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

[Bonimenier]

Well, we always knew the high mountains, and not the medium mountains, were his terrain

 

[Big Doopie]

So he just said he didn't have the legs today, looked rather warm he did. Always tomorrow for him.

doubt it if he didn't have the legs today.

 

[Salvarani]

yes, and this is the ongoing difficulty in situating him.

here is a guy who arguably looked strongest on the first day over somewhat similar terrain.

here is a guy who dominates lesser stage races in a way that other top riders are unable.

here is a guy who can dominate any single-day race on a given day.

however, he has also shown his greatest weaknesses when dealing with successive days in pro tour level stage races.

all sorts of excuses can be made for these defeats and many are valid. for instance, in a way, i hope that it is the heat (or even Covid) this time.

but ultimately he does have to prove capable of doing it.

Spilak!

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

It was a stage many picked him as the one to beat. No ''too long climbs'' BS. Concidering how he managed Itzulia, him struggling today is remarkable. It's only stage 5, in the Giro he lasted over twice as long before the first cracks appeared, so the ''he was too skinny then'' BS can go in the trash as well. He's won Burgos and San Sebastian in August in Spain. I doubt today was that much hotter than it was during those races?

I've had my doubts since the start of the season with his ridiculous weight in February and March. Maybe they should try 75kg, maybe that's the correct weight for him. Well, he can hope he actually does have covid, because else it's difficult to put the puzzle together. Best form since the crash, better than before, dominating Liège, superb watts in Norway, having been able to stand the heat in the past, no long climbs (his so called weakness) and then this...

 

[Ilmaestro99]

It was a stage many picked him as the one to beat. No ''too long climbs'' BS. Concidering how he managed Itzulia, him struggling today is remarkable. It's only stage 5, in the Giro he lasted over twice as long before the first cracks appeared, so the ''he was too skinny then'' BS can go in the trash as well. He's won Burgos and San Sebastian in August in Spain. I doubt today was that much hotter than it was during those races?

I've had my doubts since the start of the season with his ridiculous weight in February and March. Maybe they should try 75kg, maybe that's the correct weight for him. Well, he can hope he actually does have covid, because else it's difficult to put the puzzle together. Best form since the crash, better than before, dominating Liège, superb watts in Norway, having been able to stand the heat in the past, no long climbs (his so called weakness) and then this...

You think he is too heavy?

 

[GuntherL1]

It can be anything. Let's wait for the health report. If it's only a bad day, he should perform well in the next three stages.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

It was a stage many picked him as the one to beat. No ''too long climbs'' BS. Concidering how he managed Itzulia, him struggling today is remarkable. It's only stage 5, in the Giro he lasted over twice as long before the first cracks appeared, so the ''he was too skinny then'' BS can go in the trash as well. He's won Burgos and San Sebastian in August in Spain. I doubt today was that much hotter than it was during those races?

I've had my doubts since the start of the season with his ridiculous weight in February and March. Maybe they should try 75kg, maybe that's the correct weight for him. Well, he can hope he actually does have covid, because else it's difficult to put the puzzle together. Best form since the crash, better than before, dominating Liège, superb watts in Norway, having been able to stand the heat in the past, no long climbs (his so called weakness) and then this...

How about peaking too soon for Norway? I still think it's something else (illness, hunger knock or sth like that).

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

You think he is too heavy?

I think it's possible and i have seen nothing that substantiates him failing at the Giro was due to being too skinny as is now being touted. He is 1m71. Show me an elite climber or GC rider that size who weighs 64kg.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

I think it's possible and i have seen nothing that substantiates him failing at the Giro was due to being too skinny as is now being touted. He is 1m71. Show me an elite climber or GC rider that size who weighs 64kg.

If mass was the problem he wouldn't have achieved freaking 1800 m/h of VAM for 30 minutes.

 

[peterfin]

If he peaked too soon, the drop in form he has today is really remarkable. I doubt it. We didn't really see him the last 3 days so that was already a bit strange. If he is not attacking a certain day, he does a lead out or he is at least active in the front and that didn't happen since the second day of the TdS. Normally, he doesn't suffer from the heat and this terrain is really where he can excel. So I was a bit surprised not to see any action from him. So I wouldn't be surprised if he is actually ill. Maybe it's not covid but something like a stomach flu like he had in the past in the Benelux tour. Dehydratation of the heat and illness wouldn't be great for his performance. Let see what he has to tell.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

I think it's possible and i have seen nothing that substantiates him failing at the Giro was due to being too skinny as is now being touted. He is 1m71. Show me an elite climber or GC rider that size who weighs 64kg.

He certainly has a strange build for an elite level climber and time trialist (a relatively slow twitch endurance athlete)

For context, I am a similar height and weight. 173cm and 63-64kg. And since 2019 I was only riding for general fitness and cardio, a did a lot of strength training in the gym, acrobatics, and so have gained some muscle. Back in 2018 my raceweight was about 58kg.

So I don't understand really, because you see on his strava that he is training very hard. I guess he naturally holds a little bit more weight than a lot of men who are genetically gifted climbers.

But at the same time he did demolished the field on Norway Tour 2 weeks ago. And being 2kgs too heavy should surely impact him more tomorrow than today.

He has been flying since January. Maybe he has just pushed himself too hard for 7 months and needs some rest?

 

[Andre]

a bloody jigsaw puzzle

 

[houtdffan]

in any event, he now needs to gain a minute over the next 2 days to have any chance Sunday

 

[Red Rick]

I think people try too hard to extrapolate from this. The body does not always react to heat in the same way. Back in 2020 when he was flying it had been hot for a long time.

