Nice suprise this morning in one of Geraardsbergen's municipalities. At 8:15, on my way to work, I drove past Remco training. The kid has serious work ethics, to say the least.
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“The fact is, anyone who made him ‘the new Merckx’ was grossly mistaken in person. Not him, but Tadej Pogačar is ‘the new Merckx’. That’s clear now, I think.” Patrick Lefevere
Sergeant is one of the most inept and incompetent team managers of the past decades (i'm not even talking about tactics because you could write a book), who has proven to be absolutely clueless when it comes to managing a rider for GC. He (as well as yourself it seems) also seems to be unaware that what he is asking, for Evenepoel to (temporarily) shift focus to 1 day stage races, is exactly what he has been doing since this winter up until Liège, and the exact reason why he didn't perform well in Tirreno."Former Lotto Soudal manager Marc Sergeant, always sober in his assessment, wondered as much in his column in Het Nieuwsblad on Monday, suggesting that Evenepoel – prone to a jour sans in stage races – should divert more attention to one-day racing, citing his victories at the Clasica San Sebastian and Brussels Cycling Classic.
“Perhaps Evenepoel had to rearrange his goals, if only temporarily,” Sergeant wrote.
“If he has a great day in those one-day races, who is going to bring him back? And if you have a dip there, a day is lost, but not a whole week or more. It's going to give him more satisfaction than what he's doing now.”
This goes a lot towards what I have been posting. His recovery is not (yet, perhaps) the best. Maybe as Logic says his FTP is unreal and that is why he has climbed with if not better than many on occasion. But one cannot argue that he has been prone to a fair amount of bad individual days.
Just like Sergeant, I would hate the pursuit of immediate GT success to have him (and us) miss out on the one day exploits he is clearly capable of.
Sergeant is one of the most inept and incompetent team managers of the past decades (i'm not even talking about tactics because you could write a book), who has proven to be absolutely clueless when it comes to managing a rider for GC. He (as well as yourself it seems) also seems to be unaware that what he is asking, for Evenepoel to (temporarily) shift focus to 1 day stage races, is exactly what he has been doing since this winter up until Liège, and the exact reason why he didn't perform well in Tirreno.
It is the reason why he has NOT focused on long climbs, why he has been working on his short efforts, has gained weight and muscle. Sergeant is mistaking cause with effect.
the exact reason why he didn't perform well in Tirreno.
lol indeedLOL
Add that one to the ever expanding list.
In fact, this is the exact difference between great riders and Evenepoel.
With him, there's always a new reason to explain away his disappointing results.
If only the universe wasn't so terribly unfair, Remco would've shown us his true powers this time!
Genuine great riders, in contrast, are great precisely because they shine despite all their moments of bad luck and flawed preparations. They don't need all the Gods on their side every single time to make a strong impression.
Sergeant is one of the most inept and incompetent team managers of the past decades (i'm not even talking about tactics because you could write a book), who has proven to be absolutely clueless when it comes to managing a rider for GC. He (as well as yourself it seems) also seems to be unaware that what he is asking, for Evenepoel to (temporarily) shift focus to 1 day stage races, is exactly what he has been doing since this winter up until Liège, and the exact reason why he didn't perform well in Tirreno.
It is the reason why he has NOT focused on long climbs, why he has been working on his short efforts, has gained weight and muscle. Sergeant is mistaking cause with effect.
Yes and to race smarter. Flexing constantly is a young star's strength for a time but the experienced teams will punish him and his team for it. There are times to feign average or poor form to get some room to race seriously. If he has a few more "bad" days his team will lose faith as well with as much talent as they have. Alaphillipe has done a good job of supporting team members and he's reaped loyalty and support as a result.That is one brutal statement... I wonder what Lefevere hopes to achieve with that statement. Provoking Remco into trying harder?
It's rather common for riders to hone their form in stage races. Him doing those to get into shape for the hilly classics is quite normal. His goals were the hilly classics, with Liège being the obvious big kahuna. After that La Vuelta is his big target. His trainer literally said he was doing this training now and after Liège they would shift, saying ''the Remco that is going to the Vuelta will be a completely different one''.He might have shifted his focus in training for 1-day races, but his schedule until April only has Valencia, Algarve, T-A and Itzulia - and not a single 1-day race. Arguably the classics season hasn't started yet, but he could have done Omloop or SB (which would have been a good test for his sterrato skills), and he could go to E3 or MSR. I'm not saying he should have done that, but like others, I'm confused as to what are his goals this season. So far we have him doing said training, whilst going to 4 early season key GC stage races, with key targets for the later in the year being La Vuelta (even if in a let's see how it goes mindset) and LBL (an old discussion I know, but will he be competing against Ala?). I just think that between QS and Remco's ideas, his goals seem to be getting him to win everywhere, and for such a young rider still trying to establish himself at the big boys' table, he would be wise to focus on one thing at this moment.
