-
The Cycling News forum is looking to add some volunteer moderators with Red Rick's recent retirement. If you're interested in helping keep our discussions on track, send a direct message to
In the meanwhile, please use the Report option if you see a post that doesn't fit within the forum rules.
Thanks!
I'm also impressed with the maturity with which he rides. E.g. when Bennet and Landa go, he doesn't panic, he waits, and let others do the work.
We've seen this more than once, José's plate theory in action.
We've seen this more than once, José's plate theory in action.
Maybe not but he wanted the stage, too. Sosa took that fair and square.
Big Doopie
BANNED
True, but there was a lot of different things at play. Sosa did not take a single pull until he attacked -- not his job. Remco on the other hand had to at least check Landa -- which he did. His attack was probably not the smartest, but he is learning what his limits are and those of this high caliber competition, and going off stage 3, he was likely thinking it could work again.
Not here necessarily (some of the comments on the stage report), some seem to be suggesting that Landa really showed Remco's limits, etc... with his attacks and that Remco is limited when really steep. I find this somewhat revisionist based off of what? A two second gap when Remco had 32 to spare? Also, it was on steeper gradients still that Remco made the difference on stage 3. And I remember some laughing at the idea that Remco could win this race since there was no ITT. And look what just happened? And the differences are really quite large.
What I find interesting about the future of Remco is that he really does not fit any modern category. He can ITT with the very best, he can climb with the very best (at least on one climb days) and he can do classic one day races as well -- I look forward very much to his first swing at Lombardy. He is more of an Hinault -- or dare I say, Merckx. He does not seem to have the sprint that those two had, but that may yet come. And it seems that in the mountains, he may be best at the longer effort where the other riders are simply worn down and he can pull away on power and recovery.
It will be intriguing to see whether he is forced to prioritize one type of race over another as he aims at higher goals with even tougher competition.
Can he do three weeks? Can he do many high climbs in succession? We do not know. Though I suspect he can.
But let's remember that most here never gave him a shot to win (without the help of an ITT) and he did just that. And, frankly, fairly easily.
I doubt he has to choose much. Hard hilly classics aren't that many and they're not all that mutually exclusive with GTs. I will say he's a more proven rider in the former for now.
What I'd be curious about is how his TT woudl stack up compared to Dumoulin in a GT.
What I'd be curious about is how his TT woudl stack up compared to Dumoulin in a GT.
"It is going to be impossible to win anything in the coming years."
Mikel Landa on current results of Remco Evenepoel
translate.google.com
Mikel Landa on current results of Remco Evenepoel
"Va a ser imposible ganar algo en los próximos años". Mikel Landa por resultados actuales de Remco Evenepoel
El español Mikel Landa, del Bahrein Maclaren, ha afirmado que hay que "aprovechar antes de que los jóvenes cojan más experiencia" ya que si no va a ser "imposible ganar algo en los próximos años", en referencia a los buenos resultados de Remco Evenepoel. El ciclista vasco, que ha intentado arrebata
translate.google.com
I'm not sure Remco really went for the stage win. That effort towards the end might have been Remco testing Remco. But great job by the Belgian as he seems to win everything he competes in so far.
Remco is now almost top favourite. Only Carapaz is slightly ahead of him. By the start of the Giro Remco will be odds-on favourite.
Really important for the future of cycling in the next 15 years will be, that Evenepoel will not switch to a team with extremely strong domestiques (like Ineos) and that Evenepoel will not change his style of riding to a more conservative style a la Froome."It is going to be impossible to win anything in the coming years."
Mikel Landa on current results of Remco Evenepoel
"Va a ser imposible ganar algo en los próximos años". Mikel Landa por resultados actuales de Remco Evenepoel
El español Mikel Landa, del Bahrein Maclaren, ha afirmado que hay que "aprovechar antes de que los jóvenes cojan más experiencia" ya que si no va a ser "imposible ganar algo en los próximos años", en referencia a los buenos resultados de Remco Evenepoel. El ciclista vasco, que ha intentado arrebata
If he would do that, there would be definitly the potential for extremely boring races in the upcoming years...
His current team will likely change focus to a large degree once he wins (or almost wins) the 2020 Giro. Flemish sponsors will be lining up in droves to make a series of TDF victories happen.
Boring racing is guaranteed IF one rider is so much better than the rest.
We will see if he will be much better. Right now is on par with Bernal and slightly above Pogacar but margin will be increased as Remco become older. I hope this trio will have some epic battles at grand tours. Same with WWA and MVDP in classics.
Not sure if he's on par with Bernal already (on a typical TDF course). Better than Pogacar? Could be. I don't know. I didn't think Adam Yates would drop him by that much. Slovenian nationals was more or less as expected, though. Not much between Roglic and him.
When you realise that the idea of him slightly underperforming might be much much more exciting for cycling than him exceeding expectations.
I think he's a clear cut above both Pogacar and Bernal in about everything we've seen him do except so far pure climbing (though last week he surprised me again)... but we haven't seen him in a GT with multiple mountain stages and multiple climbs per stage yet. I have no doubt that he will be "good" there too, but if he turns out to have one bad day, or doesn't cope with a rest day etc etc, that could change everything. He has proven to be very consistent in the past, so i'm not really counting on a bad-day-after-a-restday scenario, but you never know. He's never done more than 5 consecutive days of racing. (San Juan also has a rest day for only 7 days in total). But as far as potential to win stages, classics, 1 week stageraces and ITT's... i can't remember ever having seen anybody come close. If Cancellara could have really climbed, he might have, but since he was 15kg heavier he's also out. Pogacar has done more than double the kilometers as Evenepoel, but only has one win more (12vs13). My guess is, after the Giro, Evenepoel will have overtaken him in that regard.
