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

[jmdirt]

How many GTs and classics does he have to win unti he stops being the underdog?

He is no longer an underdog.

 

[Sciatic]

The current contract simply isn't low. Why would Evenepoel have agreed on a low contract till the end of 2026 as if the rich teams didn't already want him when he signed it? Pretty sure there are some huge bonusses in it for winning GTs and certain classics.



Then don't sign a long contract? Like it's his own choice? Its himself and his managers that put him in this situation.
The fact that you can get a careerending injury is literally one of the reasons you should want a long contract, but then you risk being on a contract that undervalues you if you don't get that injury and you start winning everything. On the other end the team could be fuccked if he gets injured cause that would mean paying him top dollars while he's not even racing.

Did you think I was advocating for athletes doing this?

 

[Samamba]

Did you think I was advocating for athletes doing this?

Might've misunderstood your post yes.

 

[Cookster15]

They would have to though with how strong he is in the TT ( especially Vinge)

I say Remco would be similar to Vinge. Remco is shorter so has less air to push. We already saw him ride everyone off his wheel in the mountains of the Vuelta. I think you are under estimating Remco. I also doubt Vinge will repeat what we saw in TdF stage 20.

 

[Red Rick]

Doubt they would have attacked like they did in July if they were attacking an in form Remco. Exceptionally difficult to attack him once he gets to the front and has full diesel tempo going

It's also very difficult to attack him if he reverse attacks first.

I'd give Evenepoel a very good chance to win the ITT though.

 

[Extinction]

It's also very difficult to attack him if he reverse attacks first.

I'd give Evenepoel a very good chance to win the ITT though.

Oh, come on, the Remco we shall see at the Tour (whenever that is) will be a calculated bulldozer, and if he is not, they clearly don't know what they are doing.

 

[Red Rick]

Oh, come on, the Remco we shall see at the Tour (whenever that is) will be a calculated bulldozer, and if he is not, they clearly don't know what they are doing.

I just don't see reason to insist he was at the level of Pogacar and Vingegaard when he was a net loser in mountain stages to Mas. The only good thing for Evenepoel would be that Jumbo was focused on Pogacar first.

 

[Sciatic]

Might've misunderstood your post yes.

It seems ridiculous to me for them to be seeking new contracts after recently signing a long-term one—it’s just become fairly normative in many big-$ sports.

 

[Escarabajo]

The current contract simply isn't low. Why would Evenepoel have agreed on a low contract till the end of 2026 as if the rich teams didn't already want him when he signed it? Pretty sure there are some huge bonusses in it for winning GTs and certain classics.

Maybe not low but below market value. Especially compared to what other team can pay for his services. That is not for us to decide, but the owner of such team. Whether it is fair or not, is another issue. But this is business and I have seem many sportsman taking advantage of this.

 

[Escarabajo]

I am a fan of the sport but I don't like to bet. I don't consider myself an expert, but I know my things just by being a fan for such a long time. But he was my number 1 favorite at the Vuelta and if not top 5 at the Worlds IMHO. The reason why he was not the main favorite at the worlds was because I questioned his recuperation from the Vuelta. I don't think he was the underdog. I think it was a similar situation at LBL. Maybe he hasn't convinced some fans in here, but he has won races this year being the favorite and not the underdog. When he took off at the Vuelta all the other riders tried to follow and they just simply couldn't follow. If you don't like him is another thing, but don't tell me he didn't win being the main or one of the main favorites in the races this year.

If he was riding the Tour this year he would have been a heavy underdog. If you think he will be an underdog next year riding the Tour, you shouldn't be betting.

 

[Volderke]

Some random reasons why Remco wont leave quickstep:

1. Lefevere guards him like he is his father;
2. His team mates and the entourage are worth a lot.
3. His bike. He seems to be the guy who will always ride a specialized.
4. Remco cant run away now and betray the Belgian sponsors who invest heavily to build a TDF team around him.

Ineos is 60x bigger than Soudal, and I believe you can buy a lot with money. But not for the coming 3-4 years.

 

[Oldermanish]

People in this thread don't seem to understand you can complain about an underwhelming race without it being a direct personal offense to the actual winner.
[/QU

Some random reasons why Remco wont leave quickstep:

1. Lefevere guards him like he is his father;
2. His team mates and the entourage are worth a lot.
3. His bike. He seems to be the guy who will always ride a specialized.
4. Remco cant run away now and betray the Belgian sponsors who invest heavily to build a TDF team around him.

