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

[RedheadDane]

Do you admit you are wasting everyone's time?

I did not make a mistake, because it was implied. In fact, had i said "next year", many people would have thought i 'd be talking about 2021, since the 2019 edition of the race has already passed months ago and he could not possibly be talking about that race.

People aren't that daft…
I mean, if I talk about whether he's going to do a GT next year, or which classics he's going to race next year, are you going to think I'm talking about 2021?

 

[tobydawq]

You can really feel the Christmas spirit descending upon us all.

 

[RedheadDane]

More like the "I'm not ready for it to be 2020 already! It was just 2010!" spirit! I'm getting way too old, and now a kid over 10 years my junior is doing stuff like... this…

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

People aren't that daft…

New year's day is just around the corner. Riders are preparing for the coming season. Talking about "this year" or "this season" is very clearly about what is to come in a few weeks, especially when the context leaves nothing to interpretation. Look at last page, there was already somebody who didn't even understand what you were talking about. Such interventions are unnecessary and even disruptive. Yes, when i'd be talking about "next year" many people would think it was about 2021, especially with a kid age 19. Not to mention when a reader might only read the topic next week in 2020.

 

[RedheadDane]

Not to mention when a reader might only read the topic next week in 2020.

At which point they'd check the date the post was made...

 

[Breh]

At which point they'd check the date the post was made...

I don't think anybody cares and everybody understood what he meant.

 

[RedheadDane]

I don't think anybody cares and everybody understood what he meant.

Possibly, everyone would also have understood what he meant if he'd written next year. Which has the advantage of being correct.

 

[tobydawq]

While I don't understand the necessity of RhD's pedantery, I really doubt anybody would think you were referring to 2021, if you had written next year...

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

While I don't understand the necessity of RhD's pedantery, I really doubt anybody would think you were referring to 2021, if you had written next year...

The discussion is over for me. It was clear to everybody, and for those in doubt, the context was clear. With LBL 2019 being 9 months behind us, and with basically every team showing their new kit for 2020, giving press releases about their 2020 schedule, and with LBL 2020 practically around the corner, all those things to me make it more likely that talking about "next year", there 'd be more people thinking it is about 2021, than people thinking i'd be talking about 2019 when i said "this year" which was clear by the context not to be the case. I don't know why she has this compulsive behavior to try to correct people when it is completely unnecessary, if she actually thinks it's funny (i sometimes think this is the case) or if she thinks it is "needed". But i won't be reading her posts anymore. I simply can't be bothered anymore.

 

[Bonimenier]

Logic is really wasting our time with these long ass posts about this irrelevant thingy.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Belgian sportsman of the year 2019

 

[Red Rick]

Who was the competition?

 

[tobydawq]

Other Belgian sportsmen I would guess?

Of course, it probably helps that it's an odd year where the football team can't assert themselves in an international tournament and that the Belgian-less Liverpool won the Champions League.

But winning such a prize in a country that has Kevin De Bruyne at the peak of his powers and many other very prolific football players is saying something of the hype Remco is generating.

 

[Joelsim]

Who was the competition?

Every other Belgian.

 

[Red Rick]

Every other Belgian.

Thanks.

 

[tobydawq]

Okay, apparently Campenaerts and Van Aert were second and third in the vote, Eden Hazard fifth, Gilbert sixth and De Bruyne only ninth (?!).

It seems like the Belgians have grown used to having some of the best football players of the world. I wonder what that feels like...

Evenepoel won by a huge margin. 825 votes for him, 354 for Campenaerts in second (but how is he that high?).

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Of course, it probably helps that it's an odd year where the football team can't assert themselves in an international tournament and that the Belgian-less Liverpool won the Champions League.

Origi scored two goals, knocking Barcelona out and shooting Liverpool to the Champion's League final. Without him, they don't play the final and they don't win the CL. EDIT: forgot he scored in the final as well.

Who was the competition?

For this competition, the other nominees were van Aert and Campenaerts. Having 3 cyclists is, even for Belgium, rather remarkable.

Okay, apparently Campenaerts and Van Aert were second and third in the vote, Eden Hazard fifth, Gilbert sixth and De Bruyne only ninth (?!).

It seems like the Belgians have grown used to having some of the best football players of the world. I wonder what that feels like...

Evenepoel won by a huge margin. 825 votes for him, 354 for Campenaerts in second (but how is he that high?).

De Bruyne was injured a lot, and much like Hazard, is always much better playing for his team than for his country.

 

[Red Rick]

Jesus that list is biased to cyclists.

Not that I'm saying Evenepoel shouldn't have won.

 

[tobydawq]

Origi scored two goals, knocking Barcelona out and shooting Liverpool to the Champion's League final. Without him, they don't play the final and they don't win the CL. EDIT: forgot he scored in the final as well.

Haha, sorry Divock!
Not my finest hour

Though, I suspect it would have been a bit much if he had won it...

 

[Red Rick]

Haha, sorry Divock!
Not my finest hour

Though, I suspect it would have been a bit much if he had won it...

Maybe.

But him not being on the list at all is just dire.

 

[tobydawq]

Maybe.

But him not being on the list at all is just dire.

Yes.

Apparently, winning the European championships in ice hockey (I had never heard of that event before) is more important than the Champions League and Premier League.

Edit: Hockey, not ice hockey. I was very confused there...

It still doesn't make much sense given that it's just a niche sport.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Haha, sorry Divock!
Not my finest hour

Though, I suspect it would have been a bit much if he had won it...

No, no chance. The only (football) guys that would realistically have a shot, would be De Bruyne and Hazard. Even Lukaku, Mertens, Courtois (currently), Alderweireld wouldn't have a chance i 'd think. But, still remarkable for the cyclists and Remco specifically.

Yes.

Apparently, winning the European championships in ice hockey (I had never heard of that event before) is more important than the Champions League and Premier League.

It's regular hockey, not ice hockey. And they are also worldchampions and missed olympic gold due to stress. (They should have won that too).

 

[Joelsim]

I don’t really understand the Campenaerts thing, he’s a bit of a one-trick Pony, and not even one of the best at that. A Belgian Alex Dowsett.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I don’t really understand the Campenaerts thing, he’s a bit of a one-trick Pony, and not even one of the best at that. A Belgian Alex Dowsett.

He quite comfortably broke Wiggins' World Hour Record. He's a cyclist that has been mocked and has worked hard to be taken seriously. Timetrialing is his thing and due to focus and work, he's become one of the best in the world at it. He came in 3rd last year in the WCC ITT, on a course that was deemed too long and too hard (uphill) for him, yet he only lost silver to Dumoulin by a hair. Chances are if the starting order were reversed, he'd have taken silver. He's been Euro champ ITT twice. He's won his first WT ITT this year, and he should have won the major ITT in the Giro as well (again on a course that was deemed too hard for him), but he punctured in the final climb, got pushed off his bike by his own mechanic, and lost the ITT with 11 seconds to Roglic.

He may be a one trick pony, but he's no Dowsett and he's worked hard to earn some respect. He's also a likable guy who knows very well where his limits lie and that he doesn't have the shear talent of other ITT specialists.

 

[tobydawq]

It's funny (maybe even weird if I look at it probability-wise) that you mention Dowsett as I'm just off reading his diary entry in ProCycling where he hilariously brags about his big (actually "what might be regarded as my greatest achievement thus far") KOM victory in the Prudential Ride London (not so one trick-pony-ish, huh?), which he gives a very detailed account about, concluding with a whole list of demoninations he invented for himself: King of the Mountain, Surrey's finest, London's lad, the Prince of Prudential. "Viviani won the race, but when the course is as arduous as this, I was the real winner, surely".

After which he briefly mentions how close he then was to the podium at the Euros (0.48s from third place) and how impressed he was by Evenepoel and especially his dedication of the title to Lambrecht given how young Evenepoel was and that it was one of his biggest victories at all.