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

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Evenepoel should bring in extra sponsorship for the Belgium Team if he lives up to his undoubted potential though.

Not really. Lefevere is always short on money, because he wants to be competitive in all aspects of cycling. Its kind of easy if you only have to pay one superstar and the rest of the team is composed of helpers. But Quickstep has to pay at least one sprinter, a few riders for the cobbles, Alaphilippe wont be cheap either, ...

So the problem is not sponsorship but how to distribute the money. They could build a decent GT-squad with the money they have. But they wont ever do that cause it would take away from their 50+ wins every season. If they were to pay 5-6 decent support climbers then they would lose quality on the cobbles, in the leadout and/or support for Alaphilippe in the hilly classics.
 
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Not really. Lefevere is always short on money, because he wants to be competitive in all aspects of cycling. Its kind of easy if you only have to pay one superstar and the rest of the team is composed of helpers. But Quickstep has to pay at least one sprinter, a few riders for the cobbles, Alaphilippe wont be cheap either, ...

So the problem is not sponsorship but how to distribute the money. They could build a decent GT-squad with the money they have. But they wont ever do that cause it would take away from their 50+ wins every season. If they were to pay 5-6 decent support climbers then they would lose quality on the cobbles, in the leadout and/or support for Alaphilippe in the hilly classics.

I think your missing the point, if Remco continues progress his status in Belgium has the potential bring in more money for a Belgium team on top of what they are already getting, so Leferve should have that extra money to spend
 
I think your missing the point, if Remco continues progress his status in Belgium has the potential bring in more money for a Belgium team on top of what they are already getting, so Leferve should have that extra money to spend

Which, again, he would spend on a multitude of riders and not just support for one guy. Then he would probably pay 2 topsprinters, keep 4-5 guys in contention for Roubaix, etc. Lefevere will never put all his eggs in one basket. Well, except the later 2000s when they only had Boonen and 25 support riders for him. Since Bakala took over in 2012 they always had a huge variety of skillsets on their roster. And with that, no matter how much money they will have, its hard to acquire a squad to ride a GT optimally. They will always have their sprinter to keep happy, or someone like Alaphilippe, Gilbert etc. who like to go stage hunting. Just look at their Tour squad this year. A lot of top level riders: Alaphilippe, Viviani and Mas. But you cant support all of them with just 5 more helpers. So no matter how much money you throw into the mix, the result will be the same: A team that wins a lot of races throughout the year but probably not a GT. Alaphilippe, while being in yellow for two weeks, had basically two guys by his side. Mas and Devenyns. Cause everyone else was sprinter or leadout and of no use in the mountains. More money would (probably) just increase the quality of those leadout guys or the sprinter but not the amount they take to the race.
 
Lefevre saying his remark about waiting until 2023 to ride the TDF was meant as a joke. Obviously it could be faster. Again stating that it is still an option to let him ride a GT next year for 10 days as try-out and pull him out. But they don't want to change the program too much. He doesn't see it as realistic to let Remco ride the Tour next year.

He's on altitude in Livigno, then he'll ride the Tour of Germany, and after that, he's automatically selected for the ITT WC (because of his EC ITT title). As for Remco being the biggest talent he has ever had in his team, he said it's starting to look like it, but he doesn't want to compare too much. Cycling has changed and you can't make direct comparisons with an other era.
 
Which, again, he would spend on a multitude of riders and not just support for one guy. Then he would probably pay 2 topsprinters, keep 4-5 guys in contention for Roubaix, etc. Lefevere will never put all his eggs in one basket. Well, except the later 2000s when they only had Boonen and 25 support riders for him. Since Bakala took over in 2012 they always had a huge variety of skillsets on their roster. And with that, no matter how much money they will have, its hard to acquire a squad to ride a GT optimally. They will always have their sprinter to keep happy, or someone like Alaphilippe, Gilbert etc. who like to go stage hunting. Just look at their Tour squad this year. A lot of top level riders: Alaphilippe, Viviani and Mas. But you cant support all of them with just 5 more helpers. So no matter how much money you throw into the mix, the result will be the same: A team that wins a lot of races throughout the year but probably not a GT. Alaphilippe, while being in yellow for two weeks, had basically two guys by his side. Mas and Devenyns. Cause everyone else was sprinter or leadout and of no use in the mountains. More money would (probably) just increase the quality of those leadout guys or the sprinter but not the amount they take to the race.

