I agreeThey finally found the masks that actually do make it harder to breathe.
Sound is annoying
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I agreeThey finally found the masks that actually do make it harder to breathe.
Sound is annoying
Looks like high altitude training in July followed by the Vuelta. No Giro, as expected.
Will Lefevere send Evenepoel to the Vuelta this year? "The course suits him"
Will the Vuelta this year be the new battleground for Evenepoel's Grand Tour dream? Patrick Lefevere, the team boss of Deceuninck Quick-Step, already sees opportunities in Spain for his pupil. "This course should be Evenepoel", said Lefevere.
The architects of Deceuninck-Quick Step are currently working hard on the plans for the 2022 season. Patrick Lefevere was also involved in the drawing board. The Belgian team boss already gave a sneak peek of the plans with his young wolf, Remco Evenepoel.
The announcement of the Vuelta course had everything to do with that. The grueling route, which is full of uphill finishes, seems to be the missing piece in Evenepoel's seasonal puzzle.
If he starts in Spain with normal preparation, I still see opportunities in a few stages Patrick Lefevere, DQS Team Principal “The course should indeed suit him”, thinks team boss Patrick Lefevere. “We have seen in the Giro - despite his lesser preparation - that he has the talent to ride Grand Tours. If he starts in Spain with normal preparation, I still see opportunities in a few stages.”
“But I absolutely do not want to assign him a favorite role. It still remains to be seen how he will react to a three-week stage race. The three finishes above 3,000 meters are also relatively new for him.”
The team time trial as a hobbyhorse? The Vuelta will again this year with a team time trial. In the camp of Deceuninck Quick Step there are a lot of pacers driving around. Could Evenepoel make the difference against the chrono in Spain? “In the team time trial we could indeed achieve a good result.
The individual time trial lacks a few altimeters to fully please Remco", oracles Lefevere. Can the Blue Brigade whirl again in a team time trial?
See you in Argentina, Evenepoel? It seems to be written in the stars: Evenepoel will take care of the Vuelta this year. However, it will have to wait until the beginning of next year before Deceuninck-Quick Step will officially confirm.
“We will make the decision in January,” said Lefevere. “We will first look at the first part of the season. For example, Remco will probably start his year in Argentina. He has good memories there and gets the necessary time to prepare.” Evenepoel already opened his season in 2019 and 2020 in the Vuelta a San Juan Internacional on Argentine soil.
He does not want to ride the Tour de France yet this year. Skipping steps is not an issue. Patrick Lefevere, DQS Team Principal The focus of our compatriot's season therefore seems to be at the end of the season. "One track we can take next year is the possibility to schedule a during the Tour."
"That way he can close the season with the Vuelta and the World Cup. Evenepoel does not want to ride the Tour itself this year. He absolutely does not want to skip any steps."
"He feels good, you can see that in training" Evenepoel is currently in Spain - on an internship with the team - preparing for the new season. "He will stay here until the 23rd while the rest will pack all their bags today," said Lefevere. "
I sat down with him yesterday and talked to him. He feels good, you can see that in training. His training schedule is nicely finished."
Stuurt Lefevere Evenepoel naar de Vuelta volgend jaar? "Het parcours ligt hem wel" | sporza
Van Utrecht tot Madrid. Wordt de Vuelta volgend jaar het nieuwe strijdtoneel voor Evenepoels Grote Ronde-droom? Patrick Lefevere, de ploegbaas van Deceuninck-Quick Step, ziet in Spanje alvast kansen voor zijn pupil. "Dit parcours zou Evenepoel moeten liggen", aldus Lefevere. Vamos?sporza.be
Colombia approves!Three finishes above 3000 metres?
Poor Valverde.
Yeah he probably doesn't fit into the Tour team. Vuelta is a better race for him than the Giro at this point, though and the only upside to the Giro would be the softer field probablyTour is for Alaphilippe of course and Evenepoel does nog really fit.
Giro is for Masnada and even though he deserves a Domestique of Evenepoels level it would be strange to bring Remco.
so Vuelta is het obvious choice. With the lack of multi mountain stages it is a perfect route for him as well. Now he just has to hope Roglic doesn’t make a goal of making it four in a Row.
Will be good to see him able to build his first part of the season around being the alternative card to Alaphillipe in the Hilly Classics.Kinda annoying to have to wait for the last GT of the year tbh. That said, I don't really have a strong opinion on which one he should ride. It does largely depend on the objective, and it's probably very important to target the hilly classics in the first place anyway
What do you mean 'purely'? Have you forgotten where most of their Tour victories in recent years have come from?So Alaphilippe and Evenepoel can co-lead the classics but the LeTour, in which Alaphilippe has no GC aspirations whatsoever, is purely for Alaphilippe?
Kinda annoying to have to wait for the last GT of the year tbh. That said, I don't really have a strong opinion on which one he should ride. It does largely depend on the objective, and it's probably very important to target the hilly classics in the first place anyway
I'm not sure the Giro is harder than the Tour, nor am I sure the cobbles would be guaranteed to be a problem. But still Tour being out of question because DQS doesn't wanna gamble on Evenepoel when they have a formula that works there is normal.The Giro has the hardest route by far (as per usual). Including a number of actual mountain stages. I think it would be the best test in that regard. I think plenty of real (2nd and 3rd tier) GT specialists will show up. MAL (all but certain) and Carapaz are likely starters. MAL has dropped all of the biggest names in cycling and Carapaz' track record in GTs speaks for itself.
The Giro has the most opportunities by far for stage wins.
The Tour has the least amount of climbing - but has a cobbled stage and is usually a crash fest in week 1. The Granon - Alpe double whammy is something the 2022 Vuelta doesn't have. The Sierra Nevada finish is very hard, but the preceding MTF stage is, of course, doable.
I would say the Vuelta is the best to get a GC result, but also the one GT that doesn't have 2 hard mountain stages back to back. It also lacks big climbs, other than the one Esp climb.
What do you mean 'purely'? Have you forgotten where most of their Tour victories in recent years have come from?
If Evenepoel in the future eventually seems capable of going for GC in the Tour, it's possible that Quickstep will stop bringing a sprinter + full lead out to France.
Unless their egos clash, which I doubt, then you can easily fit Evenepoel in if you want him there but are fine with him trying to Meintjens his way to a GC place. I'm sure he can do a shift in the sprint train too if he needs to.I mean, I dont know why Alaphilippe and Evenepoel would not be able to both go le Tour.
A previous post implied they could share leadership in the classics but had to be seperated for le Tour.
Evenepoel and Alaphilippe both competing in leTour would have the Belgian and French press drooling like never before.
So Alaphilippe and Evenepoel can co-lead the classics but the LeTour, in which Alaphilippe has no GC aspirations whatsoever, is purely for Alaphilippe?
Lol, in which classic is remco a co leader?So Alaphilippe and Evenepoel can co-lead the classics but the LeTour, in which Alaphilippe has no GC aspirations whatsoever, is purely for Alaphilippe?