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

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all the 'best' are not targeting top 5s

lame from Remco, trying for a result of a Ben O'Connor, David Gaudu, Alex Vlasov, Wilco Kelderman
You might be overthinking his statements. He's simply being publicly respectful to 3 big GT champions who will be at the race. To say "I'm going for the podium" or "I'm there to win" will cause a media shitstorm that none of them need or want.

Of course he's going there for the win. He's Remco. He's a champion. That's the mentality.
 
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I don't think it will cause a media shitstorm if he says that he aims for a podium in the Tour while acknowledging that there are three riders more likely to do so than he is.

I doubt that he will mark the Tour as a success if he finishes 5th. I do think he will do so if he ends up 3rd.
Everything Remco says causes a shitstorm...as this thread would indicate. Would you have thought people would call him "lame" for saying he's going for top 5? There's always an angle, it's always a problem with whatever he says.
 
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If your threshold is a single post on an internet board for there to be a shitstorm, sure, but the post I responded to said media shitstorm.
Obviously not. Which is why I said "this thread" instead of that "single post". But yeah, that post was a decent example of it. And it seems self-evident for anyone paying attention that everything Remco says causes at least an overreaction, if not shitstorm. Both here and in the media.

Maybe focus on my point and read more carefully instead of parsing every little word for critique.
 
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The top 5 goal is obviously a tactic to deter from media pressure but i doubt anybody will consider it a success. If he doesn't finish on the podium for a race that he is going to specifically prepare for, its a failure and he wont be able to avoid the media going after him. In gaming terms, top 5 = very easy, top 3 = normal, win = nightmare difficulty settings. If he, PatLef, are really thinking top 5 is ok as an objective, he is better off to the Giro.
 
The top 5 goal is obviously a tactic to deter from media pressure but i doubt anybody will consider it a success. If he doesn't finish on the podium for a race that he is going to specifically prepare for, its a failure and he wont be able to avoid the media going after him. In gaming terms, top 5 = very easy, top 3 = normal, win = nightmare difficulty settings. If he, PatLef, are really thinking top 5 is ok as an objective, he is better off to the Giro.
For a first time GT contender who has never beaten Roglic, Pogacar, Vingegaard in a GT where any of them were 100% prepared. Not to mention his collapse in the Vuelta last year. But apparently podium at the TDF is normal for Evenepoel?
 
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For a first time GT contender who has never beaten Roglic, Pogacar, Vingegaard in a GT where any of them were 100% prepared. Not to mention his collapse in the Vuelta last year. But apparently podium at the TDF is normal for Evenepoel?

Not normal but reaching top3 probably (crashes excluded) means beating one of Pogacar, Vingegaard and Roglic and this would be a big success indeed. Top5 behind those three won't a success for a rider like Evenepoel but more like an expected outcome.
 

Remco actually considered retiring last year
Well, my comments go as far as you can trust Google Translate, but he didn't "consider retiring" according to the translation. Maybe a Spanish speaker can help. What I got was,

"I received a lot of 'bullets in the head' and there were times when I wanted to put the bike aside for a while, but fortunately mental health has helped me a lot this year. Family and Oumi, my partner, too," he explained
Hell, every year there are times when I want to put the bike aside for a while, and I almost always do in fall. Trails are dried up and moon dust, I've been riding for 8 months straight, and the surf is fantastic. But yeah, it's not about me. I guess my point is that this seems like a normal reaction to a tough year and the level of scrutiny he's under.

I do hope he can learn to even out and regulate a bit. Don't let the highs get too high, the lows get too low. When I was his age I was the same way, I was moody AF and it was hard for those around me to deal with the peaks and valleys. Age mellows ya.
 
I see you're joking a bit here, but why do you say creepy? He's made some nice comments, thinking he has a chance to win, but whatever happens he'll leave his mark on the race. I think a variety of great riders with various characteristics will make for a great Tour. Remco is a bit different. I think Prudhomme likes that. He's GOTTA be stoked about the riders set to ride his race this year, it's could be a legendary edition. Seems cool to me, and I think an accurate take on what Remco brings to the party.
 
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I think Remco's climbing level with surprise a few next year, I definately think he will be best of the rest. Might hold yellow for a while to fade a bit in the end. This all if he doesn't crash ofcourse. I think we will be in for an entertaining tour..
 
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So at a level where he could follow the two on Tourmalet this year, or closer to the level of Hindley?
I think vingegaard's climbing level is superior to pogacar's level, but let's admit what you said.

I think Remco's and roglic's climbing level in the tour will be in the middle of these two levels you talked about. I cannot see them day and day out climbing at the same level of pogacar and roglic, but clearly they are much better than hindley's climbing level.
 
I think vingegaard's climbing level is superior to pogacar's level, but let's admit what you said.

I think Remco's and roglic's climbing level in the tour will be in the middle of these two levels you talked about. I cannot see them day and day out climbing at the same level of pogacar and roglic, but clearly they are much better than hindley's climbing level.
are we using the royal they to refer to Remco now? (sorry, I do not drop into this thread as often as sufferers of RDS)

edit: apparently I can't read
 
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