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

[Logic-is-your-friend]

A few more crashes and corona and Van Wilder might win this Giro

De Plus is sneaking through this Giro.

 

[Andre]

...ok, that being said I'll now watch the last 15 kilometers

 

[topcat]

Why would you hope that? Are you the organiser? It's not like he has been softpedalling at the back of the peloton. He was in the pink jersey, won 2 stages and was the main reason why people were watching the Giro. Do other riders do the same when they crash out? Serious question.

I want Remco to do the tour so it’ll be worth watching.
I always watch the Giro because it’s a real grand tour. I often don’t watch the Vuelta. I did last year because it was the coronation of a special rider.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I want Remco to do the tour so it’ll be worth watching.
I always watch the Giro because it’s a real grand tour. I often don’t watch the Vuelta. I did last year because it was the coronation of a special rider.

Ayuso sure was special.
(only mildly kidding)

 

[houtdffan]

Lefevre is saying no tour this year and maybe no tour next year

Patrick Lefevere is heel duidelijk over Remco Evenepoel en de Tour de France

Rijdt Remco Evenepoel de Tour de France? Dat is de vraag die velen zich na zijn opgave in de Giro stellen. "Neen", was het antwoord van Patrick Lefevere bij de RTBF duidelijk.

www.wielerkrant.be

from google translate


The team management has already announced that that is not the plan and Patrick Lefevere repeated that at RTBF : "No, Evenepoel will not ride the Tour. The plan remains to discover that race in 2024. Or maybe he will return to the Giro."

Read more: https://www.wielerkrant.be/nieuws/2...-evenepoel-en-de-tour-de-france#ixzz81z36cxDT

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Lefevre is saying no tour this year and maybe no tour next year

Sure, maybe when he retires he can go to the Tour as an expert. Next year is his sixth pro season and if you don‘t make it to the Tour in six years, as one of the best riders in the world, that‘s just silly.

Edit: Looking around on PCS after this post made me realize that Pascal Ackermann is now in his seventh WT season and still hasn‘t done the Tour.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

PL probably just wants ASO to make him a good offer.

 

[houtdffan]

PL probably just wants ASO to make him a good offer.

Vegni and Prudhomme had better pay up or miss out is what Lefevre is saying

 

[VayaVayaVaya]

Hopefully, he is being coy or it is a negotiating tactic. Remco IMO should go to the Tour this year if he recovers quickly and definitely next year.

• Contador rode and won the Giro despite being called up from a beach vacation 10 days prior.
• Roglic crashed out of the Tour 3 years in a row and rode the Vuelta a month later.
• Froome got 3rd in the Tour after winning the Giro.
• Dumoulin got 2nd in both.
• Pogacar won his first attempt.
• Contador rode and won the 2014 Vuelta after fracturing his leg in the Tour
• Froome got second in the 2014 Vuelta after breaking his leg in the Tour

And so on. I know the Tour is the Tour but the point is I agree with others saying all this perfect prep talk is nonsense. Put the kid in and let him work. He’s a rider, let him ride.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Lefevre is saying no tour this year and maybe no tour next year

Patrick Lefevere is heel duidelijk over Remco Evenepoel en de Tour de France

Rijdt Remco Evenepoel de Tour de France? Dat is de vraag die velen zich na zijn opgave in de Giro stellen. "Neen", was het antwoord van Patrick Lefevere bij de RTBF duidelijk.

www.wielerkrant.be

from google translate


The team management has already announced that that is not the plan and Patrick Lefevere repeated that at RTBF : "No, Evenepoel will not ride the Tour. The plan remains to discover that race in 2024. Or maybe he will return to the Giro."

Read more: https://www.wielerkrant.be/nieuws/2...-evenepoel-en-de-tour-de-france#ixzz81z36cxDT

One thing is for sure, RCS won't pay him any money to come to the Giro again and with Lefevre firing back at them (talking about potentially suing La Gazzette/RCS for slander and how they should be grateful that Remco came to the Giro) the situation is probably a bit tense atm.

I think RCS is mainly pissed because the team didn't inform them first before releasing the news on social media.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Vegni and Prudhomme had better pay up or miss out is what Lefevre is saying

The Tour really doesn't need to do that, since the sponsors demand that you send your biggest starts to the biggest race, to get the most media exposure.

 

[Berniece]

I think RCS is mainly pissed because the team didn't inform them first before releasing the news on social media.

They talked with Lefevere who apologised about that.

