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

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I'm not up on my classical history. Was Brutus just walking by while Ceasar ran into him and stabbed himself?

Brutus was the one that was walking behind Caesar for 15k before he stabbed him in the back when Vervaeke was gone.

 

[Carrick-On-Seine]

Brutus was the one that was walking behind Caesar for 15k before he stabbed him in the back when Vervaeke was gone.

Nah you are mixing up the great champion Caesar, three time conqueror of Hispania with a revolting peasant from the colony of Anderlechtius

 

[red_flanders]

Nah you are mixing up the great champion Caesar, three time conqueror of Hispania with a revolting peasant from the colony of Anderlechtius

Did he look like...this?

 

[Big Doopie]

Did he look like...this?

i remember reading that very Asterix as a kid when I lived in Brussels.

 

[houtdffan]

so, the excuses toward Remco are

1. He's won't be able to launch solo raids as a pro
2. He won San Sebastein because he got lucky nobody chased him soon enough
3. It's only the Tour of Poland. He can never win a GT
4. SEE. TOLD YOU SO. He failed at the giro
5. SEE. TOLD YOU SO. Pog crushed him at TA. He won't win a WT stage race
6. One day races have no bearing if Remco can win at the WT level
7. SEE! TOLD YOU SO! He failed at Suisse. Norway was an irrelevant race
8. He only won San Sebastien because the others were tired from the tour
9. Got stomped as soon as stage 4.
10. Well... Rog is still hurt. Besides, he failed to catch Jay Vine
11. SEE! TOLD YOU SO!!!!! Rog sure crushed him on La Pandera
12. Well, he's only winning a GT because everyone is either hurt or out of shape. He has no chance against Pog and Vingegaard

I can see it next year
13. Well, he is selfish. No reason to win stages when he has a 15 minute lead in GC. Another Merckx is so boring

 

[Andre]

I didn't follow the Veulta as closely but if Enric Mas can match Remcos climbing performances for the most part and from whom a not in best shape Roglic is a real threat, how can someone think he would beat Vingegaard or Pogacar or at least get them to a point where they can barely follow his wheel and in best case outsprint him at the end?

If he wants to compete with those two he needs to find a whole other level. In TTs it might be close, he might even gain a few seconds, but even that I'm far from convinced of...

But everywhere else he would'nt stand a chance (on his current level) and that is not even considering that he might slow down more than others at the end of a 3 weeks GT.

Also I'm not sure of how much improvement we can still expect from him at this point, he is only 22 but at the same time already a seasoned veteran. I believe won't see anything drastic.

here is what you can expect....Remco to win Le Tour in 2023.

 

[Big Doopie]

…Another Merckx is so boring

Speaking of Merckx, I wonder what the old grump is thinking now?

Bwahahaha!!

 

[red_flanders]

i remember reading that very Asterix as a kid when I lived in Brussels.

Same, summers in Blankenberge.

 

[houtdffan]

Speaking of Merckx, I wonder what the old grump is thinking now?

Bwahahaha!!

Reason 13 is why the first 12 excuses are made. He is a generational talent on the same level as Tom Brady. The haters know how good Evenepoel is. They hate how good he is

 

[Ripper]

I didn't follow the Veulta as closely but if Enric Mas can match Remcos climbing performances for the most part and from whom a not in best shape Roglic is a real threat, how can someone think he would beat Vingegaard or Pogacar or at least get them to a point where they can barely follow his wheel and in best case outsprint him at the end?

If he wants to compete with those two he needs to find a whole other level. In TTs it might be close, he might even gain a few seconds, but even that I'm far from convinced of...

But everywhere else he would'nt stand a chance (on his current level) and that is not even considering that he might slow down more than others at the end of a 3 weeks GT.

Also I'm not sure of how much improvement we can still expect from him at this point, he is only 22 but at the same time already a seasoned veteran. I believe won't see anything drastic.

