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

[BlueRoads]

I would not deduce too much from the results of the digital races. There's calibration and so on, but also the fact that riders' intensity of training is different now / they have a different motivation to show themselves. I'm sure Evenepoel is always motivated, but he won't have to fight for a contract. No matter how he presents himself this year, his future is safe.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

The aerodynamics do appear to be even more significant a factor in real life road cycling than we ever thought.

On the surface this type of effort would have seemed ideal for Remco.

Maybe psychology is a factor and some of these guys putting in hugely powerful 45 minute rides in these virtual races actually ought to be performing much better in Individual Time Trials than they have in the past but just never believed it before and pushed themselves to their limits.

What are we expecting though? For him to crush the competition in every race? I mean, so what should we say about Yates? Kuss (with his w/kg he should do very well in these trials)? George Bennett? They all rode and did far worse. He was 7th out of 55.

 

[Bonimenier]

He definitely got power, but there are obviously guys with more power than him. Considering how aerodynamic he sits on a bike, it is to be expected that relatively he performs better in a real race than a digital one.

 

[hayneplane]

What are we expecting though? For him to crush the competition in every race? I mean, so what should we say about Yates? Kuss (with his w/kg he should do very well in these trials)? George Bennett? They all rode and did far worse. He was 7th out of 55.

I don’t want to make this specifically about Remco. There seem to be some variances in performance from a lot of riders eg James Whelan and Larry Warbasse doing big rides compared to real life results and riders like Van Aert and Vanmarcke being weaker than you would expect in the virtual Ronde.

 

[Wvv]

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Remco's 2nd Challenge takes him to a couple of places with importance throughout his life so far. From the Namur Citadel (where his father won the GP Wallonie), to some monumental places in our capital and of course the Anderlecht Academy, where he was a promising football talent for many years.

His last stop is a nice mural in his hometown Schepdaal. This is a picture of that place I took this Friday, only 10 minutes before I passed him on his way to record that part of the video

 

[red_flanders]

Did an AirBNB ride with a former pro through the Flemish Ardennes this past summer. He took us by this as well, as we'd been chatting about Remco during the ride. Super cool guy. Fun as heck to ride cobbles, do the Muur and Bosberg, and have a former pro ride for us as a domestique.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I don’t want to make this specifically about Remco. There seem to be some variances in performance from a lot of riders eg James Whelan and Larry Warbasse doing big rides compared to real life results and riders like Van Aert and Vanmarcke being weaker than you would expect in the virtual Ronde.

Can't really judge by these efforts. You mention Van Aert being weaker than expected. But his trainer had made severe cuts in his training program, right after PN. Who knows which form those guys are carrying and how they relate in that regard to each other.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Yesterday he participated in a new show on tv, called the Container Cup. Obviously, COVID19 inspired the concept. In total around 30 pro athletes will each finish 7 challenges inside one container, over the next couple of weeks. The challenges are, 1500 running (on a mill), 3km cycling (on rollers), monkeybars, 1km rowing, shooting, golf (against a net) and bench press.

Running, cycling and rowing, are done as fast as possible against the clock. Each monkeybar takes 1 second and each shot target takes 10 seconds off the time. For golf and bench press, the total distance (golf, devided by 3) and weight (bench press devided by 2) are also subtracted from the total time.

In this episode Remco was facing Olympic silver medalist swimming, Pieter Timmers, who is twice his size. Timmers was supposed to go to the 2020 Olympics as well, but decided to retire after the event had been postponed to next year, and hadn't trained since making that decision. The question is when this episode was filmed, and how long Timmers had stopped training. There were 10 days between his decision to retire and the broadcast.

Remco demolished Timmers' time on cycling and running, only lost 12 seconds on rowing. Obviously monkeybars, bench press and golf (hitting as hard as possible) were more up Timmers' alley. In total, Remco beat Timmers by over one and a half minute.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqnkfIiGgpY

 

[Wvv]

Yesterday he participated in a new show on tv, called the Container Cup. Obviously, COVID19 inspired the concept. In total around 30 pro athletes will each finish 7 challenges inside one container, over the next couple of weeks. The challenges are, 1500 running (on a mill), 3km cycling (on rollers), monkeybars, 1km rowing, shooting, golf (against a net) and bench press.

Running, cycling and rowing, are done as fast as possible against the clock. Each monkeybar and each shot target, take 10 seconds off the time. For golf and bench press, the total distance (golf, devided by 3) and weight (bench press devided by 2) are also subtracted from the total time.

In this episode Remco was facing Olympic silver medalist swimming, Pieter Timmers, who is twice his size. Timmers was supposed to go to the 2020 Olympics as well, but decided to retire after the event had been postponed to next year, and hadn't trained since making that decision. The question is when this episode was filmed, and how long Timmers had stopped training. There were 10 days between his decision to retire and the broadcast.

