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

[Bolder]

No punch can definitely be detrimental. but thats the Remco-strategy: Try to not let explosivity and punch decide races. Thats literally the only gameplan he has which means murdering those riders from far out is the only legitimate strategy!

There should be plenty of races in which that's a winning strategy, especially with QS's ability to neutralize a chase behind. One question in my mind is how he can handle a really long, tough race -- will he still be able to attack from 30-50 kms out after 200 kms? Depends on the race, I guess, whether a break gets 10 minutes and the peloton cools its heels.

Overall, it's probably not a worse strategy than most. As the euro championships showed, he'll need to carefully pick time/place/companions for an attack but if he gets away solo he'll at worse explode the race and give QS a chance to win a reduced or bunch sprint, and at best he'll have a legendary win...

 

[hayneplane]

Yeah, they really need to send him to Liege next year, with Ala following wheels behind he can win solo.
Next year I'd send him to many WT/high level one week stage races in the early season + the Ardennes classics.
I'd consider to have him ride the Vuelta for gc and no other gt, but he's Lefevre's new cashcow who helped him to get a long term sponsor, so I expect them to send him to another gt and hype him to the moon as a gc rider before the start of the race...
I'd go for something like UAE-Tirreno-Pais Vasco-Ardennes-Dauphine-a break-Poland or Burgos and then the Vuelta.

That would be a really good schedule actually. Chance for good warm weather training and climbing in UAE with a measuring stick on the MTF against Pogacar, classics style racing that should suit him in Tirreno with the flat TT at the end where he could then contend for the overall followed by Pais Vasco against the elite climber/puncheurs to see how he can counter the Slovenian demigods.

Of course if he was to start of by smashing the fields in that schedule the pressure would be immense to put him in the Tour squad but it would be prudent to go Vuelta.

 

[Boes]

No punch can definitely be detrimental. but thats the Remco-strategy: Try to not let explosivity and punch decide races. Thats literally the only gameplan he has which means murdering those riders from far out is the only legitimate strategy!

He's never going to be a prime valverde or alaphillipe.
But he does have some punch.

Algarve clicky

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

But he does have some punch.

Algarve clicky

I don't know if that was punch per se. Of course, every rider has some, Evenepoel included, but I think it had more to do with him being in freak form. That he was levels above everyone else in the race. In other words: the pace the GC group set was a joke to him, but not to others.

 

[BlueRoads]

If they have him skip the Ardennes classics because of the Giro they can't be helped...

Hm, in my eyes it's the other way around. Winning the Ardennes without a sprint is not exactly the easiest thing to do. The Giro on the other hand has a good chance of being perfect for him and a Giro podium is worth more than a Liège podium. This year he was far from top form and then there was the sterrato stage in addition plus that crash...
I think it makes perfect sense to give it another, real, try.

 

[Bonimenier]

He should go for SB. His skills on gravel are almost unprecedented in the pro peloton.

 

[Rackham]

He should go for SB. His skills on gravel are almost unprecedented in the pro peloton.

Is this sarcasm? I often can't tell tbh.

I mean we saw his gravel skills in the Giro... & everyone can reach their own conclusion (especially versus someone like Bernal who was also very good in Strade Bianche).

 

[johnymax]

I think he is just as strong right now as he was before his accident or is he even stronger now, what do you think?

 

[Rackham]

I think he is just as strong right now as he was before his accident or is he even stronger now, what do you think?

Here's what I think: I can't wait for the world championship road race. The hype is real. And Evenepoel is going to play a role.

I don't know to what extent yet but he'll be one of the key players one way or another. I also don't know about strength or form relative to last year or the rest of the peloton, but one thing is for sure: Evenepoel now belongs to that selection of riders who can actually have an impact on such a huge race.

That's how I see it.

 

[BlueRoads]

I think he is just as strong right now as he was before his accident or is he even stronger now, what do you think?

About the same I'd say... but couldn't tell exactly...

 

[Bonimenier]

I think he is just as strong right now as he was before his accident or is he even stronger now, what do you think?

I'm not sure if he is all the way there yet. He was really impressive between the restart and his crash. At the very least he is very close to that level again.

 

[hayneplane]

I think he is just as strong right now as he was before his accident or is he even stronger now, what do you think?

At least in terms of single ride endurance he is getting close but whilst I may be romanticising it after the fact it still sticks out how easy he looked compared to the rest on the super steep ramps of the Sormano prior to crashing on the descent and looked the clear favourite at that point. He is strong now but that Remco would have shredded Colbrelli on the last lap imo.

 

[Andre]

I think his bike-handling skills have improved...as far as strength and endurance, getting better every day.

 

[red_flanders]

At least in terms of single ride endurance he is getting close but whilst I may be romanticising it after the fact it still sticks out how easy he looked compared to the rest on the super steep ramps of the Sormano prior to crashing on the descent and looked the clear favourite at that point. He is strong now but that Remco would have shredded Colbrelli on the last lap imo.

I think this is spot on. The other data point on Lombardia was that he'd just destroyed the eventual winner, Fuglsang in Poland. I don't think he's where he was in Lombardia just yet, but MAN do I want to see that rider back. With better handling skills.

I think his bike-handling skills have improved...as far as strength and endurance, getting better every day.

Yup. He does look like he's made some strides. But he had a loooong way to go.

 

[Red Rick]

Can't compare to the first races after lockdown when a large part of the peloton was much slower than now.

 

[Bonimenier]

Can't compare to the first races after lockdown when a large part of the peloton was much slower than now.

Were they really though? The peloton was flying after lockdown.

 

[Hugh Januss]

Pidcock is about the same weight, even a bit lighter, and he won PR as an U23 also against guys 15kgs heavier. So i'm not yet convinced it's impossible for lighter riders.

