• The Cycling News forum is looking to add some volunteer moderators with Red Rick's recent retirement. If you're interested in helping keep our discussions on track, send a direct message to @SHaines here on the forum, or use the Contact Us form to message the Community Team.

    In the meanwhile, please use the Report option if you see a post that doesn't fit within the forum rules.

    Thanks!

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

Page 423 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.

Should we change the thread title?


  • Total voters
    111
Yes, the TTT is too short

A long TTT forces the teams to decide if they bring TT specialists and leave the flyweight climbers at home, or do they go for climbing support and risk ceding big time in the TTT.

Eliminating this dilemma simply produces the youtube cycling we saw last decade where only short climbing bursts matter to win a GT
I also enjoy watching the teams with the biggest budgets and best equipment dominate the competition. Who needs suspense anyway?
 
23k TTT is fine, it's short enough to have the show and not to be deterministic on the outcome...probably. The issue is that the pendulum of ITT has swung way too far toward the climbers. I'm glad they moved away from the 100k or 150k they used to have waaaay back in the day, as the races are generally closer now, but one 31k ITT just isn't enough for my personal tastes. I like a more well rounded rider to win. But it's totally subjective and I can see if others like it the way it is.
 
According to his Dutch trainer, Pelgrim, he has found his ideal weight at 63kg. They keep rehashing the theory that things went sour in the giro because, at 60-61kg, he was too skinny and his body was unable to take in carbs. So apparently it had nothing to do with it being his first race in 9 months after an injury, rehab and a short prep that went sideways early on.

So, i'm curious how the trainers at QSA, with all their experience in prepping a GC rider, have concluded that this is the best way, and how all these other teams are so stupid that they have not caught on with riders who are taller and lighter than Evenepoel, who should be weighing more so that the balance between power and weight is more advantageous, and that the body can take in carbs better. Clearly the guys at Ineos are a bunch of incompetent dumbasses as they have been training their GC riders to be lighter, and they have been highly, errr, unsuccessful?

 
In the last 30 years, Nibali is the only Vuelta winner to go on to win the Tour. Ullrich, Contador and Froome won the Tour first (in real time in Froome's case)

I think that's an outlier due to the small sample size of GT winners. It is an interesting statistic, but i don't see how it means much. I could also interpret it as 'the vuelta is more difficult to win than the tour for a young rider'.
 
According to his Dutch trainer, Pelgrim, he has found his ideal weight at 63kg. They keep rehashing the theory that things went sour in the giro because, at 60-61kg, he was too skinny and his body was unable to take in carbs. So apparently it had nothing to do with it being his first race in 9 months after an injury, rehab and a short prep that went sideways early on.

So, i'm curious how the trainers at QSA, with all their experience in prepping a GC rider, have concluded that this is the best way, and how all these other teams are so stupid that they have not caught on with riders who are taller and lighter than Evenepoel, who should be weighing more so that the balance between power and weight is more advantageous, and that the body can take in carbs better. Clearly the guys at Ineos are a bunch of incompetent dumbasses as they have been training their GC riders to be lighter, and they have been highly, errr, unsuccessful?


That or the super low weight riders who do well over 3 weeks are powered in the other forum.
 
  • Like
Reactions: frisenfruitig
According to his Dutch trainer, Pelgrim, he has found his ideal weight at 63kg. They keep rehashing the theory that things went sour in the giro because, at 60-61kg, he was too skinny and his body was unable to take in carbs. So apparently it had nothing to do with it being his first race in 9 months after an injury, rehab and a short prep that went sideways early on.

So, i'm curious how the trainers at QSA, with all their experience in prepping a GC rider, have concluded that this is the best way, and how all these other teams are so stupid that they have not caught on with riders who are taller and lighter than Evenepoel, who should be weighing more so that the balance between power and weight is more advantageous, and that the body can take in carbs better. Clearly the guys at Ineos are a bunch of incompetent dumbasses as they have been training their GC riders to be lighter, and they have been highly, errr, unsuccessful?

