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

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This worries me a little. I fear that he might not perform at the Olympics at his highest level. I just hope we still get to see that level this year.

Yeah, I wouldn't consider him a medal favourite at this point if he can't beat Lampaert who I think has only one pro TT win at the Tour de Suisse a couple years ago (other than Belgian nationals). On the other hand 50+km/h average is pretty good by Lampaert, maybe I'm being unfair to him. And Remco's form curve is clearly pointing upwards.

If I was Lampaert I think I would be pissed at not being picked for the Olympics, especially since it's probably his last chance.
 
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Yeah, I wouldn't consider him a medal favourite at this point if he can't beat Lampaert who I think has only one pro TT win at the Tour de Suisse a couple years ago (other than Belgian nationals). On the other hand 50+km/h average is pretty good by Lampaert, maybe I'm being unfair to him. And Remco's form curve is clearly pointing upwards.

If I was Lampaert I think I would be pissed at not being picked for the Olympics, especially since it's probably his last chance.

People seem to forget that the Belgian TT championship had almost no altitude meters while the olympic one has 850-ish.
A vastly different TT. For me, the olmypic TT has WVA written al over it. I wouldn't rule Remco out for a medale considering the amount of climbing.

The 850 meters altitude aren't in favor of Gana or Kung, let alone someone like Lampaert.
 
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Yeah, I wouldn't consider him a medal favourite at this point if he can't beat Lampaert who I think has only one pro TT win at the Tour de Suisse a couple years ago (other than Belgian nationals). On the other hand 50+km/h average is pretty good by Lampaert, maybe I'm being unfair to him. And Remco's form curve is clearly pointing upwards.

If I was Lampaert I think I would be pissed at not being picked for the Olympics, especially since it's probably his last chance.
As shown in the BBT, Lampaert is in great form. They both finished the 11k ITT in BBT with a huge lead over other riders. As soon as i saw him last week, i thought Lampaert was at least going to take a medal at the NC ITT. (Initially, i thought it would be Van Aert, Evenepoel, Van Wilder, but with Van Aert gone, i had put him ahead of Van Wilder after seeing the BBT ITT).
Evenepoel beat Bouwman there by 24 seconds. Bouwman lost to Dumoulin yesterday by 1m24s over 30k. Dumoulin probably isn't yet 100% either, but Bouwman has always been a "above average" TT'er. Clearly Evenepoel (nor Dumoulin) isn't "miles off" where he needs to be.

The course suited Lampaert a lot more, being more of a classic rider, with lots of twisting and turning, short uphill ramps (bridges) which also suit a more punchy rider like Lampaert. Overall speed being lower, also means less aero advantage for Evenepoel. Not to mention, Lampaert was riding in his back yard, had the crowd on his side and knew the streets like the back of his hand. On the other hand, Lampaert has nobody to blame but himself if he were, as you say, pissed at not being picked for the Olympics TT. Other than him beating Dennis, Asgreen & Küng in the 2019 TDS, he's shown nothing the last 2 years that would warrant giving him a spot, on a far more hilly course.

So i feel Evenepoel losing to Lampaert gets blown out of proportion a bit. First of all, we know Lampaert can do a great TT when on his day. The conditions clearly favored him (course, location, crowd). I had still expected Evenepoel to win, but putting things in perspective, he lost by 20s to a gifted TT'er who is in great shape, and had the conditions in his favor. Had the NC ITT been on a hilly course somewhere in Wallonia, we would have seen vastly different results, with Evenepoel needing to fend off Van Wilder, and Lampaert would duke it out with Campenaerts for a bronze medal.

Edit: The Tokyo ITT:

1606859218_976_Juegos-Olimpicos-Tokio-2021-confirma-el-recorrido-para-las-pruebas.jpg
 
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Well, let's see, Ayuso is from cycling country, and his talent is certainly not far from Evenepoel. I can't see the hype yet... Maybe it's early though...
Ayuso has mainly raced in local competitions until his Giro win. Before that, there was no way to compare. He wasn't double euro & world champion both ITT an RR literally by minutes, he didn't win every major international race as a junior by dominating them (he simply didn't race them). Ayuso didn't start riding his bike 2 months before he started winning races. Knowledge of English in Spain is a lot lower than it is in Belgium, i assume many Spanish enthusiasts don't post on international forums but will stick to Spanish forums or comment sections. Spain hasn't been waiting for 50 years for a rider to win a GT. Etc.
 
As shown in the BBT, Lampaert is in great form. They both finished the 11k ITT in BBT with a huge lead over other riders. As soon as i saw him last week, i thought Lampaert was at least going to take a medal at the NC ITT. (Initially, i thought it would be Van Aert, Evenepoel, Van Wilder, but with Van Aert gone, i had put him ahead of Van Wilder after seeing the BBT ITT).
Evenepoel beat Bouwman there by 24 seconds. Bouwman lost to Dumoulin yesterday by 1m24s over 30k. Dumoulin probably isn't yet 100% either, but Bouwman has always been a "above average" TT'er. Clearly Evenepoel (nor Dumoulin) isn't "miles off" where he needs to be.

