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

[kingjr]

translation, please...?

Patrick Lefevere on the past and upcoming Tour: "We assume that Remco will be there."

The Tour of Soudal Quick-Step seemed to be a dull affair, but thanks to Kasper Asgreen's stage victory, it gained some color. CEO Patrick Lefevere assesses the situation and looks ahead to next year's edition, most likely with Remco Evenepoel.

"Julian (Alaphilippe) came to the Tour with high expectations after his stage win in the Dauphiné, but it became clear once again that the Tour is not the same as the Dauphiné. Both he and we were disappointed. In the first sprint, Kasper Asgreen collided with Rickaert, and it was a missed opportunity. The next day, Fabio had a crash. When your whole team is built around one rider, and that rider has to drop out, it takes a long time before you can win a stage."

Patrick Lefevere, too, had to watch helplessly as his team's Tour de France threatened to be one to forget. Until Kasper Asgreen finally provided the relief in the eighteenth stage in Bourg-en-Bresse. Did this save the Tour for Soudal Quick-Step? "To some extent, but we had higher expectations," says Lefevere.

Next year, Soudal Quick-Step is expected to have Remco Evenepoel as their leader for the Tour - "that's what we assume." What has the team's big boss learned from this edition? "You can't compare this our Tour this year with next year's. Everyone talks about the weakness of our team, but in last year's Vuelta, we lost two men after a week and rode with five helpers for Evenepoel all the way to Madrid. We were not inferior to anyone."

Lefevere is looking at Cattaneo, Vervaeke, Van Wilder, and Serry from his own stable to support Evenepoel but is also scouting the market. "Maybe I'll reveal one or two secret weapons. Mikel Landa? During the Tour, I had three managers visiting me every day. It's up to me to make the right decisions. I absolutely don't want to make bad purchases, but I'm entitled to one mistake per year. (laughs)"

But before that happens, Evenepoel will first try to win the Vuelta for the second consecutive time in a few weeks. Today it was announced that the defending champion will also have to contend with Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard. "I was a bit surprised too. Jumbo-Visma is coming with a massive team, but it still has to be raced. Perhaps it can be an advantage ["for us", seems to be the implication] that we are fully focused on Remco, while they have two leaders (Vingegaard and Roglic)."

Finally, Lefevere addressed the rumors about him planning to sell his shares in the team. He called it "filler for the newspapers." "In principle, I am not going to sell my shares. I have 20 percent, and Bakala (the Czech owner) has 80 percent. He doesn't need money, and neither do I, for the time being. Being the CEO has nothing to do with my shares. I will remain the CEO unless someone taps me on the shoulder and says it's time to go."

 

[hender-retour]

Very few people win their first. He should just go sooner rather than later. Pressure will build more the longer they wait.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Since Vinge took nr. 1 guy away from Roglič in JV and is now beating Pogačar too, whole Slovenia will root for Remco.

It was always Rogla.

 

[Andy schleck]

Mikel landa would be a great help for remco.

Remco
Landa
Van Wilder
Masnada/hirt
Alaphilippe
Asgreen
Cavagna
Lampaert

Great team to help remco next year in the tour.

 

[ThisFrenchGuy]

Pat reads gravely and abrasive, even in text quotes in a forum. Feeling a pinch of acid towards Alaphilippe ("Well, obviously, the Tour is not the Dauphiné, duh").

 

[Big Doopie]

Patrick Lefevere on the past and upcoming Tour: "We assume that Remco will be there."

...

tx.

 

[Nostradumbass]

Patrick Lefevere on the past and upcoming Tour: "We assume that Remco will be there."

….

Finally, Lefevere addressed the rumors about him planning to sell his shares in the team. He called it "filler for the newspapers." "In principle, I am not going to sell my shares. I have 20 percent, and Bakala (the Czech owner) has 80 percent. He doesn't need money, and neither do I, for the time being. Being the CEO has nothing to do with my shares. I will remain the CEO unless someone taps me on the shoulder and says it's time to go."

What is the Market Cap for Quickstep? (ie. How much are their shares worth if sold on the open market?)

 

[ThisFrenchGuy]

What is the Market Cap for Quickstep? (ie. How much are their shares worth if sold on the open market?)

For what it is worth (my opinion, not SQS), the latest rumors that the team was sold to some American investment mentioned 16,5m€. Seems roughly equivalent to the yearly budget ?

I'm maybe mistaken but cycling teams wouldn't have a lot of tangible assets ?
I imagine some offices, workshop, etc but no long term ownership / lease / deal to use something like a stadium or training grounds.
Whatever UCI licence they hold.
All the bikes, material, supplies, team buses.
The staff and riders under contract, but rider trading is not as common or lucrative as in football.
No huge merchandising operation.
Doesn't sell tickets or TV rights directly.
Revenue from sponsors that is only guaranteed for a handful of years, at best.

If so, it makes sense to me that teams value is roughly equivalent to their running budget ?

Evenepoel is one of the few riders that could have some big immediate additional appeal to an outside investor.

