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

[Andre]

Nice try Remco. I'm glad he's disappointed with second place; Merckx would have also felt the same. Anyway...it shows hunger and motivation for more success down the road.

 

[Red Rick]

Well if the GT thing doesn't work out he'll be a world class hilly rider at the least.

 

[Salvarani]

Think he could have a good chance at winning all the monuments but what do I know.

 

[Rackham]

He should do the Tour de France next year & win some breakaway stages (middle-mountain stages could be his forte).

This guy has a huge engine & can ride people off his wheel (Colbrelli looked on the limit today). But he has no sprint, lacks tactical acumen & gets too easily flustered/visibly annoyed.

 

[TomBonnen2005]

Insane climbing time in the last lap. Collbrelli has pushed huge watts to stay in his wheel with 10+ kg.

 

[Red Rick]

Insane climbing time in the last lap. Collbrelli has pushed huge watts to stay in his wheel with 10+ kg.

Uh this has Evenepoel being a minute ahead of Pogacar on top of Povo when he attacked just before they crested it?

 

[Valanga]

He should do the Tour de France next year & win some breakaway stages (middle-mountain stages could be his forte).

This guy has a huge engine & can ride people off his wheel (Colbrelli looked on the limit today). But he has no sprint, lacks tactical acumen & gets too easily flustered/visibly annoyed.

I think he also needs to learn to lose.
In order to win you must be prepared to lose. I'm sure that's a quote by someone famous
He'll lose a lot more than he'll win for sure, so he needs to learn how to gamble and bluff.

And if the gamble fails, so be it and on to the next game.

 

[Extinction]

I think he also needs to learn to lose.
In order to win you must be prepared to lose. I'm sure that's a quote by someone famous
He'll lose a lot more than he'll win for sure, so he needs to learn how to gamble and bluff.

And if the gamble fails, so be it and on to the next game.

Good post. I think his biggest psychological challenge will be, if this prooves to be the case, coming to terms with not being grand tour champion material. But we can't know difinitively for another 2 or 3 seasons. Right now he doesn't seem to accept limits, which is actually very good, but will he move on without regrets if limitations play out to be unavoidable?

 

[Red Rick]

If he wants to be a GT winner he should aim for a GT GC next year and no exactly 0 stage hunting unless he crashes out of contention/drops half an hour somewhere.

 

[Extinction]

If he wants to be a GT winner he should aim for a GT GC next year and no exactly 0 stage hunting unless he crashes out of contention/drops half an hour somewhere.

True

 

[Rackham]

If he wants to be a GT winner he should aim for a GT GC next year and no exactly 0 stage hunting unless he crashes out of contention/drops half an hour somewhere.

In 2017, Roglic went stage hunting in the Tour.

I use the Roglic comparison here because there's a similarity: both come from another sport & both are/were "new" to cycling. He has to start somewhere so why not.

And Evenepoel has another important aspect: he's super young. So there's no rush. I'd choose winning a stage in the Tour (a hard memorable one, preferably, or even a TT) over flunking the GC in the Giro (as he did this year) any day everyday.

 

[Red Rick]

In 2017, Roglic went stage hunting in the Tour.

I use the Roglic comparison here because there's a similarity: both come from another sport & both are/were "new" to cycling. He has to start somewhere so why not.

And Evenepoel has another important aspect: he's super young. So there's no rush. I'd choose winning a stage in the Tour (a hard memorable one, preferably, or even a TT) over flunking the GC in the Giro (as he did this year) any day everyday.

2017 was Roglic' 2nd year in the WT. 2022 will be Evenepoels 4th.

 

[TomBonnen2005]

2017 was Roglic' 2nd year in the WT. 2022 will be Evenepoels 4th.

Hm biased comparison:

• Remco has raced 18.000km with the pros so far, Roglic 11.000km in his first WT season alone
• Remco came from the junior, roglic from a continental team
• Remco is 21, roglic was 26...

 

[Red Rick]

Hm biased comparison:

• Remco has raced 18.000km with the pros so far, Roglic 11.000km in his first WT season alone
• Remco came from the junior, roglic from a continental team
• Remco is 21, roglic was 26...

Pogacar was balls deep in the Vuelta at barely 21 in his first WT season.

Remco "I would have won the Giro in 2020" can surely aim for a GT in 2022

 

[SafeBet]

What is the purpose of riding a GT as a stage hunter when the final goal is to ride it for GC?
I don't think he's gaining much valuable experience as a stage hunter. No test on recovery, no need to be always at the front in case splits happen, limited test on his descending skills...