Ineos is 60x bigger than Soudal, and I believe you can buy a lot with money. But not for the coming 3-4 years.

Item 4 needs to change to show sponsors who will invest heavily. That not being a done deal would be a problem for him, I'd think. The other items are valid reasons to remain....to a point. As much as many fans presume he is invincible there are a few riders out there that know how to win the Tour. RE can't do it solo.

 

[red_flanders]

I just don't see reason to insist he was at the level of Pogacar and Vingegaard when he was a net loser in mountain stages to Mas. The only good thing for Evenepoel would be that Jumbo was focused on Pogacar first.

Is that right? He gained 1:31 in the various TT's, and won by 2:02 over Mas. So he grabbed 31 seconds...where? I can't recall. I thought it was in the mountains. Where else did Mas lose time?

 

[peterfin]

I just don't see reason to insist he was at the level of Pogacar and Vingegaard when he was a net loser in mountain stages to Mas. The only good thing for Evenepoel would be that Jumbo was focused on Pogacar first.

His losses to Mas were in the first two mountain races after his crash. The time loss was also exagerated due to his decision to ride 10 km in front during that climb to 2500m instead of letting Roglic take up the chase. These details matter. During the first week his w/kg indicated that he would at least match Pogacar and Vingegaard. In any case, I don't see why he should lose minutes. He may lack the punch at the end after a stage with multiple long climbs and lose 20 sec but not minutes, at least not in the shape he had this August and September.

 

[Lequack]

So what will his salary be now after winning Vuelta and WC? Surely up there with the top earners?

 

[md1975]

I have also read Remco wants to be on the same team his whole career. And that money is less important than that. With QS being based a Belgian team, I think he might be serious. And as he racks up wins and sponsors, his pay will increase even if his team pay is not what he is worth. Something like this:

QS paying him 1mil a year. His worth is 2mil. So here he is being paid below his "value" However, sponsors such as Spealized are making the difference up. If they pay him 1mil to ride their bike and raise it to 2mil due to results. His pay is then 3mil. Which makes up the gap. Now, I could be 100% wrong with that example. But, it could be a legitimate situation.

 

[peterfin]

Is that right? He gained 1:31 in the various TT's, and won by 2:02 over Mas. So he grabbed 31 seconds...where? I can't recall. I thought it was in the mountains. Where else did Mas lose time?

Remco gained 2:20 during the 2 TT's. Mas got 7 boni seconds more than Remco and got 2 seconds extra during the sprint of the last mountain stage (as Remco was already celebrating) so we are talking about a 9 seconds advantage for Mas. Basically it comes down to Mas losing in Praeres but gaining this back and a bit more during the Sierra Nevada weekend.

 

[Andy schleck]

Remco gained 2:20 during the 2 TT's. Mas got 7 boni seconds more than Remco and got 2 seconds extra during the sprint of the last mountain stage (as Remco was already celebrating) so we are talking about a 9 seconds advantage for Mas. Basically it comes down to Mas losing in Praeres but gaining this back and a bit more during the Sierra Nevada weekend.

Climbing at the same level of Mas during entire vuelta, is not enough to not get dropped by vingegaard and pogacar. But he can get better, he's just 22 years old.

 

[red_flanders]

Remco gained 2:20 during the 2 TT's. Mas got 7 boni seconds more than Remco and got 2 seconds extra during the sprint of the last mountain stage (as Remco was already celebrating) so we are talking about a 9 seconds advantage for Mas. Basically it comes down to Mas losing in Praeres but gaining this back and a bit more during the Sierra Nevada weekend.

Ah, yes. I got the times both wrong on the TT's, thanks.

Climbing at the same level of Mas during entire vuelta, is not enough to not get dropped by vingegaard and pogacar. But he can get better, he's just 22 years old.

I agree that what he showed in the Vuelta isn't quite enough to stay with top form Pog and Vingo, but as an aside, I do think we saw a better Mas in this Vuelta than we've seen before in a GT. Without the crash I think Remco gains around a minute on Mas in the mountains. Also agree he'll likely get a fair bit better in the next few years.

 

[del1962]

There must be places in adverts for him to make some money, replcing a certain dutch rider

 

[Escarabajo]

I have also read Remco wants to be on the same team his whole career. And that money is less important than that. With QS being based a Belgian team, I think he might be serious. And as he racks up wins and sponsors, his pay will increase even if his team pay is not what he is worth. Something like this:

QS paying him 1mil a year. His worth is 2mil. So here he is being paid below his "value" However, sponsors such as Spealized are making the difference up. If they pay him 1mil to ride their bike and raise it to 2mil due to results. His pay is then 3mil. Which makes up the gap. Now, I could be 100% wrong with that example. But, it could be a legitimate situation.

