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

[Tim Booth]

"Winning a race this year is going to be very difficult. I am very honest with this and I do not see myself winning a race. Give me three, four or five years and then it will be time to put on a serious first goal. Then I will be ready for it."
http://www.ciclo21.com/remco-evenepoel-mi-suenos-estan-en-las-grandes-vueltas/

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

"Winning a race this year is going to be very difficult. I am very honest with this and I do not see myself winning a race. Give me three, four or five years and then it will be time to put on a serious first goal. Then I will be ready for it."
http://www.ciclo21.com/remco-evenepoel-mi-suenos-estan-en-las-grandes-vueltas/

I know he's just trying to deal with the hype, but three, four or five years is quite a bit of time for an insane talent of his age. Two... or three years tops and we'll probably know.

He'll turn 19 in less than a week. Andy Schleck was already competitive at age 21.

 

[armchairclimber]

And Philipsen has just won his first WT race at 20. I think Remco is a competitor and if he gets a sniff of a chance, he'll take it.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Re:

And Philipsen has just won his first WT race at 20. I think Remco is a competitor and if he gets a sniff of a chance, he'll take it.

Regarding Evenepoel's chances to take a victory... i think they are considerable. I think he'll take a ITT victory in a third-fourth tier stage race rather soon.

A pitty Philipsen had to win his first victory by another rider getting disqualified. But i still don't understand the headbutting. How hard can it be, to understand that you can't do that?

 

[armchairclimber]

Re: Re:

And Philipsen has just won his first WT race at 20. I think Remco is a competitor and if he gets a sniff of a chance, he'll take it.

Regarding Evenepoel's chances to take a victory... i think they are considerable. I think he'll take a ITT victory in a third-fourth tier stage race rather soon.

A pitty Philipsen had to win his first victory by another rider getting disqualified. But i still don't understand the headbutting. How hard can it be, to understand that you can't do that?

Indeed. It didn't look too clever overhead. Philipsen had to be there, in front of Sagan and Viviani to capitalise. He has put himself there or thereabouts throughout the race. I expect Evenepoel to do likewise as early as next week to be honest... he'll be useful in getting Hodeg into position.

 

[Breh]

"Winning a race this year is going to be very difficult. I am very honest with this and I do not see myself winning a race. Give me three, four or five years and then it will be time to put on a serious first goal. Then I will be ready for it."
http://www.ciclo21.com/remco-evenepoel-mi-suenos-estan-en-las-grandes-vueltas/

I know he's just trying to deal with the hype, but three, four or five years is quite a bit of time for an insane talent of his age. Two... or three years tops and we'll probably know.

He'll turn 19 in less than a week. Andy Schleck was already competitive at age 21.

Froome was still a complete nobody at the age of 25. Wiggins' first pro win on the road was at the age of 27. Idk what Thomas did before his 28th birthday but it certainly wasn't winning big races.
There is plenty of time.

 

[Googolplex]

Wasn't Froome a nobody only due to bilharzia? Or that's what they say.

Wiggins and Thomas had success already quite young.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

Froome was still a complete nobody at the age of 25. Wiggins' first pro win on the road was at the age of 27. Idk what Thomas did before his 28th birthday but it certainly wasn't winning big races.
There is plenty of time.

I don't think that the most dominant junior of all time will be similar to either Froome or G, in terms of his likely development.

 

[MADRAZO]

"Winning a race this year is going to be very difficult. I am very honest with this and I do not see myself winning a race. Give me three, four or five years and then it will be time to put on a serious first goal. Then I will be ready for it."
http://www.ciclo21.com/remco-evenepoel-mi-suenos-estan-en-las-grandes-vueltas/

I know he's just trying to deal with the hype, but three, four or five years is quite a bit of time for an insane talent of his age. Two... or three years tops and we'll probably know.

He'll turn 19 in less than a week. Andy Schleck was already competitive at age 21.

Agreed he obviously just does not want to much pressure and that is fair enough but for sure he should be winning races very soon and more should be expected of him than postponing serious goals 4-5 year .

Another supertalent Julius Johansen was one of the dominating riders in the Tour Of Denmark last year when he was actually younger than Evenepoel is now before the season starts, so I see no reason why Evenepoel should not be able to be better than that and make some good results (if not win) in smaller races already this year. And yes if he really is as big a talent as expected he should be able to be a contender in a Grand Tour in 2-3 years like Andy Schleck og for instance also just match what Bernal did this year.

 

[MADRAZO]

Re:

Wasn't Froome a nobody only due to bilharzia? Or that's what they say.

Wiggins and Thomas had success already quite young.

If he had the Bilharzia as claimed it would actually well explain the 3 years his talent appeared to have stagnated and was forgotten by many before he suddenly became a superrider. Many doubters of Froome often forgets or ignores that he was actually seen as a huge talent and one of the possible future Grand Tour contenders when he was a U23-rider. Sure he had a bad U23 Worlds TT, but he also was a prominent rider in some of the most important U23 stageraces like the GP Tell and Giro Delle Regioni matching other huge talents like Fuglsang, M. Frank, Mollema or R. Costa.