 

[houtdffan]

The Tour really doesn't need to do that, since the sponsors demand that you send your biggest starts to the biggest race, to get the most media exposure.

Lefevre would probably make Prudhomme pay up even for the Vuelta

 

[Red Rick]

PL probably just wants ASO to make him a good offer.

cant even tell if ironic or not

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Hopefully, he is being coy or it is a negotiating tactic. Remco IMO should go to the Tour this year if he recovers quickly and definitely next year.

• Contador rode and won the Giro despite being called up from a beach vacation 10 days prior.
• Roglic crashed out of the Tour 3 years in a row and rode the Vuelta a month later.
• Froome got 3rd in the Tour after winning the Giro.
• Dumoulin got 2nd in both.
• Pogacar won his first attempt.
• Contador rode and won the 2014 Vuelta after fracturing his leg in the Tour
• Froome got second in the 2014 Vuelta after breaking his leg in the Tour

And so on. I know the Tour is the Tour but the point is I agree with others saying all this perfect prep talk is nonsense. Put the kid in and let him work. He’s a rider, let him ride.

All Tour to Vuelta examples are pointless. There are far less top GC riders aiming for the Vuelta as season goal. Most top riders go there after having peaked for the Tour, and they usually get their B-team in support. Situation from dropping out of the Giro and going to the Tour is completely different. He would have to go to the Tour with a B-team in terms of GC support. He already peaked for Giro, now has to recover, rest and peak again for the Tour, where the best GC riders who will try to be as close to 100% as possible, since it is their season goal, are waiting for him with their A-team in support.

 

[Mayomaniac]

They talked with Lefevere who apologised about that.

Ok, if they got that one cleared up than things should be fine.
People shouldn't be surprised about the hit pieces on Italian media, that's what they (and many fans) do. Treat you like a kind when you're winning and when you're down they kick you. Bandwagon jumping at it's finest.

 

[wickedw]

I'm sure they'll just send him to some "kermis koers" in Belgium instead of actually letting him ride anything with significance. He should have started at the tour a long time ago, the only excuse they could use before is that the team isn't strong enough to support him.. Well I'm sorry but they never will be either, because Lefevre rather signs another sprinter and some leadout riders then actual - useful - domestiques for GC.

He either needs to ride a GT still this season or a bunch of the 1 week WT races. For me it has to be the Tour, just get it over with already. Yes it's the biggest race in cycling but it's also just a race like any other. Yes media pressure will be high, but it's the same for the Giro and Vuelta. How about you just don't talk to Sporza every day and let them figure it out. There is a press officer, maybe let him do some work instead of posting "tacatacatacataca" on twitter every day.

But they will probably let him ride some useless 2.Pro race because it happens to pass by his parents house a few times. Excellent use of a generational talent.

 

[VayaVayaVaya]

All Tour to Vuelta examples are pointless. There are far less top GC riders aiming for the Vuelta as season goal. Most top riders go there after having peaked for the Tour, and they usually get their B-team in support. Situation from dropping out of the Giro and going to the Tour is completely different. He would have to go to the Tour with a B-team in terms of GC support. He already peaked for Giro, now has to recover, rest and peak again for the Tour, where the best GC riders who will try to be as close to 100% as possible, since it is their season goal, are waiting for him with their A-team in support.

The point is he needs to not wait for perfect scenarios; he needs to throw himself in there and see what happens. Remco is somewhere between a top 1-4 GC racer and you never know when a debilitating injury will happen; you need to go for it when you can, whether optimal or not. If Contador, Froome, and Dumoulin can all peak for the Giro, race it to completion, and perform well in the Tour, I don’t see why Remco can’t assuming he recovers quickly. He very well might not, in which case he should have course not race the Tour. I think you would say Remco is better than the guys I named above.

And Tour, Vuelta, I get it, but breaking a bone, taking a big chunk of time off, and then riding and winning a GT with extremely suboptimal prep seems relevant to me. Again, you don’t want for things to be just right.

In any case, he absolutely should ride the Tour next year. Who would have guessed Bernal wouldn’t contend for the Tour for at least the next 4 Tours when he won in 2019? Or that Contador would never win another (on paper) after 2009? Carpe diem, Remco, and show your class.

 

[Oldermanish]

Roglič should collect his first Giro.

The stars seem to be aligning in any case.

The top 4 crashed today, Stage 11. Weather and Covid, two things not the first influences on the forum's predication radar have proven to be more important than any single action, save for Primoz and GT getting some time. While it does seem to be setting up for Primoz it isn't coming easy to anyone, is it?

