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

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Should we change the thread title?

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QueenStagiaire

QueenStagiaire

Jun 30, 2022
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peterfin said:
I believe the opposite is true. The tour must be his base case from now on, always. They decided to go to the giro once more because he has unfinished business and the TT's offered him an opportunity, fine. From now on they need a very good reason not to go to the tour and not being optimally prepared isn't one of them. You don't skip the Champions League because you aim for the Conference League.
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The early 2000s called and they want their cycling priorities back.
 
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VayaVayaVaya

Jun 1, 2015
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QueenStagiaire said:
The early 2000s called and they want their cycling priorities back.
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Probably depends on where you are and what you value, but if you’re in the US and you value the perspective of the average person, they will only register anything at all if you can say:
1. I won the Tour
2. Or I won’t the Olympics

So if I care most about that, I’d take 1 Tour over 10 Vueltas or 20 Monuments. Obviously, that isn’t a great way to think about your career IMO, but that’s why we got to where we did with LA and Froome.
 
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Big Doopie

Oct 6, 2009
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Extinction said:
Again, I'm thinking about using this Tour as learning experience to then plan a season around the next Tour, which doesn't necessarily exclude doing marvelous things if the form is there. As I think he'll have a better shot at doing well next year at the Tour, if he races this year's edition without pressure. And, again as I've stated, I'd be fine with this even if it's less optimal prep for the Worlds and Lombardia. The Tour is the Big One and I think he and his team should start getting experience of what it really takes to conquer the French GT.
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A GC rider does not gain the experience you think if he is pack fodder. They only gain experience if they are chasing the win and having their team work for them. They then learn from any successes and mistakes/failures.

He will never ride with “No pressure”. That is simply never going to happen.

Not sure exactly what “experience” is so vital that he has to sacrifice competing for wins through the rest/half of the season. He pretty much knows how to ride in a pack, and appears to handle both pressure and press scrutiny more than most. Only competing for the win would provide valuable experience.

Your argument seems non-sensical and requires sacrificing half a season of potential results for basically nothing. Why do that? I really don’t get it at all.
 
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Eddy Evenepoel

Eddy Evenepoel

Aug 31, 2019
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peterfin said:
I believe the opposite is true. The tour must be his base case from now on, always. They decided to go to the giro once more because he has unfinished business and the TT's offered him an opportunity, fine. From now on they need a very good reason not to go to the tour and not being optimally prepared isn't one of them. You don't skip the Champions League because you aim for the Conference League.
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There are very good reasons for not doing the tour this year (which is not related to being patient and waiting which is the argument I commented against) because of how the season has been planned and what he’s not been doing preparing for the Tour. There is no point in going to the tour for the sake of going for the Tour, when the whole season is planned for.

From next year it of course makes sense to do the tour. Then he and the team should prepare for it.
 
Extinction

Extinction

Jan 8, 2020
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Big Doopie said:
A GC rider does not gain the experience you think if he is pack fodder. They only gain experience if they are chasing the win and having their team work for them. They then learn from any successes and mistakes/failures.

He will never ride with “No pressure”. That is simply never going to happen.

Not sure exactly what “experience” is so vital that he has to sacrifice competing for wins through the rest/half of the season. He pretty much knows how to ride in a pack, and appears to handle both pressure and press scrutiny more than most. Only competing for the win would provide valuable experience.

Your argument seems non-sensical and requires sacrificing half a season of potential results for basically nothing. Why do that? I really don’t get it at all.
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You've overlooked a critical point I've made to suite your argument. And anyone who has read my posts attentively has perceived it.

I'm not saying go to the Tour to be pack fodder, but only without a stated objective, to take off the pressure of having to win. I have also stated quite clearly that upon evaluation at the end of TdS, depending on his condition (great, not good? is he growing or fading?), should, if his numbers are very promising and it's expected he can go the distance, a final decision be made about the Tour. If the right criteria isn't met, then obviously he doesn't go. But if the strength is there, then send him to do as best he can and learn for next year and moving forward.
 
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Riek s

Jun 24, 2010
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His altitude adaptation should have worn off by now and he hasn't done any altitude training (only after TDS). So his level in this TDS will be quite we bit below his best.
If WVA didn't participate i would have thought the ITT are a piece of cake, but that will b a hard battle now. (since WVA is fully prepared)

For the mountains, we will need to see... I don't think we have seen him climbing at strato levels without his altitude camps. So it would suprise me if he is riding like in catalunya..
 
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Extinction

Extinction

Jan 8, 2020
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Riek s said:
His altitude adaptation should have worn off by now and he hasn't done any altitude training (only after TDS). So his level in this TDS will be quite we bit below his best.
If WVA didn't participate i would have thought the ITT are a piece of cake, but that will b a hard battle now. (since WVA is fully prepared)

For the mountains, we will need to see... I don't think we have seen him climbing at strato levels without his altitude camps. So it would suprise me if he is riding like in catalunya..
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This is entirely possible.
 
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houtdffan

Jul 20, 2019
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Riek s said:
His altitude adaptation should have worn off by now and he hasn't done any altitude training (only after TDS). So his level in this TDS will be quite we bit below his best.
If WVA didn't participate i would have thought the ITT are a piece of cake, but that will b a hard battle now. (since WVA is fully prepared)

For the mountains, we will need to see... I don't think we have seen him climbing at strato levels without his altitude camps. So it would suprise me if he is riding like in catalunya..
Click to expand...

He didn't have any altitude training before Cataluyna or the UAE Tour. He dropped watt bombs in each
 
B

Berflamand

Jan 29, 2020
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Riek s said:
His altitude adaptation should have worn off by now and he hasn't done any altitude training (only after TDS). So his level in this TDS will be quite we bit below his best.
If WVA didn't participate i would have thought the ITT are a piece of cake, but that will b a hard battle now. (since WVA is fully prepared)

For the mountains, we will need to see... I don't think we have seen him climbing at strato levels without his altitude camps. So it would suprise me if he is riding like in catalunya..
Click to expand...
Those ITT's might be hard fought between Remco, Wout, Ganna and home riders Küng and Bissegger.

It could give some indication for the WC TT although the first TT is probably too short for that.
 
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