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

[pelotonIQ]

Why is this irrelevant? My point is that, at least at the moment, Roglic and Vingegaard are not a class apart. If they were, they would have continued gaining time on the rest, but they didn't. They even lost a bit towards the end. This is definitely relevant.

They didn't lose time because of fatigue it was because Remco found a second wind and clawed back some time.

All in all he still got dropped, Jumbo knows that long climbs with steep gradients is Remcos downfall and guess what, there's plenty more where that came from.

 

[Berniece]

All in all he still got dropped, Jumbo knows that long climbs with steep gradients is Remcos downfall and guess what, there's plenty more where that came from.

This is just bs, Remco didn’t push the numbers he did last year, that’s it. If it’s the fall, sleeping in the same room as Vervaeke, or something else, who knows, but he just isn’t pushing the same power as he did last year and thus not able to follow or drop the others. The length or steepness has nothing to do with it at the moment.

 

[Angelo1985]

A lot of people are writing Remco off after 1 not so good day. I say we wait and see, if he has multiple days like this its not good. But next time the roles could be reversed, if this day had something to do with his fall or a little bit of illness.

 

[pelotonIQ]

This is just bs, Remco didn’t push the numbers he did last year, that’s it. If it’s the fall, sleeping in the same room as Vervaeke, or something else, who knows, but he just isn’t pushing the same power as he did last year and thus not able to follow or drop the others. The length or steepness has nothing to do with it at the moment.

I said that he got dropped, which he did.
I said that long steep climbs is his downfall, which they are.
I said that there is plenty more steep climbs left in the race, which is true.

Where is the bs?

 

[CyclistAbi]

@Riek s

As a GC rider you need to be 100% all the time. Or you will have serious issues winning the overall. Considering the route and the field. As far as crashes go. More or less all riders in the peloton crash and crash a lot. So i wouldn't put too much thought into that. Remco got up an limited the damage. So he can't be that bad at managing crashes. Otherwise he would likely be behind Rogla and Jonas already.

 

[Lexman]

Vervaeke says he's back on track and ate normal food again yesterday for the first day...

I'm not sure if Kuss high in GC is a real advantage for JV, he'll still would have to ride for Rogla and Vingo..

 

[Berniece]

I said that long steep climbs is his downfall, which they are.

Where is the bs?

This is the bs.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Long and steep climbs are his downfall. A climb like Angliru is where he will have a very hard time to follow Jumbo Visma (Kuss, Vingegaard and Roglic)

 

[topcat]

This is the bs.

I wouldn’t bother. Yesterday, clearly Remco was not at his peak. Too many ppl in the world are caught up in the I’m right, you’re wrong battle. It’s all insecurity.
I’m wrong regularly and it’s no worse than a dry shave.
Namaste.

 

[Riek s]

Long and steep climbs are his downfall. A climb like Angliru is where he will have a very hard time to follow Jumbo Visma (Kuss, Vingegaard and Roglic)

Roglic was dropped by Mas, Vlasov, Carapaz, Carthy on that climb.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Roglic was dropped by Mas, Vlasov, Carapaz, Carthy on that climb.

Roglic was very patchy at 2020 Vuelta, gassed after a busy autumn (the Tour and one-day races). I would expect more of 2021 Roglic here, given his preparations.

 

[frisenfruitig]

Lol why are people so eager to make premature conclusions. If this was a bad day then it was actually a pretty good performance.

It certainly didn't look like this was his best day because guys like Almeida and Uijtdebroecks finishing ahead of him isn't really what you would expect from Evenepoel on a good day.

We'll see, it's possible the form just isn't there completely. It happens, look at Thomas for example.

 

[Berniece]

Remco says he's already feeling better than yesterday, and looking forward to tomorrow

 

[Didier_Bel]

Remco admits that he wasnt feeling 100% yesterday . And that he is feeling better today . He didn't elaborate further but it can explain one or two things ..

In any case , he looked sharp before the start .

Game on !

 

[Volderke]

Remco wasn't maybe at his very peak, but that's how humans are, and that's what we'll have to accept / deal with.

Roglic / Vingegaard / ... can also have good days and bad days (and they maybe already had a bad day at Arinsal which they came through unscathed), but while Roglic and Vingegaard have had GTs with no bad days, it seems Remco has, until now, always has had bad days, whether or not bad luck (crashes / illness) is involved. He hasn't had one big tour without illness or crashes, and this Vuelta is no different.

That's not to be used as an excuse as in "if he would have been healthy, he would win with a margin", but rather as the reality and the menu of the day. I will be happy if he finishes on the podium in good health, being faced with his physical limits, much more than seeing him crush the competition in week 1, only to crash out / falter / get ill like he has already done before.

So my only hope is to have some mano-a-mano battles with Roglic / Vingegaard in week 2 and 3 (and hopefully have some of the breakaway riders of yesterday in the mix for a looooong time, like Kuss and Martinex) and I honestly don't care who wins.

 

[Andy schleck]

Evenepoel had some help from Cattaneo (or Hirt?) the first km or so after JV's attack, but then had to do everything himself. Roglic and Vingegaard had each other plus Valter for a while. Still Evenepoel, but also Ayuso and others (bar Mas) managed to actually claw back time towards the end. Which tells me that at least Roglic and Vingegaard are not head and shoulders above the rest.