 

[Singer01]

"Winning a race this year is going to be very difficult. I am very honest with this and I do not see myself winning a race. Give me three, four or five years and then it will be time to put on a serious first goal. Then I will be ready for it."
http://www.ciclo21.com/remco-evenepoel-mi-suenos-estan-en-las-grandes-vueltas/

I know he's just trying to deal with the hype, but three, four or five years is quite a bit of time for an insane talent of his age. Two... or three years tops and we'll probably know.

He'll turn 19 in less than a week. Andy Schleck was already competitive at age 21.

Froome was still a complete nobody at the age of 25. Wiggins' first pro win on the road was at the age of 27. Idk what Thomas did before his 28th birthday but it certainly wasn't winning big races.
There is plenty of time.

He was winning double olympic and triple world championship gold medals.

 

[Jancouver]

"Winning a race this year is going to be very difficult. I am very honest with this and I do not see myself winning a race. Give me three, four or five years and then it will be time to put on a serious first goal. Then I will be ready for it."
http://www.ciclo21.com/remco-evenepoel-mi-suenos-estan-en-las-grandes-vueltas/

I know he's just trying to deal with the hype, but three, four or five years is quite a bit of time for an insane talent of his age. Two... or three years tops and we'll probably know.

He'll turn 19 in less than a week. Andy Schleck was already competitive at age 21.

Froome was still a complete nobody at the age of 25. Wiggins' first pro win on the road was at the age of 27. Idk what Thomas did before his 28th birthday but it certainly wasn't winning big races.
There is plenty of time.

He was winning double olympic and triple world championship gold medals.

Dude, track racing is a completely different sport and it does not count for anything in bicycle road racing.

At least you are not suggesting that Chris Hoy had the potential to wind a TdF or some other nonsense.

 

[del1962]

Thomas won junior KBK more then a year younger then Evenepoel did, also won ParisRoubaix Juniors, obviously he wasn't the dominant force as a junior on the road as Evenepoel and spent his early years concentrating on the track

 

[del1962]

"Winning a race this year is going to be very difficult. I am very honest with this and I do not see myself winning a race. Give me three, four or five years and then it will be time to put on a serious first goal. Then I will be ready for it."
http://www.ciclo21.com/remco-evenepoel-mi-suenos-estan-en-las-grandes-vueltas/

I know he's just trying to deal with the hype, but three, four or five years is quite a bit of time for an insane talent of his age. Two... or three years tops and we'll probably know.

He'll turn 19 in less than a week. Andy Schleck was already competitive at age 21.

Froome was still a complete nobody at the age of 25. Wiggins' first pro win on the road was at the age of 27. Idk what Thomas did before his 28th birthday but it certainly wasn't winning big races.
There is plenty of time.

He was winning double olympic and triple world championship gold medals.

Dude, track racing is a completely different sport and it does not count for anything in bicycle road racing.

At least you are not suggesting that Chris Hoy had the potential to wind a TdF or some other nonsense.

Lots of track races Chris Hoy has no chance of winning

 

[Singer01]

"Winning a race this year is going to be very difficult. I am very honest with this and I do not see myself winning a race. Give me three, four or five years and then it will be time to put on a serious first goal. Then I will be ready for it."
http://www.ciclo21.com/remco-evenepoel-mi-suenos-estan-en-las-grandes-vueltas/

I know he's just trying to deal with the hype, but three, four or five years is quite a bit of time for an insane talent of his age. Two... or three years tops and we'll probably know.

He'll turn 19 in less than a week. Andy Schleck was already competitive at age 21.

Froome was still a complete nobody at the age of 25. Wiggins' first pro win on the road was at the age of 27. Idk what Thomas did before his 28th birthday but it certainly wasn't winning big races.
There is plenty of time.

He was winning double olympic and triple world championship gold medals.

Dude, track racing is a completely different sport and it does not count for anything in bicycle road racing.

At least you are not suggesting that Chris Hoy had the potential to wind a TdF or some other nonsense.

Dude, nowhere did i say it did. I was merely responding to what I assumed was either an ignorant or snarky post.

 

[armchairclimber]

"Dude, track racing is a completely different sport and it does not count for anything in bicycle road racing."

Dude, the last ten years has amply demonstrated that track racing prowess in certain events counts for a heck of a lot in road racing.

 

[LesDiablesRouges]

It’s disingenuous to suggest that Gerraint Thomas is not a talented bike rider. That being said he seemed to be a top talent as a classics/puncheur rider. The transition to an all-around is where people become skeptical.

Granted, I’d become much more shocked if Remco became a sprint champion than Gerraint becoming an all-arounder.

Remco has the potential to be a transcendent cycling figure based on his achievements to date, his personality, and his potential.

Cycling is starving for big personality and a patron.