Which is why he isn't a new Simon SpilakNice suprise this morning in one of Geraardsbergen's municipalities. At 8:15, on my way to work, I drove past Remco training. The kid has serious work ethics, to say the least.
That is one brutal statement... I wonder what Lefevere hopes to achieve with that statement. Provoking Remco into trying harder?
I was under the impression that Remco is virtually invincible in watt/kg tests on the turbo trainer (in addition to his insanely low CDA) but when he is put under pressure by a steep climb his legs give out and he isn't able to match his tests in race conditions.Evenepoel is sufficiently good at sub 10 minute climbs IMO. Pais Vasco is a much better test than Catalunya where he basically has nothing to win
Not just muscle fibers. Shorter legs means you need more torque to get the pedals round. Now I cant say why this anthropmetry seems to suit sprinters more tbh. Maybe capillary surface area or something.I was under the impression that Remco is virtually invincible in watt/kg tests on the turbo trainer (in addition to his insanely low CDA) but when he is put under pressure by a steep climb his legs give out and he isn't able to match his tests in race conditions.
I'm not a physiology expert but I would hazard a guess that this has something to do with the application of torque and fast-twitch muscle fibers on steeper climbs. This would gel with one of his other famous characteristics: lack of a sprint.
His schedule and training up until Liège is and has been focused towards Liège first and foremost. Yes. They also want to see how he does in WT stageraces, but that is not a priority atm it seems from various statements.I'll preface this by saying I'm a Remco fanboy and want the guy to succeed. And I'm in favor of the best riders squaring off as much as possible.
But why is he riding Itzulia unless purely to prepare for the Ardennes? Roglic will kill him on that TT. He isn't good on steep climbs of any duration and tricky descents which is kind of the definition of the Basque Country. I could honestly see him getting dropped on almost every stage if Jumbo decides to ride. We saw what happened at Tirreno and Valenciana.
Maybe he should have gone to Catalunya? But again there are stages in that race in which he is likely to drop. And no TT.
Is he fully recovered from his bad crash at Lombardia? His watts seem pretty good in races that suit him.
I am excited to see him at the Ardennes and the Vuelta (again both of which tend to have shorter steeper climbs) but it's increasingly looking like he lacks many of the characteristics to win the biggest races: Recovery over one or three weeks, punch, descending, bike handling, the list goes on.
I hope I'm proven wrong. And I hope he finds his niche as one of the strongest riders in the peloton.
Evenepoel is sufficiently good at sub 10 minute climbs IMO. Pais Vasco is a much better test than Catalunya where he basically has nothing to win
Which is why he isn't a new Simon Spilak
I don't see it, for now. Porte's best result in one day races is probably a 2nd place in Mont Ventoux Denivele Challenge, a 1.1 race. Remco is a superior one day racer, a superior hilly rider and a superior TT rider. On the other hand, Richie in his prime was a way better climber (he was an excellent time-trialist, too). He was arguably a top3 climber in the world and on his day he was the best. Also you said Porte was the most successful one week rider of the 2010s. He arguably was. He has 19 top3 GC placings in WT week long stage races (4 of them are in the 2020s). Remco on the other end has only one so far. That's right, the Tour of Poland win. Probably the WT stage race that suits Richie Porte the least. So Remco has a long way to go to become a GC rider of the calibre of Richie Porte. Of course his career has barely begun, so time is on his side. If he improves his climbing ability, he can become a GC rider as good as Porte and at the same time overall a way more complete rider than Porte ever was.No, he's the new Richie Porte. That's a compliment. Porte was the most successful one week rider of the 2010s and probably the best GT mountain domestique too. At QS the second option may not be open to Evenepoel.
Like Porte, Evenepoel is small and aerodynamic, prone to a bad day in GTs and has no sprint. Maybe some anger issues too.
Yeah, I was wondering the same. I actually see Remco as a favourite for the TT. But is so short that the gaps between the two should be around 10s max.Why would Roglic kill him on that TT?
Could go either way, but i doubt either will ''kill'' the other.Yeah, I was wondering the same. I actually see Remco as a favourite for the TT. But is so short that the gaps between the two should be around 10s max.
I was under the impression that Remco is virtually invincible in watt/kg tests on the turbo trainer (in addition to his insanely low CDA) but when he is put under pressure by a steep climb his legs give out and he isn't able to match his tests in race conditions.
I'm not a physiology expert but I would hazard a guess that this has something to do with the application of torque and fast-twitch muscle fibers on steeper climbs. This would gel with one of his other famous characteristics: lack of a sprint.