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

[Barnacle Bill]

I don't expect to see him at the Tour, but it would be quite something if he was there in a stage-hunting role. Given WVA's antics last year with break-of-the day-riders desperately trying to hang on to his wheel, I can only imagine them finding themselves in a break with WVA, MVDP and Remco!

Hope he isn't affected too severely and we see him again soon.

 

[KOM]

This is a terrible blow. Until Friday he looked the strongest.

What does this even mean lol? Did you watch the race and how it was raced? Yes he rode a very, very good first ITT, but thats it. Might as well say he looked the strongest while signing up for the stage each morning.

Honestly think delusional Remco fanboys are the big winners here once they get over the initial dissappointment. Atleast another 6 months where they can convince themselves and claim how their hero wouldve very clearly completely destroyed everyone.

 

[Berniece]

Still weird to say he was asymptomatic while also saying his performance was affected and he was feeling like shot after the TT.

Who said he was asymptomatic? Because after the race he told his dad he was feeling sick, and apparently he was having a soar throat and a nasal congestion.

 

[Red Rick]

Who said he was asymptomatic? Because after the race he told his dad he was feeling sick, and apparently he was having a soar throat and a nasal congestion.

Statements from within the team

 

[Offline]

Remco would need to lose 30-40min in GC before UAE and Jumbo let him go in breakaways. Don't think we'll see him at the tour, and for many reasons.

 

[Red Rick]

I mean, this is probably the one time he'll get to ride the Tour as a learning experience/without the weight of a nation on his shoulders (I'd still expect the team or his entourage to make some stupid statements before the race). What would be the other options to get ready for the WC, if he recovers soon? TdS and NC maybe.

If you aim for the ITT I dont think you need the Tour that much. For the WCRR, yes, but then its not a mountanious circuit so that maybe makes it different

 

[Mayomaniac]

If you aim for the ITT I dont think you need the Tour that much. For the WCRR, yes, but then its not a mountanious circuit so that maybe makes it different

Good point about the nature of the circuit and the ITT (apparently Ganna is only gonna ride Dauphine or TdS + both the NC RR and the ITT). I guess the main goal is to keep the RR rainbow jersey. That said, it wouldn't surprise me if Quickstep did something stupid with his schedule.

How do you think about him riding the Vuelta? As long as they don't rush him back to pick up the Giro form at the Dauphine or TdS and try to hold it all the way until the Vuelta it sounds like the more reasonable approach to me.

 

[Rackham]

I don't expect to see him at the Tour, but it would be quite something if he was there in a stage-hunting role. Given WVA's antics last year with break-of-the day-riders desperately trying to hang on to his wheel, I can only imagine them finding themselves in a break with WVA, MVDP and Remco!

Hope he isn't affected too severely and we see him again soon.

The whole Evenepoel/Tour de France conversation is so weird & has been for a very long time.

He's the only rider I can think of with fans/analysts (some of them professionals) with an obsessive quasi psychoanalysis of routes, preparation & season planning in order to feel it's 'time' for him to go to France in July.

It's just a GT. That's all there is to it. It's fast, hard, highly contested, highly corporate & the rivals arrive in top shape. But if Evenepoel needs 'perfect' conditions to go there... what's the point anymore. No one gets a perfect TdF. Not even the eventual winner (usually there's always some sort of snafu or 'almost disaster' which could have derailed everything at any moment).

I mean who cares about the number of ITT km's this summer. Just send Evenepoel to the TdF where he can race & learn, like everyone else does. It would seem surreal to me if he recovers from Covid + his crashes, is fully fit & somehow Quick Step decide the TdF is not 'part of the plan' yet. Meanwhile the world of cycling continues to go round & round & gives zero damns about any rider's perfect plans.

 

[Jagartrott]

Exactly. Moreover, all this treatment of the Tour as something super-special only increases the expectations. It's not healthy to put so much stress on Evenepoel. GTs are quite unpredictable, especially with covid thrown in the mix. You cannot 'science the *** out of it', you have to accept that it your control of the situation is limited. Just let the kid race. Let's see how far he gets.

 

[King Boonen]

Still weird to say he was asymptomatic while also saying his performance was affected and he was feeling like shot after the TT.

I'm guessing it depends how you define asymptomatic. I would assume that they are meaning he wasn't coughing, didn't have a fever etc.

 

[BR2]

The whole Evenepoel/Tour de France conversation is so weird & has been for a very long time.

He's the only rider I can think of with fans/analysts (some of them professionals) with an obsessive quasi psychoanalysis of routes, preparation & season planning in order to feel it's 'time' for him to go to France in July.

It's just a GT. That's all there is to it. It's fast, hard, highly contested, highly corporate & the rivals arrive in top shape. But if Evenepoel needs 'perfect' conditions to go there... what's the point anymore. No one gets a perfect TdF. Not even the eventual winner (usually there's always some sort of snafu or 'almost disaster' which could have derailed everything at any moment).

I mean who cares about the number of ITT km's this summer. Just send Evenepoel to the TdF where he can race & learn, like everyone else does. It would seem surreal to me if he recovers from Covid + his crashes, is fully fit & somehow Quick Step decide the TdF is not 'part of the plan' yet. Meanwhile the world of cycling continues to go round & round & gives zero damns about any rider's perfect plans.