Lefevre did consider signing Contador back when Astana was having trouble paying Bruyneel's riders in 2009. Contador almost certainly would have received the full support he deserved.

Could it be Lefevre would go all in on GTs, if he had a rider who was guaranteed to win a bunch of them?
 
As a Belgian team, QS have to focus on the spring races, and to build a train-style GT team in addition to 3-4 one-day riders like Alaphilippe would be a strain, but doable. If you enlisted Mas, Knox and Deveyns as domestiques you could probably support Remco if he turned out to be the next Dumoulin -- keeping in mind of course that Dumoulin still has 5-6 good years ahead of him. I'd say, let's wait and see how Remco develops -- in the end he could be more of a rider who can crush a one-day race rather than a GT contender.
 
Gilbert is advising him not to go to Monaco yet. He says he told Remco that it's too soon, that there are not a lot of riders in Monaco, without a wife, girlfriend. A lot of time goes into cooking, shopping for groceries, washing your clothes... every day, it takes up hours and impacts the training schedule immensely. He says Remco gets full support from his parents, that he shouldn't severe the chord too soon.

As a Belgian team, QS have to focus on the spring races, and to build a train-style GT team in addition to 3-4 one-day riders like Alaphilippe would be a strain, but doable. If you enlisted Mas, Knox and Deveyns as domestiques you could probably support Remco if he turned out to be the next Dumoulin -- keeping in mind of course that Dumoulin still has 5-6 good years ahead of him. I'd say, let's wait and see how Remco develops -- in the end he could be more of a rider who can crush a one-day race rather than a GT contender.

Obviously, you'd have to see how he develops. Who knows. And maybe he'll be more a rider for one-day races, but i highly doubt that and there is nothing to suggest that. He's already among the best ITT'ers in the world, at 19 (i think easily top 20 TT now, if not top 15 or top 10). He is lacking in explosivity, and once the opposition knows he will go from 30 or 40 k, and be able to pull it off, he will not get the same room anymore. Effectively killing his chances to win many one-day races. Just send a guy in his wheel, and outsprint him. However if he finished top 5 every MTF stage and kills it in the ITT, he'll easily win GC's.

Its just totally useless to ride 10 days of a GT. Go ride Tour de Suisse, Dauphine, P-N or even some 7 days races instead, its basically the same. Just riding half the GT is laughable IMO.
It's Lefevre. He uses his mouth for eating only and talks exclusively out of his ass
This is probably why this is actually something other teams do as well? Because Lefevre is talking out of his ass? UAE pulled out Philipsen, they are likely to pull out Pogacar as well next month. Lotto pulled out Lambrecht of the Vuelta too. Riding a GT, even for 10 days, is nothing like riding a one week stagerace.
 
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Philipsen got pulled before the Pyrenees, that made sense since there were few chances left for him and Kristoff.

I remember Simon Yates pulled out after two weeks in 2014 in TdF. That just makes a lot more sense than just 10 days. I mean, bring someone else if you are just gonna ride 10 days. Its different cases for Jasper and Remco since they are very different type of riders.

So tell me, whats the difference between Tour de Suisse and 10 days of a Vuelta where you probably also will have a rest day? Im pretty sure Suisse is the harder race compared to the first 10 days of a Vuelta, generally.
 
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Gilbert is advising him not to go to Monaco yet. He says he told Remco that it's too soon, that there are not a lot of riders in Monaco, without a wife, girlfriend. A lot of time goes into cooking, shopping for groceries, washing your clothes... every day, it takes up hours and impacts the training schedule immensely. He says Remco gets full support from his parents, that he shouldn't severe the chord too soon.



Obviously, you'd have to see how he develops. Who knows. And maybe he'll be more a rider for one-day races, but i highly doubt that and there is nothing to suggest that. He's already among the best ITT'ers in the world, at 19 (i think easily top 20 TT now, if not top 15 or top 10). He is lacking in explosivity, and once the opposition knows he will go from 30 or 40 k, and be able to pull it off, he will not get the same room anymore. Effectively killing his chances to win many one-day races. Just send a guy in his wheel, and outsprint him. However if he finished top 5 every MTF stage and kills it in the ITT, he'll easily win GC's.