Wait a second, what?? QS paying him 1 mil a year? are you serious. If they don't fix that quickly he is a goner. Everything that has been said on this thread about him and his loyalty is completely gone. Forget about loyalty. Team fire riders and fold all the time and leave riders and family to dry. Please don't tell me this is Remco's opportunity to take advantage of the situation. Or at least take advantage of what is fair. There are riders getting 5 mil a year for doing nothing. And Remco at this moment will even carry more popularity. So popularity is not an issue either.

And BTW, INEOS can buy that contract any time. LOL.

 

[LesDiablesRouges]

The current contract is low relative to his performance. When he signed it he hadn't won LBL, La Vuelta , and WC. I'm sure there were provisions in his contract for winning certain races, but who knows how much those were.

If Froome is making 5 million per Remco is worth a lot more than that per year. Froome's contract was paying for what Froome had done not what he could/would do. Froome isn't as marketable and he wasn't one day guy whereas Remco is marketable all over Belgium and he's the type of athlete that can be popular around the world.

I'm sure he makes a tidy sum on advertisements and I do not get the impression that he's money hungry, but cycling can be extremely dangerous so it makes sense to get money to take care of his family should something happen. I'm sure he's insured by Lloyd's in case there were to be a problem.

 

[md1975]

Wait a second, what?? QS paying him 1 mil a year? are you serious. If they don't fix that quickly he is a goner. Everything that has been said on this thread about him and his loyalty is completely gone. Forget about loyalty. Team fire riders and fold all the time and leave riders and family to dry. Please don't tell me this is Remco's opportunity to take advantage of the situation. Or at least take advantage of what is fair. There are riders getting 5 mil a year for doing nothing. And Remco at this moment will even carry more popularity. So popularity is not an issue either.

And BTW, INEOS can buy that contract any time. LOL.

That is an example using a simple number. QS could be paying him 25.6mil for what we know

 

[Oldermanish]

I have also read Remco wants to be on the same team his whole career. And that money is less important than that. With QS being based a Belgian team, I think he might be serious. And as he racks up wins and sponsors, his pay will increase even if his team pay is not what he is worth. Something like this:

QS paying him 1mil a year. His worth is 2mil. So here he is being paid below his "value" However, sponsors such as Spealized are making the difference up. If they pay him 1mil to ride their bike and raise it to 2mil due to results. His pay is then 3mil. Which makes up the gap. Now, I could be 100% wrong with that example. But, it could be a legitimate situation.

He's starting to understand Big Time Sports. His window of wage opportunity is limited and, unlike NFL quarterback $200+million/5 year contracts with $125 of it paid out if you can't play tomorrow; little is guaranteed beyond the next serious crash. He also has his endorsement career to consider and being a greedy douche' during an economic downturn doesn't resonate well with his deep fan base.
He could accept less wage from QS but promote compensation from sponsors and long term supporters that will carry him into the next 10 years. The Guy is a Belgian Icon already....there is no need to cash in and crush his team support in the process this year or next year. If he's got a decent agent he will position for an international marketing personna and gradually become the sort of athlete representative that cycling lacks right now. That pays for a long time and he could concentrate on winning the Tour. He has not won a Tour and that is his gateway to a humble increase in the wages from the team who could continue to support him. Make the sponsors pay for every increase in exposure and not hurt the team base because his buddies will need to make more, too.
If Patrick/QS take the old school route where they want a cut and control him the answer is simple. F*ck Patrick because the DS's are, for the most part, mobsters that take a cut when you begin racing and want a piece of your winnings as long as you can stay on a bike. They always have the next big thing in their back pocket to keep you in line. Along that planning; he needs to continue successful progression with winning the Tour and Giro to define his career. Otherwise he could end up a crash away from many young contemporaries.

Anyone care to list the hot phenoms that were going to dominate for the next 3-5 years that are trying to get back into form and the best graces of their teams?

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

A journalist asked Lefevere about the possibility of Evenepoel leaving for Ineos. He said the odds were 0.00%. I wish he could be more precise though.

If he's got a decent agent he will position for an international marketing personna and gradually become the sort of athlete representative that cycling lacks right now.

His dad is his business manager.