 

[Red Rick]

What is the purpose of riding a GT as a stage hunter when the final goal is to ride it for GC?
I don't think he's gaining much valuable experience as a stage hunter. No test on recovery, no need to be always at the front in case splits happen, limited test on his descending skills...

Purpose of wasting years in which he could contend for GC if he indeed can do so?

 

[Rackham]

2017 was Roglic' 2nd year in the WT. 2022 will be Evenepoels 4th.

Even if Evenepoel skips the stage hunting phase, Roglic also went stage race hunting in 2018 before doing GC (& did the Tour de France without pressure & got 4th).

What is the purpose of riding a GT as a stage hunter when the final goal is to ride it for GC?
I don't think he's gaining much valuable experience as a stage hunter. No test on recovery, no need to be always at the front in case splits happen, limited test on his descending skills...

If Evenepoel goes for GC next year in any of the 3 week Grand Tours, he's going to get beaten. He's a rider who can do one thing really, really well i.e. he's one of the best rouleurs in the world & borderline rouleau compresseur (steamroller), but his "other stuff" just doesn't scream "GT winner 2022".

Send Evenepoel to any of Tirreno, Paris-Nice, Basque Country, the Dauphiné or Tour de Suisse. If he wins or podiums any of those, then send him to the Tour as a GC contender. But if he doesn't improve the areas he needs, he should refocus on the stuff he can win.

Because like any bike rider I assume sooner or later he should start to race in the events he's good at & win races based on those skills. And that includes becoming a one day specialist or stage hunter "if" he doesn't develop what it takes to win a GT.

 

[memyselfandI]

Nice to see a bit matured man (his interview from EC), he's in hard school at the moment. I hope his trainers think carefully as usually athletes develop best to the direction of talents they have. He's been football talent first and done high quality football training as much, maybe more than cycling training, he sure must have continous attacking capacity, that must not be forgotten completely. His attack yesterday was super good super hard, he needs more of these.

Think he could have a good chance at winning all the monuments but what do I know.

Liege suits him now maybe best.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

Agreed, Liege suits him the best. But maybe he will win Lombardia before if he can handle the descents. Average level is lower in that race because it's fall/autumn race.

 

[roundabout]

right now he is too light, very questionable on the cobbles

 

[hayneplane]

Regarding any potential strive for 5 the biggest obstacles are riding on cobbles and the lottery of MSR. I am excited to see him ride MSR as it will be refreshing to see someone try to crack that race wide open from further afield than halfway up the Poggio though I would be watching very nervously seeing him descend solo down the Poggio with its tight twisting corners with a small lead holding off the counter attackers.

 

[Extinction]

Pogacar was balls deep in the Vuelta at barely 21 in his first WT season.

Remco "I would have won the Giro in 2020" can surely aim for a GT in 2022

Not to take anything away from Pog, but his trajectory leading up to his first pro season was different and more well-rounded then Evenepoel's, who skipped the elites under-23 category altogether and went right from the junior ranks into the pros. And coming from another sport, Evenepoel was literally on the bike for just a couple of years before entering the World Tour ranks.

Pog was flying under the radar before performing above all prognostications, even if he had already shown flashes of brilliance, in his first grand tour. By contrast, the expectations placed on Evenepoel's shoulders the moment he turned pro, especially in the age of social media, have probably been greater than any other cyclist in the history of the sport. Injury and lack of race craft in some important areas, perhaps predictable given his lack of experience, have mounted even more presure on him from critics and pundints alike. In a cycling nation like Belgium, that's gotta be tought even for the most physically talented to bear.

That's why I say Evenepoel needs more time than Pog or even Bernal to see if he is a gran tour contender or not.

 

[Red Rick]

right now he is too light, very questionable on the cobbles

For Roubaix yes. I don't think he's too light for De Ronde per se. I think the question would be how much the cobbles in Vlaanderen would wear him down or if he just has to close too many gaps because he can't follow on those hills?

I think he's more likely to win Vlaanderen than Sanremo, although it's pretty likely he'll never contest Vlaanderen in his career.

 

[Blanco]

Think he could have a good chance at winning all the monuments but what do I know.

I doubt he'll win more than two.

 

[roundabout]

For Roubaix yes. I don't think he's too light for De Ronde per se. I think the question would be how much the cobbles in Vlaanderen would wear him down or if he just has to close too many gaps because he can't follow on those hills?

I think he's more likely to win Vlaanderen than Sanremo, although it's pretty likely he'll never contest Vlaanderen in his career.

Yeah, I meant Roubaix, but was in a bit of a hurry.

Ronde is a question mark in terms of battle for position and obviously 1 minute power output against 10+ kg heavier guys. And obviously good luck sneaking away from Van der Poel/van Aert on flat road.