Remco demolished Timmers' time on cycling and running, only lost 12 seconds on rowing. Obviously monkeybars, bench press and golf (hitting as hard as possible) were more up Timmers' alley. In total, Remco beat Timmers by over one and a half minute.

Among the 40 participants:

Remco Evenepoel
Toon Aerts
Victor Campenaerts
Yves Lampaert
Oliver Naesen
Thomas De Gendt
Jolien D’Hoore
Thibau Nys
Greg Van Avermaet
Mathieu van der Poel (lives in Belgium)
Wout van Aert

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Among the 40 participants:

Remco Evenepoel
Toon Aerts
Victor Campenaerts
Yves Lampaert
Oliver Naesen
Thomas De Gendt
Jolien D’Hoore
Thibau Nys
Greg Van Avermaet
Mathieu van der Poel (lives in Belgium)
Wout van Aert

If some of those guys manage to shoot 4 or 5 targets and bench press 70kg, they can certainly beat his time. I don't think any of these guys will run better than him (maybe van Aert), but on the hometrainer he has the disadvantage that it's simply a wattages race, not taking CDI or Kgs into account. I'm sure van Aert, van der Poel, De Gendt, Van Avermaet... can push bigger numbers there as well.

EDIT: as expected, some of those guys just have too much power, and 2-5 minute efforts aren't long enough for Evenepoel to pull away. Both candidates today beat his time.

 

[Wvv]

If some of those guys manage to shoot 4 or 5 targets and bench press 70kg, they can certainly beat his time. I don't think any of these guys will run better than him (maybe van Aert), but on the hometrainer he has the disadvantage that it's simply a wattages race, not taking CDI or Kgs into account. I'm sure van Aert, van der Poel, De Gendt, Van Avermaet... can push bigger numbers there as well.

EDIT: as expected, some of those guys just have too much power, and 2-5 minute efforts aren't long enough for Evenepoel to pull away. Both candidates today beat his time.

Toon also ran faster than Remco. Not that big of a surprise though, since he's one of the better runners in CX.

 

[tobydawq]

50 times up the Muur in 8 hours? Are you kidding me? After having ridden the entire Liège-Bastogne-Liège route the day before...

 

[RedheadDane]

Maybe he just has a lot of excess energy!

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

50 times up the Muur in 8 hours? Are you kidding me? After having ridden the entire Liège-Bastogne-Liège route the day before...

He had agreed to the challenge last week (on a radio show), but decided not to do it at the proposed time because he feared people would come outside to watch.

 

[tobydawq]

For a guy who hates cobbles, he sure does ride a lot on them...

 

[hayneplane]

For a guy who hates cobbles, he sure does ride a lot on them...

Maybe so but its a good way to challenge himself mentally and keep things fresh whilst no competition is on the horizon and it will help him improve his bike handling skills that will be of benefit even if he doesn't go on to compete in the big cobbled classics in the next couple of years.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Evenepoel will ride the Giro and has to forget about Liège this year, since that race is held during the 2nd stage of the Giro. With only so few races to pick from, it makes sense to pick the Giro over 1 monument.

Remco Evenepoel rijdt Giro in het najaar: "Intriest dat hij Luik niet kan rijden" | sporza

Doordat veel koersen elkaar overlappen op de hertekende kalender moeten renners keuzes maken. Remco Evenepoel bijvoorbeeld zal de Giro rijden ten koste van Luik-Bastenaken-Luik.

sporza.be

In other news, Alberto Contador thinks he (Remco, not Alberto) can win the Giro this year already. He says he's never seem a rider like Evenepoel in the modern era. Alberto also reveals how he started with the pistolero victory move. (It was a "for you" sign, but his thumb was sticking out a bit, so people thought he was firing a gun).

Contador in Facebook Live: "Evenepoel kan dit jaar de Giro al winnen" | sporza

Voor een nieuwe editie van de Facebook Live lockdown sessies ging Ruben Van Gucht de internationale toer op. Meervoudig Tourwinnaar Alberto Contador was zijn gast en uiteraard kwam ook het Belgische rondetalent Remco Evenepoel aan bod. Contador is alvast een fan.

sporza.be

 

[Rik Van Looy]

Evenepoel will ride the Giro and has to forget about Liège this year, since that race is held during the 2nd stage of the Giro. With only so few races to pick from, it makes sense to pick the Giro over 1 monument.

Remco Evenepoel rijdt Giro in het najaar: "Intriest dat hij Luik niet kan rijden" | sporza

Doordat veel koersen elkaar overlappen op de hertekende kalender moeten renners keuzes maken. Remco Evenepoel bijvoorbeeld zal de Giro rijden ten koste van Luik-Bastenaken-Luik.

sporza.be

In other news, Alberto Contador thinks he (Remco, not Alberto) can win the Giro this year already. He says he's never seem a rider like Evenepoel in the modern era. Alberto also reveals how he started with the pistolero victory move. (It was a "for you" sign, but his thumb was sticking out a bit, so people thought he was firing a gun).