I'd guess the staff is maybe the most valuable, interesting part in buying a team. Assembling an experienced crew who know all the ins and outs from scratch would probably cost a lot more than just getting a whole already functioning outfit.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Let's make a poll here....by how many minutes remco will lose to Vingegaard in the tour 2024?

A-2 minutes
B-4 minutes
C-6 minutes
D-8 minutes
E-10 minutes

Obviously E
He will lose minus 10 minutes.

 

[Savant12]

Mikel landa would be a great help for remco.

Remco
Landa
Van Wilder
Masnada/hirt
Alaphilippe
Asgreen
Cavagna
Lampaert

Great team to help remco next year in the tour.

That team is a poor man’s Jumbo.

 

[houtdffan]

That team is a poor man’s Jumbo.

Need to beef them up with Quintana

 

[Extinction]

some of them don't change depending on win or loose.
1, 2 and 4 are likely though

And actually related to 2: Remco focus for the WC ITT might compromise his absolute climbing peak. (e.g. he chooses a higher weight, also for the Giro, to be better in the TT).
We don't know how it affects him since he never completed the Giro. I think one of Remcos biggest fans (Logic) was rediculing Remco for this choice leading in the Giro.

If this is the case then, the moment plans changed to do the Vuelta, the WCTT should have been scrapped. You focus on that only when your GT plans are done. You can't have both. He won't be climbing with the best in this Vuelta.

 

[Red Rick]

If this is the case then, the moment plans changed to do the Vuelta, the WCTT should have been scrapped. You focus on that only when your GT plans are done. You can't have both. He won't be climbing with the best in this Vuelta.

Not to mention his first ITT in the Giro and the TT in last Vuelta were kinda decent, so it's not like he even needs the weight.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

tx.

This is key here:

"Next year, Soudal Quick-Step is expected to have Remco Evenepoel as their leader for the Tour - "that's what we assume.""

^ Lefevere's assumption is not that Remco races the 2024 Tour - that's a given - but that he races it for Soudal Quick-Step...

 

[Berniece]

If this is the case then, the moment plans changed to do the Vuelta, the WCTT should have been scrapped. You focus on that only when your GT plans are done. You can't have both. He won't be climbing with the best in this Vuelta.

Don't you think they would've tested this with real life simulations on a mountain? To see what he's able to push in such a form.

 

[Riek s]

Not to mention his first ITT in the Giro and the TT in last Vuelta were kinda decent, so it's not like he even needs the weight.

But he started the Giro heavier than the Vuelta. (Doesn't mean i don't agree with you, but he seemed to prefer to be a bit heavier than his Vuelta weight with those ITT in mind).

Don't you think they would've tested this with real life simulations on a mountain? To see what he's able to push in such a form.

Yeah. We just don't know it yet because of the DNF of the Giro. the biggest question that was asked here is if that wouldn't be counterproductive when doing multiple long climbs, but we are just speculators on this.

 

[Berniece]

Yeah. We just don't know it yet because of the DNF of the Giro. the biggest question that was asked here is if that wouldn't be counterproductive when doing multiple long climbs, but we are just speculators on this.

We won't have to wait long in the Vuelta. Stage 3 will already show if he's able to properly follow Ayuso/Vingegaard

 

[Ulle97]

We won't have to wait long in the Vuelta. Stage 3 will already show if he's able to properly follow Ayuso/Vingegaard

Yes agree! There is no room for anyone trying to ride themselves into form in the first week of this year's Vuelta.

The TTT on stage one, and selective finishes on stage 3 and 6. Any contender needs to be on form here!

 

[Red Rick]

But he started the Giro heavier than the Vuelta. (Doesn't mean i don't agree with you, but he seemed to prefer to be a bit heavier than his Vuelta weight with those ITT in mind).


Yeah. We just don't know it yet because of the DNF of the Giro. the biggest question that was asked here is if that wouldn't be counterproductive when doing multiple long climbs, but we are just speculators on this.

Maybe a little bit. But that's not an amount I'd consider "I'm gonna be so heavy for the Worlds ITT I can't do Vuelta GC"

What I do think is strange is that the Vuelta was far easier on the climbs than the Giro he wanted to win.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Maybe a little bit. But that's not an amount I'd consider "I'm gonna be so heavy for the Worlds ITT I can't do Vuelta GC"

What I do think is strange is that the Vuelta was far easier on the climbs than the Giro he wanted to win.

Yes, which is why i was ridiculing the decision to have him start 2kg heavier in the Giro than the '22 Vuelta, if that was indeed the case, since they have not been truthful regarding his actual weight often (he was supposedly going to do last year's Vuelta at 63kg as well, but than right after the Vuelta it was 61). Their explanation was because the first part of the '22 Vuelta had a lot of muritos. And of course the Vuelta had a lot less TT km than the Giro.

But hey, i'm sure his trainer, Koen Pelgrim, has unlocked a new attribute in physics. Something Ineos, UAE and Jumbo have yet to discover. Because clearly they have the wrong idea with top GC riders who all are a lot taller for their weight. Because clearly a 3 week race is all about pushing w/kg for 1 hour. There is nothing else to it. I still wonder why a 3 week GC actually has to last 3 weeks, since it can be decided within one hour.

