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

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But why did the teams from the reconnaissance months ago not voice their discent? I'm not defending Vegni, but, by all means, who is pontificating now? This should have been addressed by all previously. And then, if a motorcycle can provide support who cares? The UCI is acting irresposibly. Just go up the freekin mountain.
I don't know, but the teams should have done a reconnaissance, some way, some how. Although I agree that Vegni should have anticipated the problem. But let's just go up the mountain. I mean, they have ridden in the snow. What is happening with the sport?
I agree with you....there's something that we're not being told I think
 
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Will he catch Daan Hoole tomorrow?
He beat Hoole by 3.04s/km in Algarve '22. That'd be roughly 1 minute over tomorrow's TT.
He beat Hoole by 3.68s/km in Wollongong. That'd be roughly 1 minute 12s tomorrow.

So Hoole should definitely serve as a carrot even if he doesn't manage to catch him. The downside is that he might not be able to come close enough on the flat part. If he catches Hoole on the climby part, he will fly by him.
 
If the amount of available space is as limited as it sounds, there might not be room for all the motos and riders to collect up there before descending. And I would guess it would not be great for descending motos or riders to be coming back down a winding narrow road while riders are doing their TT up the road. I think someone mentioned riders going off (at their 1 minute intervals) in groups of 20, and then have a break long enough for this motos to all descend together. Then the next 20, etc. But that would probably double the overall length of the TT.
But yeah, seems like that should have been one of the first considerations when planning this stage last year!
I'd say thet Vegni miscalculated, however, this still does not exonerate the teams.
Important fact: he didn't recon in 5 feet of snow.
He didn't even ride in 5 inches of snow so what's you point?
My point is that we have become a bunch of lilly-livered sissies.
 
I don't know, but the teams should have done a reconnaissance, some way, some how. Although I agree that Vegni should have anticipated the problem. But let's just go up the mountain. I mean, they have ridden in the snow. What is happening with the sport?
Nobody is going to do a recon of a road up a mountain when you know it is covered in a couple feet of snow. The organisation designed the route, so you as a team assume it will be in order by the time the Giro draws closer, that the snow will be taken care of. Nobody is going to go there to establish the entire mountain is covered in snow, just to make sure the organisers are not idiots. They do the recon as soon as a road opens up. Which only recently happened.

We've arrived at the big day and there is just one important question:

Should this thread (and the Roglic one) be stickied for the next three weeks?
Maybe the Roglic one, because this one will be at the top of the page anyway.

* Bah-dum-tshhh *
 
Nobody is going to do a recon of a road up a mountain when you know it is covered in a couple feet of snow. The organisation designed the route, so you as a team assume it will be in order by the time the Giro draws closer, that the snow will be taken care of. Nobody is going to go there to establish the entire mountain is covered in snow, just to make sure the organisers are not idiots. They do the recon as soon as a road opens up. Which only recently happened.
If going up wasn't possible, how did they know? Sombody saw the conditions and thus the road width before, but nobody says anything until the eve of the Giro? The teams have no idea of the course of such a potentially decisive stage until just now? I don't buy it.
 
If the amount of available space is as limited as it sounds, there might not be room for all the motos and riders to collect up there before descending. And I would guess it would not be great for descending motos or riders to be coming back down a winding narrow road while riders are doing their TT up the road. I think someone mentioned riders going off (at their 1 minute intervals) in groups of 20, and then have a break long enough for this motos to all descend together. Then the next 20, etc. But that would probably double the overall length of the TT.
But yeah, seems like that should have been one of the first considerations when planning this stage last year!
I don't disagree, but all I'm saying is that the teams should have complained before. There is a way, but they and the UCI don't like it. Not liking something, however, is different from not being able to do it.
 
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Nobody is going to do a recon of a road up a mountain when you know it is covered in a couple feet of snow. The organisation designed the route, so you as a team assume it will be in order by the time the Giro draws closer, that the snow will be taken care of. Nobody is going to go there to establish the entire mountain is covered in snow, just to make sure the organisers are not idiots. They do the recon as soon as a road opens up. Which only recently happened.


Maybe the Roglic one, because this one will be at the top of the page anyway.

* Bah-dum-tshhh *

But what if something happens to you?