I guess a lot of it is trying to not damage the brand Evenepoel in Belgium. In most countries just going to the Tour is already a bigger achievement then a podium in the Giro, so it's always worth it if you are basically ready, but Evenepoel is already a superstar in Belgium without going there and the expectation is that he's the biggest thing in 70 years. If he goes to a GT it's better for his reputation to DNF than to get third, because then it will always be "he would have won if not" instead of "he got beaten".
I think that they want to make sure that when he goes to the Tour he's in the shape to win it.

 

[Didinho]

Yo guys, I had a nightmare that he had to quit the race with covid. Just imagine.

I got respect for the team to put his health in first place. He had a sore throat this morning and his nose was blocked up. Best not to sport with viral illnesses.
Just bring him to the Tour now, if he recovers in time. Stage hunting and preparing for the Worlds double.
He'll eventually come back one day for the Giro, ironically he loves Italy.

 

[Rackham]

I guess a lot of it is trying to not damage the brand Evenepoel in Belgium. In most countries just going to the Tour is already a bigger achievement then a podium in the Giro, so it's always worth it if you are basically ready, but Evenepoel is already a superstar in Belgium without going there and the expectation is that he's the biggest thing in 70 years. If he goes to a GT it's better for his reputation to DNF than to get third, because then it will always be "he would have won if not" instead of "he got beaten".
I think that they want to make sure that when he goes to the Tour he's in the shape to win it.

Yeah I totally get that part.

I do think it's a mistake though because it really does add unnecessary pressure. I think for his career progression, a TdF with a solid performance (stage win(s) + top 5 & perhaps a podium) would be much more valuable at his current age than avoiding the Tour "until he can win it".

Going into 2024, that learning curve would be so much better to build from than going to the Vuelta again.

 

[BR2]

.

I do think it's a mistake though because it really does add unnecessary pressure. I think for his career progression, a TdF with a solid performance (stage win(s) + top 5 & perhaps a podium) would be much more valuable at his current age than avoiding the Tour "until he can win it".

Going into 2024, that learning curve would be so much better to build from than going to the Vuelta again.

I mean, personally I don't need him at the Tour, but from a rational point of view I agree.

 

[Red Rick]

Good point about the nature of the circuit and the ITT (apparently Ganna is only gonna ride Dauphine or TdS + both the NC RR and the ITT). I guess the main goal is to keep the RR rainbow jersey. That said, it wouldn't surprise me if Quickstep did something stupid with his schedule.

How do you think about him riding the Vuelta? As long as they don't rush him back to pick up the Giro form at the Dauphine or TdS and try to hold it all the way until the Vuelta it sounds like the more reasonable approach to me.

I think Vuelta is the natural target right now. I dont see a lot of alternatives unless you yolo the Tour

 

[Berniece]

Statements from within the team

I always have the feeling that his team just says whatever suits them. They basically lie a lot

 

[spalco]

Belgian journalists criticising Remco for leaving the Giro after testing positive for Covid19 is the dumbest *** thing I've heard in a while. I wonder what goes on in the mind of some fatass typing something like that on twitter while drinking a beer on the couch.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

A few farewells

https://twitter.com/x/status/1658025844667719681

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Statements from within the team

Since when being asymptomatic means your shape isn't affected? It can be. Recently I was trekking in Spain and one day I felt weakened (when going almost from the sea level to a 2-thousander and back) but infection symptoms appeared later.

 

[Tonton]

Remco is too good to go stage hunting at the Tour. I don't like the idea, and I think it would be bad for his brand. Stage hunting is Axel, not Eddy.

 

[Pirazziattacks]

Belgian journalists criticising Remco for leaving the Giro after testing positive for Covid19 is the dumbest *** thing I've heard in a while. I wonder what goes on in the mind of some fatass typing something like that on twitter while drinking a beer on the couch.

Remco should've potentially written the rest of his season off to show how tough he is, that would really send a message to the competition.

 

[geisterhome]

I'm sure that he doesn't have much faith in recovering with his GC intact, but fighting tooth and nail to see if there's any hope of recovering would see him quit Tuesday morning.

I think it's a case of all or nothing, and now he doesn't believe that he can win the Giro.

Exactly, I mean no matter how bad you feel, and he cannot have been that bad if he just won a TT, there is always some chance of a quick recovery. Unlikely maybe but stranger things have happened.

Has anyone in a leader jersey of GT quite on the evening before a rest day?

 

[Gigs_98]

Still weird to say he was asymptomatic while also saying his performance was affected and he was feeling like shot after the TT.

It's probably PR speech. If they say he was symptomatic a lot of people will question their decision to let him start before making the test as some would surely see that as irresponsible. I wouldn't read more into it.

 

[entre nous]

These photos are strange. Nobody in the team with zero tolerance fears the Covid no more ?

 

[Vino's Mum]

The whole Evenepoel/Tour de France conversation is so weird & has been for a very long time.

He's the only rider I can think of with fans/analysts (some of them professionals) with an obsessive quasi psychoanalysis of routes, preparation & season planning in order to feel it's 'time' for him to go to France in July.

Hinault.

Like most here, I’m too young to remember, but he could easily have ridden the Tour before he did, and there was plenty of talk about whether he should, for the experience if he couldn’t yet win.

Hinault was in great shape in the spring of 1977, and won L-B-L, his first monument. He then won the Dauphiné, ahead of Thévenet, who won the Tour while Hinault went for some training rides.

Didn’t do too badly when he finally showed up, I guess…