays their bills, too.

Yates and Remco will have a good go of it on some climbs but generally; the races tend to be long and windy landscapes. I guess it beats doing early season Belgian races for weather, though.
Yates and Remco both should have contracts that grant them specific appearance money in addition to team incentives. Good to make that money and stay warm even it the racing can be boring.
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But how does the money factor enhance his career, now, and at large? He should be racing in Europe and in the worst of conditions: rain, cold, misery. He will need that to beat Tadej.
 
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Lequack

Lequack

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He's in the desert

FpHdn6EXwAAytwH
 
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Oldermanish

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Skijumper Roglic fan said:
To the Middle East issue: I‘m glad the riders can race there (Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE) safely, and don‘t have to fear terrorist attacks or similar. I think (and hope) organizers do a lot for the safety of race and staff.
Click to expand...
Extinction said:
But how does the money factor enhance his career, now, and at large? He should be racing in Europe and in the worst of conditions: rain, cold, misery. He will need that to beat Tadej.
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He's been bred to be a Pro. He's not racing Tadej anytime soon and money in the bank is just that. It won't hurt his career.
He knows what it's like to be exiled in injury Siberia and how quick a career can go away, I'd hope. His DS has a long history of finding another New Thing so some dough couldn't hurt.
Also; better not to get sick in cold weather unless the race demands it.
 
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Prim

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Am I the only one that is concerned about all the commercials and social media he has been doing since he won the rainbow jersey? Feels like the frequency has gone up fivefold and might be causing him to lose focus a bit. Thinking of the attack in Argentina which felt out of character for example. Will be interesting to see how he performs in the UAE tour.
 
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