I believe he's actually been cycling for less time than pogo. I would expect he will continue to develop further

 

[stekelegel]

so, the excuses toward Remco are

1. He's won't be able to launch solo raids as a pro
2. He won San Sebastein because he got lucky nobody chased him soon enough
3. It's only the Tour of Poland. He can never win a GT
4. SEE. TOLD YOU SO. He failed at the giro
5. SEE. TOLD YOU SO. Pog crushed him at TA. He won't win a WT stage race
6. One day races have no bearing if Remco can win at the WT level
7. SEE! TOLD YOU SO! He failed at Suisse. Norway was an irrelevant race
8. He only won San Sebastien because the others were tired from the tour
9. Got stomped as soon as stage 4.
10. Well... Rog is still hurt. Besides, he failed to catch Jay Vine
11. SEE! TOLD YOU SO!!!!! Rog sure crushed him on La Pandera
12. Well, he's only winning a GT because everyone is either hurt or out of shape. He has no chance against Pog and Vingegaard

I can see it next year
13. Well, he is selfish. No reason to win stages when he has a 15 minute lead in GC. Another Merckx is so boring

I thought him a great rider and talent but nothing I had seen convinced me he was a 100% future GT winner. Not in the way of racing at high level during weeks, not in the way of conserving energy, keeping his temper down, having a team suited to controlling GT stages day in day out,... But he has proven he belongs.
For me this looks like becoming a genuine GT victory (not a fluke, like geoghegan) and I expect this to be the start of a decade of being a contender in the vuelta and giro.
Riding at this level he's top 5 in the Tour, still needs something extra to compete with Pogacar, VG,... (or get lucky in them being absent or crashing out). Wont be easy because there are quite a few more young riders knocking at the door, looks like becoming a great age of GT cycling again.

 

[LesDiablesRouges]

Same, summers in Blankenberge.

Cuistax for me in Blankenberge during the summer.

 

[Wvv]

Same, summers in Blankenberge.

Probably passed you at the Pier or de Lustige Velodroom with all the crazy bikes as a child. Unless you're way, waaaay older.

For the non-Belgians, some fun pictures:

 

[KZD]

Speaking of Merckx, I wonder what the old grump is thinking now?

Bwahahaha!!

He has been very quite since LBL, now that I think of it...

 

[Krzysztof_O]

He has been very quite since LBL, now that I think of it...

Eddy is surely waiting for Remco's lapse on Saturday, then he'll make a proper analysis regarding wasting energy, overweight, the new Spilak etc.

 

[Skijumper Roglic fan]

Remco has to survive today and tomorrow, then the Vuelta is won…

Imagine he really wins QS their first Grand Tour. After all these years…

I guess Lefevere then will invite all team and staff into the most expensive brothel in Bruges, for one week - every night…

Sunday Remco wins the GC in Madrid, Tuesday all QS are celebrating in Bruges‘ red light district…

Van Mol, Peeters and all other guy who have been in the team for a long time will go mad - they have been waiting for GT GC victory for so long…

 

[topcat]

Remco has to survive today and tomorrow, then the Vuelta is won…

Imagine he really wins QS their first Grand Tour. After all these years…

I guess Lefevere then will invite all team and staff into the most expensive brothel in Bruges, for one week - every night…

Sunday Remco wins the GC in Madrid, Tuesday all QS are celebrating in Bruges‘ red light district…

Van Mol, Peeters and all other guy who have been in the team for a long time will go mad - they have been waiting for GT GC victory for so long…

Belgians have been waiting since 1978 for the brothel celebration. For us Irish we've been waiting since 1988 and we'll be waiting. Slovenia had to cancel the brothel celebration they had planned this year.

 

[Carrick-On-Seine]

Remco has to survive today and tomorrow, then the Vuelta is won…

Imagine he really wins QS their first Grand Tour. After all these years…

I guess Lefevere then will invite all team and staff into the most expensive brothel in Bruges, for one week - every night…

Sunday Remco wins the GC in Madrid, Tuesday all QS are celebrating in Bruges‘ red light district…

Van Mol, Peeters and all other guy who have been in the team for a long time will go mad - they have been waiting for GT GC victory for so long…

If he wins the best thing they can do is get on a midnight flight to Australia.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

If he wins the best thing they can do is get on a midnight flight to Australia.