The course suited Lampaert a lot more, being more of a classic rider, with lots of twisting and turning, short uphill ramps (bridges) which also suit a more punchy rider like Lampaert. Overall speed being lower, also means less aero advantage for Evenepoel. Not to mention, Lampaert was riding in his back yard, had the crowd on his side and knew the streets like the back of his hand. On the other hand, Lampaert has nobody to blame but himself if he were, as you say, pissed at not being picked for the Olympics TT. Other than him beating Dennis, Asgreen & Küng in the 2019 TDS, he's shown nothing the last 2 years that would warrant giving him a spot, on a far more hilly course.

So i feel Evenepoel losing to Lampaert gets blown out of proportion a bit. First of all, we know Lampaert can do a great TT when on his day. The conditions clearly favored him (course, location, crowd). I had still expected Evenepoel to win, but putting things in perspective, he lost by 20s to a gifted TT'er who is in great shape, and had the conditions in his favor. Had the NC ITT been on a hilly course somewhere in Wallonia, we would have seen vastly different results, with Evenepoel needing to fend off Van Wilder, and Lampaert would duke it out with Campenaerts for a bronze medal.

Yeah I agree with your points, especially about Lampaert but it's not really the losing to Lampaert part that makes me worry. It's more his very disappointed reaction yesterday after the TT which showed that he himself clearly expected much more and he seemed to realise that he's not yet on track for the Olympics. And maybe also the fact that he only took 20 seconds on Campenaerts who said that he hadn't specifically trained for the TT at all.

Anyway, I hope he tries something in the Road Race to at least put the sprinters under some pressure.
 
Yeah I agree with your points, especially about Lampaert but it's not really the losing to Lampaert part that makes me worry. It's more his very disappointed reaction yesterday after the TT which showed that he himself clearly expected much more and he seemed to realise that he's not yet on track for the Olympics. And maybe also the fact that he only took 20 seconds on Campenaerts who said that he hadn't specifically trained for the TT at all.

Anyway, I hope he tries something in the Road Race to at least put the sprinters under some pressure.
Van Wilder had been working towards these two weeks. Dauphiné & NC ITT. He beat Thomas, Porte, and a week before the Giro he beat Ganna, Küng, Dennis... both were hilly TT's. Van Wilder has a lot in common with Evenepoel, size, weight, strengths... he's just not at the same level yet. But he also finished behind Campenaerts. You could argue that this ITT was longer than the ones where Van Wilder performed so well, but he clearly wasn't running out of steam, as Van Wilder set the fastest time of ALL participants in the final lap.

So the guy who beat Ganna, Dennis, Thomas, Porte, Küng... last month, now loses 40s to Evenepoel. Campenaerts clearly had a good day on a suitable course for his skills, because there is no way he would have beaten Van Wilder on a more hilly course like that in Romandie or Dauphiné.
 
Yes, that's what he said after his Giro TT. He was very happy with the result back then (7th), because he lost some weight to improve climbing, but inevitably lost some of his TT skills.

Anyway, I don't really buy that, and imho it's clear he's not at full strength yet.
I'm not sure. His Giro results seem to suggest that there could be some truth to it.

Prime 2020 Remco wouldn't have done much better in stage 6, I think.
 
Well, let's see, Ayuso is from cycling country, and his talent is certainly not far from Evenepoel. I can't see the hype yet... Maybe it's early though...

Sorry for posting this in Remco's thread... just for reference

The hype is probably not comparable, but I guess that's because the Baby Giro was the first bigger race Ayuso really shone in, and Spain is still focused on Valverde. ;)
 
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My take is he was near his old form in the first week or so before he started falling off.
Had to have been. The team said he was pushing very high numbers up to and including the strade bianche stage.

Now he did Belgium Tour and his form didn't get better after that or he just had a bad day.
I don't think he was bad. The Nationals ITT was way more technical. That, and Lampaert went beast mode (IMO).

Remco's cornering was dire. Would have been closer on a non-technical course.
 
I wouldn't worry too much. Lampaert was heavily motivated by the Forza Lampaert fan club in his home region, and knew the roads very well. It was also rather technical with a lot of bends, so this isn't really surprising. The Olympic time trial should suit Remco better, but he obviously won't be top favourite against Ganna and some other big motors.
I would rather expect Van Aert, Dennis, Dumoulin, maybe even the Slovenians, on that course, more than Ganna.
 
Two remarks:
  1. He in fact was physically on another level as a football player. But football, much more than cycling, is a technical, collective and social-political sport.
  2. It's Eddy. You can't expect people to take you serious when you can't even write the name of cycling's most famous athlete in a correct way.
Don't nitpick about a name, it'll only take to nitpicking about your English, and that's something I have never done, but today I'll do it, just because you are special. You say : You can't expect people to take you serious when...
It is not to take you serious, it is to take you seriously, comprendes???
 
