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

[The fridge in the blue trees]

Okay, what's the difference between the three "control"?

Should have been control-control-control!

 

[SHAD0W93]

Evenepoel has a remarkable way of getting dropped like a stone, looking like he's completely out of it & then out of nowhere more than limiting his losses.

I mean sure the crash didn't help etc. etc. but it's hardly the first time we've seen him get dropped & then finish quite well. The first time I noticed this was in the 2021 Giro (stage 9 with the dirt/gravel climb finish which Bernal won).

It's just something which has become a bit of a recurring theme with him (especially on bad days).

Maybe he trains with Almeida.

 

[houtdffan]

Evenepoel has a remarkable way of getting dropped like a stone, looking like he's completely out of it & then out of nowhere more than limiting his losses.

I mean sure the crash didn't help etc. etc. but it's hardly the first time we've seen him get dropped & then finish quite well. The first time I noticed this was in the 2021 Giro (stage 9 with the dirt/gravel climb finish which Bernal won).

It's just something which has become a bit of a recurring theme with him (especially on bad days).

which makes the Aubisque stage even more strange. That is the type of day he would normally lose 90 seconds to 2 minutes

Unless he felt he couldn't win and just decided to go for stages. After all, he said before the race that a podium with a stage win is no different than 12th with 4 stage win

 

[Red Rick]

Dumoulin in the AD podcast suggested Evenepoel might not have eaten enough in the days prior to that stage and in the morning.

 

[dennisdy]

Has the team actually cost Remco anything so far?
Potentially it could have during the Giro, but didn't, Covid struck.
Vuelta, Kuss stage? It's not the mountain goats that would have kept Kuss out of red, and he didn't lose the Vuelta that day either.
Tour 24? With Jumbo and UAE, now Bora too that will want to control, he won't need a train with Thomas, Arensman and Rodriguez.
And the team is not that bad either. Van Wilder is coming along slower than I originally thought, but in the end his Giro was good. Masnada seems to be coming back. Landa in Vuelta form is still good. Vansevenant is developing. There really is no need to change team now, especially if the GT-target 24 is the Tour.

If you were Remco's teammate would you train hard next year to help him in the Tour? Think about this year. The team trains hard to help him in the Giro and he drops out due to covid. They train hard to help him in the Vuelta and Remco shuts it down during stage 13. I can still see the whole team around him riding comfortably, but Remco can't. He then goes on to get individual glory the next day and the rest of the race.

 

[Berniece]

If you were Remco's teammate would you train hard next year to help him in the Tour? Think about this year. The team trains hard to help him in the Giro and he drops out due to covid. They train hard to help him in the Vuelta and Remco shuts it down during stage 13. I can still see the whole team around him riding comfortably, but Remco can't. He then goes on to get individual glory the next day and the rest of the race.

He was the third biggest earner of the Vuelta, which he gives to his teammates. So yes, I think they will ride for him

 

[RedheadDane]

Dumoulin in the AD podcast suggested Evenepoel might have eaten enough in the days prior to that stage and in the morning.

Startling revelation! Doesn't really give an answer to what happened...

 

[Lexman]

Dumoulin in the AD podcast suggested Evenepoel might have eaten enough in the days prior to that stage and in the morning.

eh you mean he hasn't eaten enough or he ate too much?

 

[Red Rick]

eh you mean he hasn't eaten enough or he ate too much?

Didnt eat enough, maybe

 

[Oldermanish]

No it isn't. Roglic at Bora already adds a team that is very likely to control/control/control.
Jumbo is not going to play any cards other than Vingegaard. All Remco has to do is follow him. The question here is not the team, it's Remco.
UAE might try with a second card, but well, Remco still has to stick to Vingegaard and if he isn't able keep up with the Boroglic train.

Roglic will dictate strategy. We can't know that yet.
Jumbo doesn't have any other cards to play. That presents them with some issues including controlling the race.
Pogacar will be prepared and do what he needs to do. That makes him dangerous as he's very good countering off of the aggression of others.
Remco will need to pick who he will try to stay with. He'll need a team to assist if he guesses wrong.
This looks like chaos at some point!

 

[Red Rick]

Roglic will dictate strategy. We can't know that yet.
Jumbo doesn't have any other cards to play. That presents them with some issues including controlling the race.
Pogacar will be prepared and do what he needs to do. That makes him dangerous as he's very good countering off of the aggression of others.
Remco will need to pick who he will try to stay with. He'll need a team to assist if he guesses wrong.
This looks like chaos at some point!

Chaos is more about breakaway control IMO. And Jumbo lost van Hooydonck + there's rumors Van Aert wants to race the Giro

 

[Oldermanish]

Choas is more about breakaway control IMO. And Jumbo lost van Hooydonck + there's rumors Van Aert wants to race the Giro

I'm guessing Choas is a controlling state? Sorry, couldn't resist. I agree that controlling breaks will be a challenge for any team. I also think Wout will flex his seniority more now that the GT favorite has been simplified. That could create problems of it's own.

The aggression starts on stage one these days and a single team probably couldn't sustain more than a week or so of management. IMO there will be some unholy alliances of the road to gain chunks of time with combatants settling their final situations stage by stage. At least I'm hoping for something exciting like that!