 

[Oldermanish]

Theoretically the risk is probably higher in a ski lift among the general public.

You can open all of the windows and get constant fresh air in a ski lift. Helicopters carrying 4 skinny guys in the back seat; not so much. Either way they were thinking of a better way than descending in wet/cold weather after a hard stage. Not an ideal option except the team bus which couldn't be used.

 

[Oldermanish]

The point is he needs to not wait for perfect scenarios; he needs to throw himself in there and see what happens. Remco is somewhere between a top 1-4 GC racer and you never know when a debilitating injury will happen; you need to go for it when you can, whether optimal or not. If Contador, Froome, and Dumoulin can all peak for the Giro, race it to completion, and perform well in the Tour, I don’t see why Remco can’t assuming he recovers quickly. He very well might not, in which case he should have course not race the Tour. I think you would say Remco is better than the guys I named above.

And Tour, Vuelta, I get it, but breaking a bone, taking a big chunk of time off, and then riding and winning a GT with extremely suboptimal prep seems relevant to me. Again, you don’t want for things to be just right.

In any case, he absolutely should ride the Tour next year. Who would have guessed Bernal wouldn’t contend for the Tour for at least the next 4 Tours when he won in 2019? Or that Contador would never win another (on paper) after 2009? Carpe diem, Remco, and show your class.

Riding and winning another Vuelta against Primoz would go a long way to showing his true class.

 

[peterfin]

All Tour to Vuelta examples are pointless. There are far less top GC riders aiming for the Vuelta as season goal. Most top riders go there after having peaked for the Tour, and they usually get their B-team in support. Situation from dropping out of the Giro and going to the Tour is completely different. He would have to go to the Tour with a B-team in terms of GC support. He already peaked for Giro, now has to recover, rest and peak again for the Tour, where the best GC riders who will try to be as close to 100% as possible, since it is their season goal, are waiting for him with their A-team in support.

I agree in general but there are sharp peaks and shallow peaks. Remco maintained a high level for months last year. If covid is a minor infection for him, Remco can still be close to his peak at the tour. Besides that we all know the value of an A-team when covid, crashes or simply a failure of the leader makes it a B-team. The A-team is also not the defining factor (unless you maybe have WVA doing crazy stuff), it's the leader matters most. So the tour remains an opportunity, even if it is a small one, that is missed if he doesn't start. It may mean that he values other goals such as the WC higher, fine, but it does mean having one chance less of winning the tour. Maybe I am part of a minority here but for me the tour is still by far the most important cycling event, as it is for basically all people that are not following cycling like we do.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I agree in general but there are sharp peaks and shallow peaks. Remco maintained a high level for months last year. If covid is a minor infection for him, Remco can still be close to his peak at the tour. Besides that we all know the value of an A-team when covid, crashes or simply a failure of the leader makes it a B-team. The A-team is also not the defining factor (unless you maybe have WVA doing crazy stuff), it's the leader matters most. So the tour remains an opportunity, even if it is a small one, that is missed if he doesn't start. It may mean that he values other goals such as the WC higher, fine, but it does mean having one chance less of winning the tour. Maybe I am part of a minority here but for me the tour is still by far the most important cycling event, as it is for basically all people that are not following cycling like we do.

As i said before, San Sebastian to Worlds last year was 2 months. Liège to Worlds is 3.5 months this year.

 

[VayaVayaVaya]

Riding and winning another Vuelta against Primoz would go a long way to showing his true class.

True, but Roglic hedged the other day about the Tour. I won’t be surprised if he rides it instead of the Vuelta.

 

[red_flanders]

Lefevre is saying no tour this year and maybe no tour next year

Patrick Lefevere is heel duidelijk over Remco Evenepoel en de Tour de France

Rijdt Remco Evenepoel de Tour de France? Dat is de vraag die velen zich na zijn opgave in de Giro stellen. "Neen", was het antwoord van Patrick Lefevere bij de RTBF duidelijk.

www.wielerkrant.be

from google translate


The team management has already announced that that is not the plan and Patrick Lefevere repeated that at RTBF : "No, Evenepoel will not ride the Tour. The plan remains to discover that race in 2024. Or maybe he will return to the Giro."

Read more: https://www.wielerkrant.be/nieuws/2...-evenepoel-en-de-tour-de-france#ixzz81z36cxDT

No Tour next year is freaking ridiculous.