Pidcock with his CX and MTB background has a huge edge in the skills department compared to Evenepoel.

 

[Bonimenier]

Pidcock with his CX and MTB background has a huge edge in the skills department compared to Evenepoel.

Obviously, but Logic was replying on the weight part, not on Evenepoel in particular. I doubt there a lot of people that see Evenepoel win PR someday at the moment.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

He said he pushed some of his best numbers ever at Druivenkoers and i can imagine. He was able to hold off a chasing peloton and increase his lead. In terms of being chased, i think this may have been the time where he successfully distanced the most organized chase with constantly 4-6 guys working hard to bring him back, over the longest distance. There were almost always more than one lotto, more than one Alpecin and one or two UAE's working, one of which was Bjerg.

His attack at the euro's was also quite punchy. And i imagined his sprint would have been much worse to be honest.

But i can not understand where you guys get that he's improved his bikehandling. First of all, i think his bikehandling is mostly off in specific scenario's, such as riding gravel or descends. Most of the "common" scenario's were already less of an issue before his crash. Remember 2019, where not a week went by or he hit the deck. In 2020 he only crashed once iirc. But it was more severe than his previous crashes combined.

But my point is, where and when do you guys think he improved his bikehandling all of a sudden? Compared to / since when?

 

[Hugh Januss]

So, huge motor, really likes to win, really young. Very little steering skills and zero smarts tactically. He could have won the Euro's in my opinion if he would have been willing to play poker with the guys stuck to his wheel. Hindsight and all that and I'm sure I've made the same mistake with less on the line, but instead of drilling the lead out to over a minute on the downhill side of the lap he should have made those guys work for their share of a much smaller gap and then attacked with all of his "snap" near the bottom of the last climb. The lead might be down to seconds at that point but when he drops the other two and the chase group catches them there will be lots of looking around. Sure maybe so one from the group behind can bridge across (Pocacar ) but second to him seems better than second to Sonny and maybe it doesn't happen. Everyone behind seemed done anyway.

 

[Big Doopie]

Can't compare to the first races after lockdown when a large part of the peloton was much slower than now.

Simply factually incorrect. I assume to feed a wished-for narrative.

All accounts (from riders themselves) said that everyone came out absolutely flying. Connected to this, everyone was trying to win every race because they feared it might be their last and the season lost to COVID.

 

[Volderke]

So, huge motor, really likes to win, really young. Very little steering skills and zero smarts tactically. He could have won the Euro's in my opinion if he would have been willing to play poker with the guys stuck to his wheel. Hindsight and all that and I'm sure I've made the same mistake with less on the line, but instead of drilling the lead out to over a minute on the downhill side of the lap he should have made those guys work for their share of a much smaller gap and then attacked with all of his "snap" near the bottom of the last climb. The lead might be down to seconds at that point but when he drops the other two and the chase group catches them there will be lots of looking around. Sure maybe so one from the group behind can bridge across (Pocacar ) but second to him seems better than second to Sonny and maybe it doesn't happen. Everyone behind seemed done anyway.

That's very much hindsight yes. If he could create a 10 meter gap to Colbrelli on that last climb, he would have won. That was his (very understandable and logic) tactics, but it didn't work because Colbrelli was too strong. After that last climb there was really very little to try, Colbrelli won the race by sticking to Remco's wheel to the top and at the top the race was done. The fact that Colbrelli followed on the climb, is a very good indicator that Colbrelli would most likely have glued to Remco's wheel in any other place where Remco would try to accelerate.

 

[Red Rick]

Were they really though? The peloton was flying after lockdown.

Not in every race, especially not the first ones after lockdown. Sormano and Civiglio climbing times were slow. If Remco could've easily dropped them, why didn't he do so already on the Muro di Sormano when that's his entire thing.

I don't see how his Euros ride is any less impressive than his Poland win.

 

[Valanga]

He said he pushed some of his best numbers ever at Druivenkoers and i can imagine. He was able to hold off a chasing peloton and increase his lead. In terms of being chased, i think this may have been the time where he successfully distanced the most organized chase with constantly 4-6 guys working hard to bring him back, over the longest distance. There were almost always more than one lotto, more than one Alpecin and one or two UAE's working, one of which was Bjerg.

His attack at the euro's was also quite punchy. And i imagined his sprint would have been much worse to be honest.

But i can not understand where you guys get that he's improved his bikehandling. First of all, i think his bikehandling is mostly off in specific scenario's, such as riding gravel or descends. Most of the "common" scenario's were already less of an issue before his crash. Remember 2019, where not a week went by or he hit the deck. In 2020 he only crashed once iirc. But it was more severe than his previous crashes combined.

But my point is, where and when do you guys think he improved his bikehandling all of a sudden? Compared to / since when?

5h with some gravelfun @Overijse-Leuven | Strava

View Remco Evenepoel's ride on September 5, 2021 | Strava

www.strava.com

Here for example. Training rides on gravel. He might have done more of those, who knows ;-)

However, I do agree with you and we can't really say anything about it yet. There hasn't been a race in which he had to demonstrate it.

Regarding cobbles: I actually don't think that has a lot to do with bike handling. At least not in the same way as CX/gravel/MTB. I know enough people that are way better bike handlers than me, but that doesn't make them better on the cobbles. Also weight in itself is not important. The reason heavier guys are good on cobbles is simply because they can push more watts, making them faster on the flats. Add some explosive power into it, and you have a cobble specialist.

 

[frisenfruitig]

Glad to see he's getting close to his previous shape again, I was doubtful we were going to see that this season already.

Curious to see how they are going to use him at the WC. Should be interesting if he attacks at 30-40 km to go. Other countries might have a serious problem on their hands if he manages to take a gap on them whilst WVA is sitting in their wheels.