 

[Froome]

Roglic will dictate strategy. We can't know that yet.
Jumbo doesn't have any other cards to play. That presents them with some issues including controlling the race.
Pogacar will be prepared and do what he needs to do. That makes him dangerous as he's very good countering off of the aggression of others.
Remco will need to pick who he will try to stay with. He'll need a team to assist if he guesses wrong.
This looks like chaos at some point!

There will be no chaos, there will not happen nothing "new". The hype is high for next year, but a lot of people will get disillusioned when they see after the first serious high mountain stage,that they will be dropped and the fight will be again between the same two! The difference between them to the other riders including remco and roglic is very high. There will not be everybody against jumbo or vingegaard, there will be one fight between the same two guys, and in the end without crashes, the same guy that won in 2022 and 2023, will win. We are in a "era" that started in 2022, and will last more 4/5 years.

 

[Oldermanish]

There will be no chaos, there will not happen nothing "new". The hype is high for next year, but a lot of people will get disillusioned when they see after the first serious high mountain stage,that they will be dropped and the fight will be again between the same two! The difference between them to the other riders including remco and roglic is very high. There will not be everybody against jumbo or vingegaard, there will be one fight between the same two guys, and in the end without crashes, the same guy that won in 2022 and 2023, will win. We are in a "era" that started in 2022, and will last more 4/5 years.

I admire your faith in your opinion. The option of 3-4 seriously invested teams may make that "era" equilibrium unmaintainable. It isn't just your two select riders; it's their support staff no matter how much faith you have in them.

There will be no chaos, there will not happen nothing "new". You might check this sentence.....

 

[The fridge in the blue trees]

If you were Remco's teammate would you train hard next year to help him in the Tour? Think about this year. The team trains hard to help him in the Giro and he drops out due to covid. They train hard to help him in the Vuelta and Remco shuts it down during stage 13. I can still see the whole team around him riding comfortably, but Remco can't. He then goes on to get individual glory the next day and the rest of the race.

What a weird question.

No, I would stop training hard, show up 5 kg overweight to every race, to reach my career goal which is to be left without any contract offers even by continental teams at the end of the season. I'd then write a book," from the world tour to homelessness in a year" and win the nobel prize for literature.

If you can find an even more nonsensical question, please post it.

 

[houtdffan]

Remco Evenepoel recollects Vuelta a Espana crack: "That day it all became too much for my body"

Remco Evenepoel did not strike luck at the Grand Tours this

cyclinguptodate.com

Remco says he put too much emphasis on San Sabastien and the WTT, which led to his Vuelta demise. He also thought he may have had covid again, but that was not the case.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1711767043710591003

View: https://twitter.com/HadrienNaury/status/1711767043710591003?t=rnkImPzdZK-IQHNVEkV8fg&s=19


'In 2023, I was at home too little. This must change in 2024. At the time you tell yourself that it's worth it. But at the end of such a season, I realise I won't be able to keep up this infernal pace for another 3 years'.

 

[will-10]

If you were Remco's teammate would you train hard next year to help him in the Tour? Think about this year. The team trains hard to help him in the Giro and he drops out due to covid. They train hard to help him in the Vuelta and Remco shuts it down during stage 13. I can still see the whole team around him riding comfortably, but Remco can't. He then goes on to get individual glory the next day and the rest of the race.

Imagine having this little respect for yourself and the people you work with.

 

[ManicJack]

He also thought he may have had covid again, but that was not the case.

Of course he did🙄

 

[Berniece]

Of course he did🙄

When you have the same symptoms do you think it's weird to think you might have it again? Knowing you already had it in the season... I actually think that's completely normal human behaviour.

 

[ManicJack]

When you have the same symptoms do you think it's weird to think you might have it again? Knowing you already had it in the season... I actually think that's completely normal human behaviour.

Completely contradicts everything that was said at the time by both himself and the team.

 

[SHAD0W93]

Completely contradicts everything that was said at the time by both himself and the team.

I mean, they’re not going to announce he’s feeling unwell just like with any other rider.

 

[ManicJack]

I mean, they’re not going to announce he’s feeling unwell just like with any other rider.

Yeah. I thought it was kind of strange that a couple teams openly talked about riders not feeling well during both the TdF and the Vuelta.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

Completely contradicts everything that was said at the time by both himself and the team.

Does he say in the interview exactly when he had these thoughts?
If its not specified it could be anything from the single moment he realized he was missing watts to keep up at Aubisque or it could be from any other days during the Vuelta. If its not specified when there is no reason to automatically say it contradicts what was being said during the Vuelta.

 

[dennisdy]

What a weird question.

No, I would stop training hard, show up 5 kg overweight to every race, to reach my career goal which is to be left without any contract offers even by continental teams at the end of the season. I'd then write a book," from the world tour to homelessness in a year" and win the nobel prize for literature.

If you can find an even more nonsensical question, please post it.

My original question (which you think is weird) was this: If you were Remco's teammate would you train hard next year to help him in the Tour?

I posed it because there was a report that at least one rider on SQ was upset with Remco about the 2023 season. I asked it because some think that Remco could win the TDF next year. I find that to be nonsensical, because during stage 13 of the Vuelta Remco showed that he is soft on high mountain stages. So here is my more nonsensical question:
Can Remco defeat Pog, Rog, and Vingegaard at the TDF?