As to your first remark, one of the most dominant TT's he's done was during Algarve '22, when he weighed 67kg. I think even 1 to 2 kg off optimal weight would impact his GC chances considerably, let alone 5 or 7.

 

[Volderke]

We won't have to wait long in the Vuelta. Stage 3 will already show if he's able to properly follow Ayuso/Vingegaard

Or the other way around?
I'm not suggesting Remco is a superior climber, but last year he showed in the Vuelta that, at his best, he can produce top numbers in terms of W/Kg and VAM.
He can as well being dropped like a stone, we'll see.

With regards to Lefefevere: his team is worth as much as the staff and some team assets (but I don't know what they own: maybe a building for service course, a team bus, vehicles,...), but I reckon staff and WT license are worth whatever a money(wo)man wants to give for having the smoothest possible introduction into WT racing.

It seems like a waste of money, but I can imagine, if having a billion, that 10-20 million is easy to spend, if it's your passion.

With regards to the interview: Lefevere is soft-spoken, but pretty blunt and clear most of the time. He was sceptic about Alaphilippe's level, and rightly so. It seems like Alaphilippe lost it, in terms of Tour stage hunting. He can still be a big factor in 1-day races, but he isn't showing much progress.

Last, I think it can be beneficial for Remco that Jumbo sends a strong team. In this way, Soudal doesn't have to work and it's up to Remco to show what he's got after sitting on the Jumbo train. If there is no Jumbo train and Roglic / Vingegaard are really into racing with 2 leaders against him, it's even better as in that case, Remco can really show what he's got. I don't care if they (Jumbo, Ayuso, others) kill him off or if he (Remco) smashes them, as long as we have an entertaining battle.

 

[Red Rick]

Or the other way around?
I'm not suggesting Remco is a superior climber, but last year he showed in the Vuelta that, at his best, he can produce top numbers in terms of W/Kg and VAM.
He can as well being dropped like a stone, we'll see.

With regards to Lefefevere: his team is worth as much as the staff and some team assets (but I don't know what they own: maybe a building for service course, a team bus, vehicles,...), but I reckon staff and WT license are worth whatever a money(wo)man wants to give for having the smoothest possible introduction into WT racing.

It seems like a waste of money, but I can imagine, if having a billion, that 10-20 million is easy to spend, if it's your passion.

With regards to the interview: Lefevere is soft-spoken, but pretty blunt and clear most of the time. He was sceptic about Alaphilippe's level, and rightly so. It seems like Alaphilippe lost it, in terms of Tour stage hunting. He can still be a big factor in 1-day races, but he isn't showing much progress.

Last, I think it can be beneficial for Remco that Jumbo sends a strong team. In this way, Soudal doesn't have to work and it's up to Remco to show what he's got after sitting on the Jumbo train. If there is no Jumbo train and Roglic / Vingegaard are really into racing with 2 leaders against him, it's even better as in that case, Remco can really show what he's got. I don't care if they (Jumbo, Ayuso, others) kill him off or if he (Remco) smashes them, as long as we have an entertaining battle.

Problem with comparing VAM and W/kg estimates from different races is you're excluding fatigue, tactics and other conditions from the equation. You'd come to the conclusion that Evenepoels best GT performance is better than Vingegaard, while Evenepoel got dropped by Jay frigging Vine that day. Like 10 guys did better watts for an hour in Romandie than the GC guys on Col de La Loze. It gets stupid very quickly.

 

[Volderke]

Problem with comparing VAM and W/kg estimates from different races is you're excluding fatigue, tactics and other conditions from the equation. You'd come to the conclusion that Evenepoels best GT performance is better than Vingegaard, while Evenepoel got dropped by Jay frigging Vine that day. Like 10 guys did better watts for an hour in Romandie than the GC guys on Col de La Loze. It gets stupid very quickly.

I didn't say anything else than what you're saying, if you read carefully.

 

[wickedw]

This vuelta is going to be a real test for Remco. It's not optimal that he has some of his original goals just before it and that one of them is the WC ITT. Quickstep being the amateur team they are will likely keep him too heavy. In that case he has little chance in the vuelta.

If he starts on his optimal weight, which I consider the last vuelta to be, then he still has a huge issue with his team. Who are they going to send? Van wilder is the only okayish domestique in the mountains. They should send Alaphillipe with aswell... What comes after though? 50/50 that burgos sends a better team at this point.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Problem with comparing VAM and W/kg estimates from different races is you're excluding fatigue, tactics and other conditions from the equation. You'd come to the conclusion that Evenepoels best GT performance is better than Vingegaard, while Evenepoel got dropped by Jay frigging Vine that day. Like 10 guys did better watts for an hour in Romandie than the GC guys on Col de La Loze. It gets stupid very quickly.

I agree with the sentiment, but Evenepoel didn't get dropped by Vine. Vine went earlier, and Evenepoel couldn't catch him. Vine is like Kuss, on a certain day he can climb with the best and drop them. Even though he crashed in the Giro, he showed that there as well in the last week.