Don't nitpick about a name, it'll only take to nitpicking about your English, and that's something I have never done, but today I'll do it, just because you are special. You say : You can't expect people to take you serious when...
It is not to take you serious, it is to take you seriously, comprendes???
Well. This could become an interesting debate about how wrong or possibly right that expression is. Language is intriguing and, although quite confident about my English, I would never claim to be flawless. And I do honestly care about a correct spelling of names, certainly when you want to prove a point.

But I rather take it easy.
 
Don't nitpick about a name, it'll only take to nitpicking about your English, and that's something I have never done, but today I'll do it, just because you are special. You say : You can't expect people to take you serious when...
It is not to take you serious, it is to take you seriously, comprendes???
I hope you're aware your English isn't without fault. So maybe it's best to start discussing the topic at hand and not get caught out with these rather silly posts.
 
Well. This could become an interesting debate about how wrong or possibly right that expression is. Language is intriguing and, although quite confident about my English, I would never claim to be flawless. And I do honestly care about a correct spelling of names, certainly when you want to prove a point.

But I rather take it easy.
The way you wrote it is wrong, there is no debate about it.

Eddy, or Eddie, is still the same name, a short for Edward.

Apparently, to you, if I say:
Eddie Merckx says that Remco needs to improve in many areas.
That would be unacceptable, cause the first name is written properly.

But then. if I say:
Eddy Merckx says that Remco needs to improve in many areas.
Do you think I could be taken seriously by the likes of you???

Care to see I wrote "I could be taken seriously by the....."

Do you think, I shoulda written "I could be taken serious by the...."??

You don't need to answer this post.
 
I hope you're aware your English isn't without fault. So maybe it's best to start discussing the topic at hand and not get caught out with these rather silly posts.
And what is my fault?

You are the one that posted that going down has a sexual meaning.

English is my first language, and when I see people like you posting that going down does have a sexual meaning, I don't say anything. I really don't care, that is why I never said anything about it.

I perfectly understand that most of the folks posting here are not native English speakers, I really don't care about typos, or grammar faults, I go for the substance of the post, and the rest is just not relevant.

If you are really proficient in English, you'd know that going down just means going to a place that is lower.

Going down on someone, that has a sexual connotation, Capici?
 
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And what is my fault?

You are the one that posted that going down has a sexual meaning.

English is my first language, and when I see people like you posting that going down does have a sexual meaning, I don't say anything. I really don't care, that is why I never said anything about it.

I perfectly understand that most of the folks posting here are not native English speakers, I really don't care about typos, or grammar faults, I go for the substance of the post, and the rest is just not relevant.

If you are really proficient in English, you'd know that going down just means going to a place that is lower.

Going down on someone, that has a sexual connotation, Capici?

You mean Capisce?
 
And what is my fault?

You are the one that posted that going down has a sexual meaning.

English is my first language, and when I see people like you posting that going down does have a sexual meaning, I don't say anything. I really don't care, that is why I never said anything about it.

I perfectly understand that most of the folks posting here are not native English speakers, I really don't care about typos, or grammar faults, I go for the substance of the post, and the rest is just not relevant.

If you are really proficient in English, you'd know that going down just means going to a place that is lower.

Going down on someone, that has a sexual connotation, Capici?
I'm not claiming my English is perfect. But i'm also not the one who started correcting people. And yes, i know "going down on..." is what gives it a sexual connotation, but then i wouldn't have been able to make the joke, and i thought it would be more fun to make the joke regardless of it being correct, than not make the joke at all. Verstoddet?

And what your fault would be is: "If he really was... he would have", should have been "if he really were... he would have" considering the context (you insinuating he isn't, meaning it is a hypothesis according to you).

But again, all this is completely off-topic, so perhaps we should just focus on the troll-free, grammar-police-free discussion for which the topic was meant.
 
I would rather expect Van Aert, Dennis, Dumoulin, maybe even the Slovenians, on that course, more than Ganna.
What are the gradients in the ITT? I don't expect Ganna to struggle super massively just because there's some altitude meters. He won a Giro medium mountain stage and he comfortably won the long Giro ITT last year which had a Muro and an average of under 48kph.

I think Ganna and Van Aert are the two main favorites, and I don't think the Slovenians are anywhere close.
 
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I mapped it with Cronoescalada a few months ago and it rarely goes above 3-4%.
I agree with you that Ganna (in top shape) shouldn't have a problem dealing with this course.
Yeah okay then it's not really close I think. The Giro ITT had almost 700m in altitude gain too IIRC. Total altitude gain in an ITT isn't that important unless it's Bert Grabsch or the climbs get relatively big.
 

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