Of course they're not. Vingegaard is with a tour de france in his legs. Roglic is a great rider, but i didn’t see yet his best level this year in grand tours.
It should concern the other riders, the fact that vingegaard can take time in all of them, without being that close to his top shape.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Of course they're not. Vingegaard is with a tour de france in his legs. Roglic is a great rider, but i didn’t see yet his best level this year in grand tours.
It should concern the other riders, the fact that vingegaard can take time in all of them, without being that close to his top shape.

Roglic had a nice w/kg bazooka on Monte Lussari. I can't see anyone (except top form Teddy and Vinnie) that could match/beat him on that day.

 

[pelotonIQ]

This is the bs.

Regardless wether he is at his peak or not Remco isn't made for those sort of climbs, additionally his team is not capable of helping him when *** hits the fan so he will find himself being isolated together with the Jumbo trio hoping they show him mercy.

 

[Berniece]

Regardless wether he is at his peak or not Remco isn't made for those sort of climbs, additionally his team is not capable of helping him when *** hits the fan so he will find himself being isolated together with the Jumbo trio hoping they show him mercy.

Yeah sure, I think your posts misses some more hyperboles.

 

[pelotonIQ]

Yeah sure, I think your posts misses some more hyperboles.

I hope Remco is paying you for being his internet domestique

 

[Extinction]

He went all in for WWTT gold, however, in sight of the big mountains of this Vuelta that was not ideal prep. Naturally this doesn't necessarily mean it's the reason for his getting dropped yesterday, but when going up against this Jumbo-Visma, anything that isn't ideal in the preparation most likely will punish you with a severe verdict. One could argue that Vingo, coming out of the Tour, didn't have ideal prep either, which is true. Yet his natural climbing prowess and the fact that he focused on recovery from the Tour, likely means he can ride into top shape or thereabouts in the third week. His level at the Tour, however, was 2 steps higher than the rest, so even if he only makes it to 1 step above the rest in this Vuelta that should be good enough. Of the big contenders, Roglic arguably had the closest to ideal prep, which should carry him through in this Vuelta to a win or second place. Time will tell.

 

[VayaVayaVaya]

I’m with the crowd preaching patience and moderation. I’ll take the same stance I did last year when Remco, Ayuso, Vine, and their mothers put Roglic to the sword on a climb in the first week of the Vuelta: No way this is Remco’s peak level. Or at least I wouldn’t extrapolate from this to future climbs and conclude he will lose minutes. On stage 3, he smoked everyone and the narrative was that Roglic didn’t have it (like Remco, he had just crashed).

Personally, the most I’m willing to go out on a limb and say at this point is that I think the podium will come from these riders: Roglic, Vingegaard, Remco, and Ayuso, with Kuss as a wild card. Almeida could sneak in, but I don’t see it. I still think Remco will smash this ITT.

 

[saunaking]

Remco admits that he wasnt feeling 100% yesterday . And that he is feeling better today . He didn't elaborate further but it can explain one or two things ..

In any case , he looked sharp before the start .

Game on !

It was pretty clear in his post race interview yesterday he didn't look good, like he was sick. His face, pale, his demeanor, his eyes, his voice.
Something was definitely off, it wasn't just being at his limit.

 

[Andy schleck]

I’m with the crowd preaching patience and moderation. I’ll take the same stance I did last year when Remco, Ayuso, Vine, and their mothers put Roglic to the sword on a climb in the first week of the Vuelta: No way this is Remco’s peak level. Or at least I wouldn’t extrapolate from this to future climbs and conclude he will lose minutes. On stage 3, he smoked everyone and the narrative was that Roglic didn’t have it (like Remco, he had just crashed).

Personally, the most I’m willing to go out on a limb and say at this point is that I think the podium will come from these riders: Roglic, Vingegaard, Remco, and Ayuso, with Kuss as a wild card. Almeida could sneak in, but I don’t see it. I still think Remco will smash this ITT.

What is your definition of "smoked everyone"?

 

[Extinction]

I’m with the crowd preaching patience and moderation. I’ll take the same stance I did last year when Remco, Ayuso, Vine, and their mothers put Roglic to the sword on a climb in the first week of the Vuelta: No way this is Remco’s peak level. Or at least I wouldn’t extrapolate from this to future climbs and conclude he will lose minutes. On stage 3, he smoked everyone and the narrative was that Roglic didn’t have it (like Remco, he had just crashed).

Personally, the most I’m willing to go out on a limb and say at this point is that I think the podium will come from these riders: Roglic, Vingegaard, Remco, and Ayuso, with Kuss as a wild card. Almeida could sneak in, but I don’t see it. I still think Remco will smash this ITT.

It could well be that the crash produced more collateral damage than naturally he could comunicate, in which case, like last year after his crash, he ships time until feeling better. The weekend will tell more about his actual state and further prospects for this race. I think, regarding Kuss, Jumbo will actually try to win with him until he no longer can be a viable candidate for overall victory. But you certainly won't see Rog or Vingo attacking him with the current lead he enjoys.