This is probably why this is actually something other teams do as well? Because Lefevre is talking out of his ass? UAE pulled out Philipsen, they are likely to pull out Pogacar as well next month. Lotto pulled out Lambrecht of the Vuelta too. Riding a GT, even for 10 days, is nothing like riding a one week stagerace.
We're going back and forth saying he's one of the greatest talents we've seen and then we compare him to your average 20 year olds?

That's not how it works.
 
Philipsen got pulled before the Pyrenees, that made sense since there were few chances left for him and Kristoff.

I remember Simon Yates pulled out after two weeks in 2014 in TdF. That just makes a lot more sense than just 10 days. I mean, bring someone else if you are just gonna ride 10 days. Its different cases for Jasper and Remco since they are very different type of riders.

So tell me, whats the difference between Tour de Suisse and 10 days of a Vuelta where you probably also will have a rest day? Im pretty sure Suisse is the harder race compared to the first 10 days of a Vuelta, generally.
Simply a hunch, but i'd wager a bet that when he talks about "10 days", it could also be 9 days, or 12 days. Depending on how things are going, depending on the actual stages etc.
Suisse, no matter how you slice it, is still a prep race. It's only a goal in itself for a few riders. Winning a stage in TDS is not the same as winning a stage in TDF or Vuelta even.

We're going back and forth saying he's one of the greatest talents we've seen and then we compare him to your average 20 year olds?

That's not how it works.
lol, so because he's better at 19, he's automatically physically fullgrown. That's not how it works.
 
For me there's still a big difference between a grand Tour and a one week WT race. You're in a peloton that is a little bit more nervous. GT-riders are aiming for a TOP 5, sprinters dream of winning stages in grand tours. It's a different game. Same with how riders, sport directors and managers approach things. Plus, you're not only learning how to adopt in a peloton that is a little more nervous and attentive, you see how riders around you pace themselves in a 3 week race. It's the experience more than anything else.
 
For me there's still a big difference between a grand Tour and a one week WT race. You're in a peloton that is a little bit more nervous. GT-riders are aiming for a TOP 5, sprinters dream of winning stages in grand tours. It's a different game. Same with how riders, sport directors and managers approach things. Plus, you're not only learning how to adopt in a peloton that is a little more nervous and attentive, you see how riders around you pace themselves in a 3 week race. It's the experience more than anything else.
Of course.

Yeah that's precisely not what I said.
Doesn't matter if you said it, it's directly related. The fact that he might be the best 19 to ever walk the earth and kick ass in one day races, doesn't mean he's ready for 3 weeks of stress and fatigue, both physically and mentally.
 
I want to know his VO2 max. He will win a lot of gt's because he is probably the best time trialist of all times with less than 65 kg (probably better than contador)
You can search through the thread and you will find an article from last year where it says he has a VO2max of 82, while weighing 61kg. If he loses weight (or has lost weight since then) his VO2max should rise. I think given his height, he could lose a few kilograms still. For instance, he's smaller than Bernal, but he weighs more.
 
You can search through the thread and you will find an article from last year where it says he has a VO2max of 82, while weighing 61kg. If he loses weight (or has lost weight since then) his VO2max should rise. I think given his height, he could lose a few kilograms still. For instance, he's smaller than Bernal, but he weighs more.
Bernal is also a freak. Some guys are built differently to the rest of us. You can see it better in person. I remember this one professional rider from Laos, (who rode '16 Olympics RR) in person, and he looked like a bird. Like he could almost fly.

I don't think Remco will ever be like that but he can and will definitely lose a kilo or more. Which like you said, gives him elite Vo2.

I also agree with Gilbert that going to Monaco so early is a bad idea.
 
I want to know his VO2 max. He will win a lot of gt's because he is probably the best time trialist of all times with less than 65 kg (probably better than contador)

Hinault?

Evenepoel is still a couple cms shorter though apparently, maybe he could get under 60kgs even at top fight weight one day when he competes for the Tour.

Not that immediately easy to find measurements on TdF winners (Van Impe for example), but I think there haven't been many who were smaller than Evenepoel.
 
Not that immediately easy to find measurements on TdF winners (Van Impe for example), but I think there haven't been many who were smaller than Evenepoel.
Plenty of small Grand Tour Winners - Pantani, Quintana, Di Luca, Cunego, Simoni, Heras, Berzin. Though it does seem to be a more recent trend, in line with rapidly decreasing TT miles. Evenepoel isn't 'that' small.
 

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