I think Pelgrim has his own ideas and uses science like a good politician (when it favours his ideas). I sent him an email earlier this year with a recent peer reviewed paper on cycling in cold conditions (supported by Intermarche-Wanty G btw) and a detailed overview with the 7-8 times Remco failed in the cold, hinting that his morning preparation, hydration or cold protection may be insufficient. I never got even the smallest reply. I assume it went straight to the trash bin.
 
It is not uncommon to start a grand tour with a bit of reserve/extra kg and to gradually shed weight once the big cols stages arrive. And he is a bit more stocky then some other riders.
One of the most important things in a GT is the ability to take in the carbs, day after day, week after week. Jan Bakelants said this is one of the most underrated aspects of riders who shine in the second and third week of GT's: they eat well, they digest well, they sleep well, keeping legs and mind fresh. And it's something you can't predict, practice, see on strava.
 
i largely agree with you.

however, the greatest TDF ever would not have been without it since Fignon's Castorama squad took 50+ seconds off of Lemond's ADR. A very different race would likely have taken place without it...

i also think the event is one of the most beautiful to watch.

;-)
I agree with you too, it's just in principle, especially in today's cycling, I think it would be better as a non-GC discipline (something along the lines of what Logic has suggested).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Big Doopie
According to his Dutch trainer, Pelgrim, he has found his ideal weight at 63kg. They keep rehashing the theory that things went sour in the giro because, at 60-61kg, he was too skinny and his body was unable to take in carbs. So apparently it had nothing to do with it being his first race in 9 months after an injury, rehab and a short prep that went sideways early on.

So, i'm curious how the trainers at QSA, with all their experience in prepping a GC rider, have concluded that this is the best way, and how all these other teams are so stupid that they have not caught on with riders who are taller and lighter than Evenepoel, who should be weighing more so that the balance between power and weight is more advantageous, and that the body can take in carbs better. Clearly the guys at Ineos are a bunch of incompetent dumbasses as they have been training their GC riders to be lighter, and they have been highly, errr, unsuccessful?

I thought ideal weight and differing body types were established sports science? Normally this is more of a sprinter and time trialist issue because they don‘t need good watts/kg. I think it’s very plausible that Remco just can‘t go lower with his weight which doesn’t mean that Vingegaard should just weigh 3 Kilos more.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sandisfan
I think having a TTT while making it essentially mean nothing in GC is a terrible idea. The best part of the TTT is it forces teams to pick one or two rouleur/TT types that they otherwise wouldn't have picked, and therefore being weaker in mountainous terrain, making the race potentially harder to control in the mountains.

Im a bit torn, as I heavily dislike very short TTT's and think they are a meme and useless for the race, but on the other hand don't like plus 40-50 TTT as the advantage is simply to great for the big teams ON TOP OFF already being better off riding for those teams in the other stages. Its quite a conundrum to me, so I guess a TTT around 20-30 km is fine in that it keeps time gaps in check while it still means something.
 
I was listening to an interview with journalist Hans Vandeweghe and José de Cauwer, and the impression I got was some in the team truly believed in Remco's chances in the Giro last year (trainer Koen Pelgrim and others), while (only?) the team doctor thought it was nonsense.

De Cauwer called what happened in the Giro 'some of the dumbest stuff I've seen in the last 20 years in cycling', and that it showed a lack of respect for what's needed to last 3 weeks in a grand tour.

Kind of worrying. I hope the team have got their ducks in a row this time.

Source: Sporza, at about the 47 minute mark
 
It is not uncommon to start a grand tour with a bit of reserve/extra kg and to gradually shed weight once the big cols stages arrive. And he is a bit more stocky then some other riders.
One of the most important things in a GT is the ability to take in the carbs, day after day, week after week. Jan Bakelants said this is one of the most underrated aspects of riders who shine in the second and third week of GT's: they eat well, they digest well, they sleep well, keeping legs and mind fresh. And it's something you can't predict, practice, see on strava.
Trying to analyse how individual pros are training as an amateur is a waste of time I think. There's just not enough transparency unless you're getting all the same info their coaches do. Sometimes you get someone putting lots of info on how they train out their like Nils van der Poel did, but he's not even a competitive cyclist either.

Occasionally there are comments made about broader training philosophy like people associated with UAE talking about a heavy endurance focus and actually reducing training hours, but it's hard to know how that really compares with what others are doing.
 