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

It’s disingenuous to suggest that Gerraint Thomas is not a talented bike rider. That being said he seemed to be a top talent as a classics/puncheur rider. The transition to an all-around is where people become skeptical.

Granted, I’d become much more shocked if Remco became a sprint champion than Gerraint becoming an all-arounder.

Remco has the potential to be a transcendent cycling figure based on his achievements to date, his personality, and his potential.

Cycling is starving for big personality and a patron.

Hardly.

This is just a little Belgian centricism in cycling.

 

[Breh]

Re:

"Dude, track racing is a completely different sport and it does not count for anything in bicycle road racing."

Dude, the last ten years has amply demonstrated that track racing prowess in certain events counts for a heck of a lot in road racing.

Impressive.

It’s disingenuous to suggest that Gerraint Thomas is not a talented bike rider. That being said he seemed to be a top talent as a classics/puncheur rider. The transition to an all-around is where people become skeptical.

Which is not what i'm suggesting. This doesn't have anything to do with scepticism. I'm merely stating that plenty of GT winners haven't shown anything promising with regards to GC riding early in their carreer. Not everyone is A. Schleck or E.A. Bernal.
Evenepoel is 18yrs olds and 2018 was his first full season as a cyclist considering he only picked up the sport medio 2017. He has plenty of time to improve.

 

[tobydawq]

Re: Re:

"Dude, track racing is a completely different sport and it does not count for anything in bicycle road racing."

Dude, the last ten years has amply demonstrated that track racing prowess in certain events counts for a heck of a lot in road racing.

Impressive.

It’s disingenuous to suggest that Gerraint Thomas is not a talented bike rider. That being said he seemed to be a top talent as a classics/puncheur rider. The transition to an all-around is where people become skeptical.

Which is not what i'm suggesting. This doesn't have anything to do with scepticism. I'm merely stating that plenty of GT winners haven't shown anything promising with regards to GC riding early in their carreer. Not everyone is A. Schleck or E.A. Bernal.
Evenepoel is 18yrs olds and 2018 was his first full season as a cyclist considering he only picked up the sport medio 2017. He has plenty of time to improve.

Back in 2010 he did once make the final selection in a six-man group together with three other eventual GT winners in the Tour

 

[Googolplex]

There are obviously many cases where a rider achieves a good level only quite old and there are of course many reasons why this can happen, but besides injuries or poor training, main reasons are sort of naturally slow development (ie. later peak age) and late starting/switching from other sport.

Evenepoel can of course get injured or train poorly, but he obviously hasn't developed slowly, and while he switched to cycling sort of late, he is already the best in his age group, so that may not be a good explanation either. So if Evenepoel stays sort of stagnant for next 5-10 years, I would say it's rather worrying for his GC winning chances.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

Re:

Remco has the potential to be a transcendent cycling figure based on his achievements to date, his personality, and his potential.

Cycling is starving for big personality and a patron.

The current peloton wouldn't respond well to a "patron" I don't think. That ship has sailed. IMO

 

[Jancouver]

C'mon guys, let's get back to Remco.
There are already enough threads about marginal-gains-skybots.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Re:

There are obviously many cases where a rider achieves a good level only quite old and there are of course many reasons why this can happen, but besides injuries or poor training, main reasons are sort of naturally slow development (ie. later peak age) and late starting/switching from other sport.

Evenepoel can of course get injured or train poorly, but he obviously hasn't developed slowly, and while he switched to cycling sort of late, he is already the best in his age group, so that may not be a good explanation either. So if Evenepoel stays sort of stagnant for next 5-10 years, I would say it's rather worrying for his GC winning chances.

There is always a possibility that he will never even podium in a GT classification, or even top10. He's just trying to keep the pressure off. In the meantime, he's also said that in 2 years, he'd want to try and ride a GT to see how far he can go. He'll be 21 then (he turns 19 next week).

He's always been one of the older boys in his age bracket, because he's from January. That probably is part of the explanation, but on the other hand, Bernal 's birthday is also in January. Evenepoel also ran a 1/2 marathon when he was 16, in an open age category, and finished 13th, while he had no preparation other than his football training and had never ran a marathon before (or since). He switched to cycling late, and while he may have developed early, physically, he's always been ahead of the curve. The difference with others his age is just immense. His ITT can be compared to the best of the U23, while riding restricted gears. And he never spares himself, he does the exact opposite of ride conservatively. There is definitely still room for improvement, at the pros he doesn't have to attack 90 km from the finish.

The fact that he's always been ahead of his peers (not just the last two years where you could argue he entered his "manhood" earlier than others), and the fact that the gap is so huge, makes me hope he truly is special and will also be able to make his mark as a future GT rider. But, on the other hand, who knows, he might just hit his ceiling the next couple of years, and find out he's just a good allrounder, but not GT material, maybe just a good domestique. It's always a possibility.

Anyway... 4 more days =)

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Pro wins count so far: Evenpoel 0 - 1 Ghirmay