Now he's presumably not very well adapted to the heat and there's a load of sickness going around in the peloton.

This result does not compute with any other data point this year, or even any other previous data point.

I think the only bad takeaway is an overall vulnerability to collapsing due to outside factors.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

If mass was the problem he wouldn't have achieved freaking 1800 m/h of VAM for 30 minutes.

Terpstra won the RVV because he decided to follow up on his doctor's advice and drop 2kg, because that way he would be able to deal better with the succession of short climbs. The freaking RVV, not 30 minute climbs. A quick succession of short climbs can be tougher than a 30 minute climb at the end of an easier stage. And yes, weight also plays its part on those.

 

[Big Doopie]

in any event, he now needs to gain a minute over the next 2 days to have any chance Sunday

i like your positive attitude. but i would be shocked if he is even near the front tomorrow and the next day. if he rides at all.

 

[Extinction]

I think it's possible and i have seen nothing that substantiates him failing at the Giro was due to being too skinny as is now being touted. He is 1m71. Show me an elite climber or GC rider that size who weighs 64kg.

I agree, you got to have low body fat percentage. There's just no way around it. A rider of his hight and build, should be 60-61 kg. It almost seems as if his trainers are in denial of this.

 

[Filippo_3467]

It was a stage many picked him as the one to beat. No ''too long climbs'' BS. Concidering how he managed Itzulia, him struggling today is remarkable. It's only stage 5, in the Giro he lasted over twice as long before the first cracks appeared, so the ''he was too skinny then'' BS can go in the trash as well. He's won Burgos and San Sebastian in August in Spain. I doubt today was that much hotter than it was during those races?

I've had my doubts since the start of the season with his ridiculous weight in February and March. Maybe they should try 75kg, maybe that's the correct weight for him. Well, he can hope he actually does have covid, because else it's difficult to put the puzzle together. Best form since the crash, better than before, dominating Liège, superb watts in Norway, having been able to stand the heat in the past, no long climbs (his so called weakness) and then this...

Look I have no problem with Evenepoel. He's a sport star and they sometimes have a little bit of a overconfident behaviour but that's priced in.

What I find pretty remarkable is the obsession with every single pedal stroke. I don't see this with van Aert, van der Poel, Alaphilippe, Bernal, Roglic, Pogacar and the other guys on Remcos level. Everyone has a bad day from time to time and today was one. Wishing him covid to make the performance seem less bad is really childish mindset.

Also besides his watts in Norway (I didn't saw the race but it look on paper very good) his season is just ranked that high because of Liege. That was not only a win because of strong legs but also a tactical win. I don't think he could have won the race on the climbs and teams didn't commit to a organized chase until it was too late. I would still say the strongest rider won on that day but I could also see him loosing a sprint out of a 5-6 men group if he is marked not only from Powless in his attack.

The other results this year? Not that remarkable as his 2020 results. Which is ok. He should keep his best form for the Vuelta at the end of the year and he was nevertheless competitive in the races he raced hin. But when it comes to stage races he isn't clearly a level above the other good GC guys as Pogacar and Roglic are.

If he races on in Suisse he can still com Top 5 which would be another good result and a step forward for him in my opinion.

 

[houtdffan]

i like your positive attitude. but i would be shocked if he is even near the front tomorrow and the next day. if he rides at all.

I expect him to be dropped like a lead balloon, unless he really did bonk

 

[red_flanders]

Certainly disappointing for me, I'd hoped to see a good performance and even a win this week. Will be interesting to see what he says. Maybe I missed it already.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Terpstra won the RVV because he decided to follow up on his doctor's advice and drop 2kg, because that way he would be able to deal better with the succession of short climbs. The freaking RVV, not 30 minute climbs. A quick succession of short climbs can be tougher than a 30 minute climb at the end of an easier stage. And yes, weight also plays its part on those.

I never said that mass doesn't matter on short climbs, only that it's not the issue here. Evenepoel did way better on Itzulla climbs while probably weighting more. In Norway he looked skinnier than before, had his best ever climbing performance and now suddenly mass is a problem again? It doesn't add up. Either there's a particular reason (illness, dehydration etc) or his form really dropped after spectacular form for a prolonged period (from LBL).

 

[rm2021]

It could be disappointing to a lot of remco fans, but i don't think he will be a gc rider in the future. I think he could be a greatt itt specialist, and a rider of classics.
What a mistake by joao almeida. He should stayed at quick step and be a gc leader.

 

[rm2021]

He certainly has a strange build for an elite level climber and time trialist (a relatively slow twitch endurance athlete)

For context, I am a similar height and weight. 173cm and 63-64kg. And since 2019 I was only riding for general fitness and cardio, a did a lot of strength training in the gym, acrobatics, and so have gained some muscle. Back in 2018 my raceweight was about 58kg.

So I don't understand really, because you see on his strava that he is training very hard. I guess he naturally holds a little bit more weight than a lot of men who are genetically gifted climbers.

But at the same time he did demolished the field on Norway Tour 2 weeks ago. And being 2kgs too heavy should surely impact him more tomorrow than today.

He has been flying since January. Maybe he has just pushed himself too hard for 7 months and needs some rest?

Tour norway is more slow than tour de suisse. He beat jay vine at norway tour. Here the competition is different.

 

[GuntherL1]

As a consolation price, he didn't push anyone, nor did he make theatrical gestures. He was also very honest and modest in his post-race interview.

 

[GuntherL1]

Tour norway is more slow than tour de suisse. He beat jay vine at norway tour. Here the competition is different.

He crushed Vlasov and Powless in LBL, so that's not an argument. In the first mountain stage in Valencia, he also beat Vlasov.