I thought ideal weight and differing body types were established sports science? Normally this is more of a sprinter and time trialist issue because they don‘t need good watts/kg. I think it’s very plausible that Remco just can‘t go lower with his weight which doesn’t mean that Vingegaard should just weigh 3 Kilos more.
I'm sure that it depends from person to person, i'm also not stating that he has to weigh 56kg like others his height. But at 1m71 and 63kg, he has to be the outliest outlier (i know that's not a word) for a rider wanting to go for GC since... Indurain? Compared to his height, i don't know of any other GC rider that comes close. Roglic is 2kg heavier but also 6cm taller. And many of them are considerably taller AND lighter. Obviously one GC rider has to be the heaviest in relation to his height, but it doesn't instill me with great confidence.

The fact that Pelgrim completely screwed up last year with his prep for the Giro and read the entire situation wrong, and now blames it on his weight at the time (while completely ignoring all the other factors after his crash) is like one giant red flag to me. Also, he has already gone lower in weight, his entire successful 2020 campaign he was lighter than 63kg. Dusing the Giro he was 60kg and he performed for 2 weeks. Now Pelgrim blames it on his weight and ignores the giant elephant in the room, his comeback after his crash.
 
  • Like
Reactions: spalco
I think having a TTT while making it essentially mean nothing in GC is a terrible idea. The best part of the TTT is it forces teams to pick one or two rouleur/TT types that they otherwise wouldn't have picked, and therefore being weaker in mountainous terrain, making the race potentially harder to control in the mountains.

Im a bit torn, as I heavily dislike very short TTT's and think they are a meme and useless for the race, but on the other hand don't like plus 40-50 TTT as the advantage is simply to great for the big teams ON TOP OFF already being better off riding for those teams in the other stages. Its quite a conundrum to me, so I guess a TTT around 20-30 km is fine in that it keeps time gaps in check while it still means something.
A short TTT to start the race also allows fans at the road to see all riders and teams in action in a shorter span of time than an ITT and minimises the potential impact of changing weather conditions and random start times assigned to riders by their teams.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sandisfan
According to his Dutch trainer, Pelgrim, he has found his ideal weight at 63kg. They keep rehashing the theory that things went sour in the giro because, at 60-61kg, he was too skinny and his body was unable to take in carbs. So apparently it had nothing to do with it being his first race in 9 months after an injury, rehab and a short prep that went sideways early on.

So, i'm curious how the trainers at QSA, with all their experience in prepping a GC rider, have concluded that this is the best way, and how all these other teams are so stupid that they have not caught on with riders who are taller and lighter than Evenepoel, who should be weighing more so that the balance between power and weight is more advantageous, and that the body can take in carbs better. Clearly the guys at Ineos are a bunch of incompetent dumbasses as they have been training their GC riders to be lighter, and they have been highly, errr, unsuccessful?

They better not screw it up with his friggin weight this time, which had nothing to do with his performance at the Giro last year, but lack of even moderately adequite prep, or else they should fire his trainer. Look at how terribly lean prime Froome was and his success rate, for example, or skeletal Vingegaard this year at the Tour! 63 sounds too freekin heavy for his height/stature!
 
  • Like
Reactions: spalco
I think having a TTT while making it essentially mean nothing in GC is a terrible idea. The best part of the TTT is it forces teams to pick one or two rouleur/TT types that they otherwise wouldn't have picked, and therefore being weaker in mountainous terrain, making the race potentially harder to control in the mountains.

Im a bit torn, as I heavily dislike very short TTT's and think they are a meme and useless for the race, but on the other hand don't like plus 40-50 TTT as the advantage is simply to great for the big teams ON TOP OFF already being better off riding for those teams in the other stages. Its quite a conundrum to me, so I guess a TTT around 20-30 km is fine in that it keeps time gaps in check while it still means something.

People are really to liberal with the word meme.... It's almost being a meme in itself. Which would be quite me(me)ta.

I think it has an okay length if it absolutely have to be there, and considering how rarely it happens these days, I'll probably live with it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sandisfan
Last edited:

TRENDING THREADS