Contador in Facebook Live: "Evenepoel kan dit jaar de Giro al winnen" | sporza

Voor een nieuwe editie van de Facebook Live lockdown sessies ging Ruben Van Gucht de internationale toer op. Meervoudig Tourwinnaar Alberto Contador was zijn gast en uiteraard kwam ook het Belgische rondetalent Remco Evenepoel aan bod. Contador is alvast een fan.

sporza.be

On Eurosport Remco said that he achieved 490 Watt during 5 minutes at the Clasico San Sebastian (= 8 watt/kg). Karsten Kroon looked flabergasted. He uttered that this is probably unseen in the history of cycling. Karsten also said that Remco would not win many one-day classics because he is not explosive at all. There would always be a Sagan or a Valverde that would be able to follow him. Remco also said that it's already evdident that people are no longer letting him ride away without a fight.

 

[hayneplane]

On Eurosport Remco said that he achieved 490 Watt during 5 minutes at the Clasico San Sebastian (= 8 watt/kg). Karsten Kroon looked flabergasted. He uttered that this is probably unseen in the history of cycling. Karsten also said that Remco would not win many one-day classics because he is not explosive at all. There would always be a Sagan or a Valverde that would be able to follow him. Remco also said that it's already evdident that people are no longer letting him ride away without a fight.

Did he say which section that was on, flat bit escaping, last climb or whilst solo to the finish?

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Did he say which section that was on, flat bit escaping, last climb or whilst solo to the finish?

My guess would certainly be the part when he dropped Skuijns on the climb to the top. The section after that is downhill with lots of bends and turns. Don't see how he would ever achieve those numbers there. The only other possibility imho is when he had his mechanical and had to start the penultimate climb in last position, to find his way back to the front of the race. Or maybe when he's riding away from the peloton with Skuijns in his wheel, but that too seems rather unlikely.

 

[Rik Van Looy]

Did he say which section that was on, flat bit escaping, last climb or whilst solo to the finish?

My guess would certainly be the part when he dropped Skuijns on the climb to the top.

You are correct. He achieved this when he dropped Skuijns on the climb to the top. Karsten mentioned that it was not common practice for a pro cyclist to reveal info like that. Remco told the audience that this was a first for him. He never achieved such a wattage before. What is very special indeed, is that he was able to do so after 210 km. Lefevre already mentioned several times that Remco is able to ride as fast at the end of the race as at the beginning of a race which is in fact incredible.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I found the part Rik Van Looy is talking about (in Dutch): https://www.eurosport.nl/wielrennen...ica-san-sebastian-2019_sto7732394/story.shtml

Seems like the guys at Eurosport (Van Belleghem, Kroon) and other riders (Bouwman) still don't know that he wasn't dropped on the penultimate climb, but that he had a mechanical before the penultimate climb, which was the reason why he had to chase. https://www.eurosport.nl/wielrennen...uwman-en-bauke-mollema_vid1312151/video.shtml

Apparently the squabble he had with Skuijns wasn't about doing more work, but about what side the wind was coming from and that Skuijns told Remco he was overtaking from the wrong side of the road.

 

[Andre]

Damn it! What a year Remco would have had in 2020!!!

 

[Bonimenier]

Damn it! What a year Remco would have had in 2020!!!

If nothing is driven anymore this year, he might win Velo d'Or. At least top 3

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Remco demolished Timmers' time on cycling and running, only lost 12 seconds on rowing. Obviously monkeybars, bench press and golf (hitting as hard as possible) were more up Timmers' alley. In total, Remco beat Timmers by over one and a half minute.

Turns out beating Timmers his time was not even a challenge, since some of the women have been beating that time. Only one man did worse than that time. As a result, Remco's effort turned out to be not impressive at all and is only 14th out of 19. Best overall time for the moment is for Greg Van Avermaet.

Most impressive performances are for 17 year old Thibau Nys, who simply smashed the 1500m running test, almost running the entire thing on the maximum speed setting (22km/u) and beating olympic medallists 400m relay, and putting his teammate Toon Aerts (supposedly a good runner in CX) at 30seconds. I was flabbergasted. Another eye-opening performance was by Bart Swings, ice-skater and former inline-skater Olympic champion... who managed to beat all the cyclists' times on the 3km cycling test. Faster than De Gendt, Lampaert, Campenaerts, Evenepoel, Naesen, Van Avermaet... Damn, maybe he should consider changing disciplines again.

Still to come next week: two lesser knows cyclists, i think their names were Wout van der Poel and Mathieu van Aert. Never heard of 'm.