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

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I honestly still don't get this guy. I know everyone wants to point to this only being a win from the breakaway but even really great gc riders normally cannot win gt mountain stages like this. Like, from the top of my head I cannot recall any gt breakaway win as dominant as either todays or stage 14 by anyone. I really really hope he can sort out his consistency problems and start trying to make raids like today when he is in gc contention. It feels like distance just doesn't matter for Remco. When he feels good and you give him an inch, he's gone.
 
I honestly still don't get this guy. I know everyone wants to point to this only being a win from the breakaway but even really great gc riders normally cannot win gt mountain stages like this. Like, from the top of my head I cannot recall any gt breakaway win as dominant as either todays or stage 14 by anyone. I really really hope he can sort out his consistency problems and start trying to make raids like today when he is in gc contention. It feels like distance just doesn't matter for Remco. When he feels good and you give him an inch, he's gone.
Was about to say the same. He wins with minutes ahead twice now after being in the breakaway almost everyday. Looked really strong today. Hope they can sort it out better for the Tour so we have a candidate for the podium. And maybe we see another raid in stage 20.
 
Didn't know Roglic had publicly demanded leadership in the 24 TDF.
According to the article with no quotable sources; he wanted to be included in the leadership opportunity for the TDF. Whether that question was posed to JV management or not it definitely should have been. Roglic has gotten some pretty poor TdF consequences that were either policy or how the races played out.
However the topic gets discussed; as a Pro he should have his voice in the matter just as Kuss may want to be featured in a future race. As folks have said: "no gifts". They have to take the wins.
 
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I honestly still don't get this guy. I know everyone wants to point to this only being a win from the breakaway but even really great gc riders normally cannot win gt mountain stages like this. Like, from the top of my head I cannot recall any gt breakaway win as dominant as either todays or stage 14 by anyone. I really really hope he can sort out his consistency problems and start trying to make raids like today when he is in gc contention. It feels like distance just doesn't matter for Remco. When he feels good and you give him an inch, he's gone.
Rasmussen distanced his nearest breakaway companion by 4'29" in Tignes 2007.
 
It's nice to win the KOM jersey I guess, but, unless you win it as a GC contestant, it means very little. It wasn't really contested and it's not surprising that Remco could win it once he's allowed to go into breaks... It's a consolation prize, at best. I would quietly collect it and move on.
But he has demonstrated by his finish line gesture that he may have learned something about this stuff. I haven't heard any quotes but stage 13 was as much about attitude as bad legs, IMO. He didn't need to lose that much time.
 
But he only won with 2’47”.
Ben O’Connor however won with more than 5 minutes in Tignes.
Well, the peloton tried to catch Rasmussen. No one tried today. And I don't think it was very impressive to beat Cattaneo and Colbrelli.

So when it comes to dominant breakaway wins, Rasmussen's is way ahead of O'Connor's.

EDIT: And the previous year, he beat his closest breakaway companion by more than 9 minutes.
 
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I honestly still don't get this guy. I know everyone wants to point to this only being a win from the breakaway but even really great gc riders normally cannot win gt mountain stages like this. Like, from the top of my head I cannot recall any gt breakaway win as dominant as either todays or stage 14 by anyone. I really really hope he can sort out his consistency problems and start trying to make raids like today when he is in gc contention. It feels like distance just doesn't matter for Remco. When he feels good and you give him an inch, he's gone.
Did we suddenly forget he's not a top 10 GC rider but also the best rouleur in the peloton? If you watched CSS last year this should be no surprise.

Not to mention he's beating guys that are far below the level of guys he beats up in CSS.
 
Remco made a mistake not being ready to go full thermonuclear in week 1.

That was the strategy last year, and he got a big lead and was able to handle bad days. His strategy should have been to be 3-4 minutes ahead after the TT. Just crush the MTFs of the first week, plus stage 8

Next year's tour, he needs to be very aggressive on the first 2 stages, which really suit his style of racing
 
I honestly still don't get this guy. I know everyone wants to point to this only being a win from the breakaway but even really great gc riders normally cannot win gt mountain stages like this. Like, from the top of my head I cannot recall any gt breakaway win as dominant as either todays or stage 14 by anyone. I really really hope he can sort out his consistency problems and start trying to make raids like today when he is in gc contention. It feels like distance just doesn't matter for Remco. When he feels good and you give him an inch, he's gone.
Ultimately it's very rare for one of the very best GC guys in the race is fully out of GC without having been ill or injured. The proper "jour sans" that Remco had doesn't seem to happen so often without some other factor, so it's unusual to see someone run riot in the 3rd week like this
 
I honestly still don't get this guy. I know everyone wants to point to this only being a win from the breakaway but even really great gc riders normally cannot win gt mountain stages like this. Like, from the top of my head I cannot recall any gt breakaway win as dominant as either todays or stage 14 by anyone. I really really hope he can sort out his consistency problems and start trying to make raids like today when he is in gc contention. It feels like distance just doesn't matter for Remco. When he feels good and you give him an inch, he's gone.
Really great gc riders isn't 30 minutes behind at stage 18. That's why.

Froome, stage 19, giro 2018. That was more exciting.
 
According to the article with no quotable sources; he wanted to be included in the leadership opportunity for the TDF. Whether that question was posed to JV management or not it definitely should have been. Roglic has gotten some pretty poor TdF consequences that were either policy or how the races played out.
However the topic gets discussed; as a Pro he should have his voice in the matter just as Kuss may want to be featured in a future race. As folks have said: "no gifts". They have to take the wins.
Roglic at this Vuelta looks better than I ever recall. He looks amazing.

JV should mix it up at tdf 24, 2 captains ride it out.
 
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The more I think of it, the more I think Remco is doing this if only for the experience.
The kid has been racing with the pros and immediately delivering, so every race there was huge pressure.
Every GT he started, hopes were (too) high and every move he made and every time he dropped, the cameras were on him.

Every one day race he started, especially after winning some big ones, he was more and more among the favourites or the outright favourite and the media / fans only expected a win and it didn't even stop there, as some people expect him to win solo with a big advantage.

This Vuelta, after his big disappointment on the Tourmalet stage, he finally could aim for a (for him) fun and very achievable goal, race without complexes and race in a GT like he likes to race all his life: in front / in the breakaway / if possible finishing solo.

So in the end, I feel he is trying to find himself back where he left it / where he lost it a bit in trying to achieve goals that were too much hay on his fork. He skipped more than one step to become a pro, and with this Vuelta, he is firmly on a step he skipped after he won the Vuelta last year and next people expected him to win another GT.