It's mainly the fact that we haven't seen him having that ability until now and that he's a young guy riding the Giro as his first gt.
Sure, i agree we don't know and it's unlikely for a first timer (even an extraordinary one).
I meant that it's a strange statement, to say he's been better at hilly terrain than in proper mountains since he's hardly ever done any real mountains to begin with. And those he did, shouldn't really be seen as a reference due to circumstances (he's also clearly improved a lot since the last time he did).
Unlike others, i can't imagine him outclimbing Carapaz and Nibali over 3 weeks. I can see him do it once, maybe finish with the other favorites a few times, earlier in the race. But it's hard to see him dominate mountains against elite climbers over 3 weeks.
Saw a few mentions about Remco's statements and so called "arrogance". I think we all have to realize how much of a role the media plays here. Most of the time he's just answering question asked by them. "Are you happy about your form?", "Did you want to send out a message to your competition?", "What's next?", "Do you want to win the Giro". A lot of riders winning races/stages dont't get the same kind of questions (which is normal seen the hype). Journalists also ask for more detailed. For instance the statement regarding the fact that he's not a 100% in shape yet was a direct result of the following questions: are you in top shape yet ? Not yet. I still need to lose some kg. How many Kg? 1 by Tirreno and 2 by LBL.
I actually think he handles the media extremely well. He has a lot of respect for the other riders, the race organizers, the countries he races in,..And he's open, transparant, accessible.
Agreed. He's also just ambitious and his results warrant that. Downplaying his achievements could also be seen as an insult to other riders or as false modesty. Damned if you don't, damned if you do. The day after yesterday i think, or maybe yesterday, he did get annoyed by his press guy, who was telling him to hurry up that others were waiting (during an actual interview). At first i though, hmm that doesn't look good, but on the other hand, we just see "one" interview, while the guy probably has 10 or 20 to give, after having climbed up the Malhao as fast as possible. He can get cranky from time to time, also in a race. But i think that's because he's a real winner.