With or without ladies of the night?

 

[Krzysztof_O]

If he wins the best thing they can do is get on a midnight flight to Australia.

Teddy recently said that was looking to battles with Remco.
So Remco should post something in his style i.e. "I will eat Pogi for breakfast at the Tour"

 

[Riek s]

If he wins the best thing they can do is get on a midnight flight to Australia.

Yeah i don't think it will matter a lot for the ITT. He will have very heavy legs from the Vuelta & the jetlag. Top 5 would already be on the high end.

The RR might be a bit better recuperation wise. The question then becomes, does he have enough mentally and physically to make a difference against guys who worked towards the WC and don't have the jetlag and do have fresh legs. We might very well see a Remco like Pogacar in San sebastian...

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Contador in Spanish in front of ES camera: Race is wide open, Evenepoel may think he has this locked, but that's not the case.
Contador in English in front of Sporza camera: Evenepoel has this locked.

 

[geisterhome]

So this is kind of a flashback as well as the theme throughout this thread in many instances, starting in 2018. Basically, Remco won't improve significantly, hence he will not be able to:

Cut it as a pro. Win as a pro. Win with a solo ever again because next time they will be in his wheel. Win in WT. Win a MTF. Win a monument. Beat "the best". Become a GT/GC rider. Win a GT...? Win a GT against "the best"...?

It's his 2nd GT and the first one he might actually finish, but apparently there is already enough evidence that this time, he really has hit his limit. Now he should even be happy if he doesn't lose much time against TT'ers who have collectively beaten him 0 times in 6 encounters (3 each). Seems like he's declining before reaching his peak.

The only moment this not-in-best-shape Roglic was a real threat, was against not-in-best-shape Evenepoel after his crash. With Roglic having to resort to antics like the ones that made him crash. He wanted to drop him at the start of a 22k climb, but had to settle for the final 1.5k after cowering in his wheel for 15k because Evenepoel was simply too strong. This not-in-best-shape Roglic was also stronger than all the others at the Vuelta, including 90% of the Giro's top 20 GC.

And while he is indeed a seasoned pro, he is only 22 and lost 9 months + a season getting back to his best level after a crash.

We all know the TDF is a different race. We all know winning the Vuelta against Mas, Roglic, Lopez, Almeida, Hindley, O'Connor... isn't the same as winning the TDF against Vingegaard, Pogacar etc. But i see no reason why he wouldn't be able to improve. Just by not crashing (which you find a valid excuse for Roglic) he would already improve greatly on his current result as his crash cost him in two main stages. His team isn't at full strength nor max potential, and to be fair, i don't think Vingegaard would have beaten Pogacar without the strength of his team either. Does it invalidate his win? Of course not, so there is still plenty to improve.

He is an outstanding rider and been one for a while. I don't know actually what people are after if they want him to improve so much. Yes I believe he is very close to his peak if he hasn't reached it already. He is still very young but also has been around for a while already. He sits comfortably on the top of the 2nd tier of GC riders, Pogacar, Vingegaard and likely also peak Roglic are better.

 

[LesDiablesRouges]

Probably passed you at the Pier or de Lustige Velodroom with all the crazy bikes as a child. Unless you're way, waaaay older.

For the non-Belgians, some fun pictures:

This takes me back. Always was fun to ride the weird bikes at Lustige Velodroom

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

He is an outstanding rider and been one for a while. I don't know actually what people are after if they want him to improve so much. Yes I believe he is very close to his peak if he hasn't reached it already. He is still very young but also has been around for a while already. He sits comfortably on the top of the 2nd tier of GC riders, Pogacar, Vingegaard and likely also peak Roglic are better.

Yes, he's 22, started riding a bike at 17, is about to finish a GT for the first time, has been recovering and coming back from a huge crash which took 9 months + a season. Two months ago he was still the laughing stock after a bad Tour de Suisse, but you seem to have the ability to determine he is near or at his peak and where exactly he falls between other GC riders.

Thanks for that.