BDT
 
There has been a lot of chatter about the strategic benefit of not taking pink today (see link below for an article in Dutch). What's the opinion here? I would think that taking the pink jersey early gives up some control and time to rest due to the many obligations after the finish. Probably there is a bit higher risk of catching covid as well. On the other hand, he is the world champion and one of the main protagonists here so he will have his obligations anyway. Regarding the idea that "the team has to control the first week if he has pink" I think that this is just bs! They can simply decide not to protect the jersey and focus only on his main rivals.

 
There has been a lot of chatter about the strategic benefit of not taking pink today (see link below for an article in Dutch). What's the opinion here? I would think that taking the pink jersey early gives up some control and time to rest due to the many obligations after the finish. Probably there is a bit higher risk of catching covid as well. On the other hand, he is the world champion and one of the main protagonists here so he will have his obligations anyway. Regarding the idea that "the team has to control the first week if he has pink" I think that this is just bs! They can simply decide not to protect the jersey and focus only on his main rivals.

They just don't want their team to ride from day 2 already. But Remco will try to win offcourse, he said stage 4 is a good one to give the jersey away. If Pedersen is close today it can be even earlier.
 
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There has been a lot of chatter about the strategic benefit of not taking pink today (see link below for an article in Dutch). What's the opinion here? I would think that taking the pink jersey early gives up some control and time to rest due to the many obligations after the finish. Probably there is a bit higher risk of catching covid as well. On the other hand, he is the world champion and one of the main protagonists here so he will have his obligations anyway. Regarding the idea that "the team has to control the first week if he has pink" I think that this is just bs! They can simply decide not to protect the jersey and focus only on his main rivals.

Preferably Almeida or another U25 leads the race 2.5 weeks so Remco can ride around in his rainbows otherwise he will barely have worn it come August.
 
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That's how much they claimed they were aiming for last year. However, in an interview right after the Vuelta with Sammy Neirinck he admitted his weight was 3kg lower than Liège'22, which meant it should have been 61-62kg at the Vuelta. Also in the interview now with Renaat Schotte, it didn't really seem like he was being earnest per se. Just the same 63kg answer as last year. I surely hope he isn't heavier than during the Vuelta, because his climbing needs to be on another level compared to the Vuelta. I certainly hope they didn't buff him up in order to gain a few seconds extra in the TT, because he would lose those seconds tenfold in the third week. I think he looked lean, but certainly not superskinny. Let's hope the numbers add up.

You are belgian right? I guess you don't have access behind this paywall either?

But from the title and what can be read: Remco weights 63kg, 1,5kg heavier than the Vuelta and that was a deliberate choice. (that part is behind the paywall).

So i'm guessing you aren't to far off with the 61-62kg.


Maybe he is a bit heavier so he can be fresher for the 3rd week? (but that would mean his climbing will be a impacted as well). (and hopefully not for those measily 40km flat TT)
 
You are belgian right? I guess you don't have access behind this paywall either?

But from the title and what can be read: Remco weights 63kg, 1,5kg heavier than the Vuelta and that was a deliberate choice. (that part is behind the paywall).

So i'm guessing you aren't to far off with the 61-62kg.


Maybe he is a bit heavier so he can be fresher for the 3rd week? (but that would mean his climbing will be a impacted as well). (and hopefully not for those measily 40km flat TT)
If you google the headline, you get another article of the same newspaper, posted on the same day and hour, about the same subject, giving you another intro, that his current weight is ideal for the two flat TT's in the first week.
So let's hope they are just blowing smoke and aren't that dumb to actually forfait gains in the third week in order to gain 20 seconds in the first. For a GC rider his size, 63 is a lot with high mountains coming up. I don't assume they hope to lose 2kg between day 9 and 13 :tearsofjoy:
 
If you google the headline, you get another article of the same newspaper, posted on the same day and hour, about the same subject, giving you another intro, that his current weight is ideal for the two flat TT's in the first week.
So let's hope they are just blowing smoke and aren't that dumb to actually forfait gains in the third week in order to gain 20 seconds in the first. For a GC rider his size, 63 is a lot with high mountains coming up. I don't assume they hope to lose 2kg between day 9 and 13 :tearsofjoy:
Maybe Remco has so much power they dont bother with trimming him down too much o_O Plus its not just about an additional 1 kg of fat (this wouldnt give tt advantage) so even more difficult to change during a GT
 
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