Last year in this topic, we were debating if it were possible for him to have 5 wins each year... The year hasn't started properly and he's got 7 already: 3/3 GC's, 2/2 ITT's, 2/6 uphil finishes. And while the level at San Juan might have been debatable, at Algarve and Burgos it was not. He beat Ganna, Dennis, Küng, Schachmann in ITT's. He beat Martin, Carapaz, Chaves, Lopez, Costa, Yates, Landa, Soler, Mas... uphil. More and more he's riding as if top level pro's are the 2018 juniors he was racing.
I also want to make note, that a lot of people are hoping/expecting him to get weaker as a GT progresses. However, considering his aerodynamic nature in line with his big engine, it is quite possible exactly the opposite will seem to occur. Unlike most light climbers/GC riders, who suffer ever so slightly from a high pace on flat roads over three weeks, chances are this will not affect him nearly as much. He might deteriorate at a much slower pace compared to his competitors over the course of three weeks and might seem to get stronger (compared to his rivals). Furthermore, since he seems to have an extremely high base level and isn't that dependent on peaking, he may simply be able to maintain a high and extremely constant level throughout the course of a GT. I'm not saying this will turn out to be the case, but what i'm suggesting isn't wild speculation either.
In conclusion, i hope he never joins Ineos. But i have confidence he doesn't want to leave DQT anytime soon. He seems to like racing too much, and values other things over money from what i can tell.
PS: i also think he is a quick learner, and that he is picking up a lot of things at QuickStep that he would not have picked up as easily or as quickly at Ineos. We all know he had roughly no experience riding in a peloton (because he started late and because he always attacked from pretty much the start). I think at DQT he has learned and will continue to learn quite a lot. Going from bikehandling, positioning, tactics etc. Last year he crashed multiple times by himself. So far this year, he was only held up once by a crash (but wasn't involved in the actual crash).
Last year in this topic, we were debating if it were possible for him to have 5 wins each year... The year hasn't started properly and he's got 7 already: 3/3 GC's, 2/2 ITT's, 2/6 uphil finishes. And while the level at San Juan might have been debatable, at Algarve and Burgos it was not. He beat Ganna, Dennis, Küng, Schachmann in ITT's. He beat Martin, Carapaz, Chaves, Lopez, Costa, Yates, Landa, Soler, Mas... uphil. More and more he's riding as if top level pro's are the 2018 juniors he was racing.
I also want to make note, that a lot of people are hoping/expecting him to get weaker as a GT progresses. However, considering his aerodynamic nature in line with his big engine, it is quite possible exactly the opposite will seem to occur. Unlike most light climbers/GC riders, who suffer ever so slightly from a high pace on flat roads over three weeks, chances are this will not affect him nearly as much. He might deteriorate at a much slower pace compared to his competitors over the course of three weeks and might seem to get stronger (compared to his rivals). Furthermore, since he seems to have an extremely high base level and isn't that dependent on peaking, he may simply be able to maintain a high and extremely constant level throughout the course of a GT. I'm not saying this will turn out to be the case, but what i'm suggesting isn't wild speculation either.
In conclusion, i hope he never joins Ineos. But i have confidence he doesn't want to leave DQT anytime soon. He seems to like racing too much, and values other things over money from what i can tell.
PS: i also think he is a quick learner, and that he is picking up a lot of things at QuickStep that he would not have picked up as easily or as quickly at Ineos. We all know he had roughly no experience riding in a peloton (because he started late and because he always attacked from pretty much the start). I think at DQT he has learned and will continue to learn quite a lot. Going from bikehandling, positioning, tactics etc. Last year he crashed multiple times by himself. So far this year, he was only held up once by a crash (but wasn't involved in the actual crash).
Last edited:
This is totally anecdotal, but imo strong riders tend to get stronger (relatively to the competitors) the tougher a race gets. That's probably why last week TTs often have surprising results.
I also think Remco is exactly the type to excel at the end of a GT.
Big Doopie
BANNED
But what have we really seen him be better at so far other than TT? We can speculate but we haven't really seen real evidence that he's better than either at anything else, have we?
Bonimenier
BANNED
DQS could look vastly different in 2-3 years, though, if Evenepoel bosses the Giro. A lot more like Ineos, although the classics will remain important. But maybe they won't be their #1 priority anymore... My guess is that Alaf will leave after next season, regardless of the team's budget at that point (which I think will be much higher than it is now if Evenepoel turns out to be a GT specialist - which is almost a certainty at this point.
TRENDING THREADS
-
-
Paris - Roubaix 2024, one day monument, April 7- Started by Dreginald
- Replies: 2K
-
-
-
Tour of the Alps 2024 (April 15 - 19)- Started by Devil's Elbow
- Replies: 266
-
Volta Ciclista a Catalunya 2024 (March 18-24)- Started by Devil's Elbow
- Replies: 2K
-
De Ronde van Vlaanderen (270.8 km), 2024 March 31 (Sunday)- Started by Netserk
- Replies: 1K
Latest posts
-
-
-
-
Liege Bastogne Liege-7 hour monument, Sunday, April 21, 2024- Latest: Logic-is-your-friend
-
-
-
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram