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

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Berniece

Berniece

Sep 12, 2022
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I came upon an article from a couple of days ago, where the greatest cyclist of all time, Eddy Merckx, discussed cycling in general but also Pogacar and Evenepoel in an interview together with his son. Nothing much was said on Remco, just that they are looking forward to see him race again.

Eddy: “It’s also time for Remco Evenepoel to return. That collision during training was a serious blow.”

Axel: “In terms of pure talent, Remco is perhaps the best together with Pogacar. Pogacar is better as a climber, Remco as a time trialist.”

Eddy: “Pogacar is more complete, but the engine of those two is the same.”
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Berniece

Berniece

Sep 12, 2022
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It's official, he's riding Tour de Romandie. Now hopefully Vingegaard joins too.

488485401_1055108879988073_2827103266467010597_n.jpg
 
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Krzysztof_O

Krzysztof_O

Jul 7, 2013
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Any chance for Remco to be competitive right after his comeback and for Liege not to be a foregone conclusion? Or is it asking too much? We haven't see a proper duel with Pogacar there yet (twice due to Pogi, twice due to Remco if 2021 is included).
 
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Berniece

Berniece

Sep 12, 2022
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Krzysztof_O said:
Any chance for Remco to be competitive right after his comeback and for Liege not to be a foregone conclusion? Or is it asking too much? We haven't see a proper duel with Pogacar there yet (twice due to Pogi, twice due to Remco if 2021 is included).
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No, clue. We’ll know more after Amstel. I think he’ll be competitive, but Liege… not so sure, different ball game
 
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Berniece

Berniece

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KenFiamingo said:
In order to compete against Pogacar who is his best shape ever, Remco needs to be in his best shape ever. I doubt the already is now given that his preparation of the 2025 season also largely consisted of physical recovery.
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That's true, but I still expect a lot of him due to the altitude training. I'm not sure if the altitude training is to compensate the missed training days and his level will just be whatever it would've been without a crash and no altitude, or if he's actually at a level as when he descents from altitude and does Classica San Sebastian.

I hope the latter, since that would make for a more interesting AGR and LBL.
 
J

Jan the Man

Mar 12, 2010
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Krzysztof_O said:
Any chance for Remco to be competitive right after his comeback and for Liege not to be a foregone conclusion? Or is it asking too much? We haven't see a proper duel with Pogacar there yet (twice due to Pogi, twice due to Remco
Click to expand...

Berniece said:
That's true, but I still expect a lot of him due to the altitude training. I'm not sure if the altitude training is to compensate the missed training days and his level will just be whatever it would've been without a crash and no altitude, or if he's actually at a level as when he descents from altitude and does Classica San Sebastian.

I hope the latter, since that would make for a more interesting AGR and LBL.
Click to expand...

He is almost certainly going to be very competitive because he’s a cut above all the rest other than Pog.

I would be surprised if he could live with Pog in Liege (albeit it does suit Remco much more than Lombardia) simply because of the different build up (assuming Pog does not crash in Roubaix for example) and realistically he probably needs to be at a level where he can drop Pog not just live with him because ordinarily you back Pog in a sprint
 
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Berniece

Berniece

Sep 12, 2022
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Jan the Man said:
He is almost certainly going to be very competitive because he’s a cut above all the rest other than Pog.

I would be surprised if he could live with Pog in Liege (albeit it does suit Remco much more than Lombardia) simply because of the different build up (assuming Pog does not crash in Roubaix for example) and realistically he probably needs to be at a level where he can drop Pog not just live with him because ordinarily you back Pog in a sprint
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I can live with him losing the sprint in Liege to Pogacar, but I doubt he'll be able to follow. Wouldn't be surprised if we get into a Lombardia '24 scenario where Pogacar drops everyone, as does Evenepoel, and both finish before the bunch but not together.
 
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H

hayneplane

Sep 4, 2017
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Berniece said:
That's true, but I still expect a lot of him due to the altitude training. I'm not sure if the altitude training is to compensate the missed training days and his level will just be whatever it would've been without a crash and no altitude, or if he's actually at a level as when he descents from altitude and does Classica San Sebastian.

I hope the latter, since that would make for a more interesting AGR and LBL.
Click to expand...
I hope he is in excellent shape as he is a fantastic attacking rider who brings quality and drama and is good for the sport.

I feel it’s likely he can be in strong shape and get results like Lombardia last year where clearly best of the rest but unable to hang with Pogacar at the crunch point.
 
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Logic-is-your-friend

Logic-is-your-friend

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The only time Pogacar became vulnerable was after he broke his wrist which messed up his prep. But when other riders crash and break more bones, losing more prep time, people seem to discard the idea. Last year Evenepoel had to rush to get ready for the TDF as was evident by his Dauphiné showing. After the Olympics (where he casually took double gold) he had nearly 3 weeks less recovery than Pogacar after a longer intensive period than Pogacar in order to get ready for worlds and Lombardia. But let's pretend this is the order of things.
 
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Red Rick

Red Rick

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Logic-is-your-friend said:
The only time Pogacar became vulnerable was after he broke his wrist which messed up his prep. But when other riders crash and break more bones, losing more prep time, people seem to discard the idea. Last year Evenepoel had to rush to get ready for the TDF as was evident by his Dauphiné showing. After the Olympics (where he casually took double gold) he had nearly 3 weeks less recovery than Pogacar after a longer intensive period than Pogacar in order to get ready for worlds and Lombardia. But let's pretend this is the order of things.
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Don't disagree Evenepoel wasn't at his highest level at the WC, yet at the same time I think the burden of proof that he's at Pogacar's level in a race such as Liege is absolutely on him.
 
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A

AmRacer

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Logic-is-your-friend said:
The only time Pogacar became vulnerable was after he broke his wrist which messed up his prep. But when other riders crash and break more bones, losing more prep time, people seem to discard the idea. Last year Evenepoel had to rush to get ready for the TDF as was evident by his Dauphiné showing. After the Olympics (where he casually took double gold) he had nearly 3 weeks less recovery than Pogacar after a longer intensive period than Pogacar in order to get ready for worlds and Lombardia. But let's pretend this is the order of things.
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I'm not pretending, Pogi is the 🐐. Jonas had even less prep time for the Tour, just saying.
 
A

AmRacer

Sep 1, 2023
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Red Rick said:
Don't disagree Evenepoel wasn't at his highest level at the WC, yet at the same time I think the burden of proof that he's at Pogacar's level in a race such as Liege is absolutely on him.
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Remco should've dropped Mathieu, who wasn't at his best either, at the WC.
 
T

The fridge in the blue trees

Jun 21, 2009
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Logic-is-your-friend said:
The only time Pogacar became vulnerable was after he broke his wrist which messed up his prep. But when other riders crash and break more bones, losing more prep time, people seem to discard the idea. Last year Evenepoel had to rush to get ready for the TDF as was evident by his Dauphiné showing. After the Olympics (where he casually took double gold) he had nearly 3 weeks less recovery than Pogacar after a longer intensive period than Pogacar in order to get ready for worlds and Lombardia. But let's pretend this is the order of things.
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Or let's pretend they are in the same league
 
Peyroteo94

Peyroteo94

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The fridge in the blue trees said:
Or let's pretend they are in the same league
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Exactly this. Remco is such a fantastic rider, a joy to watch but let's not pretend he can compete with Pogacar. He simply can't.
Now, just hope Quickstep is not rushing him back again because it would be beyond stupid after what he did in the Giro 2021. I don't know who is in charge of his schedule, but doing Ardennes as your first days of racing, is playing with fire, specially with a rider who already had a decent amount of severe crashes. Unless he is really in top shape and ready to fight with Pogacar (if he is in his best shape, Remco doesn't have a chance no matter what) or he should race Giro del Trentino and then Romandie. Ardennes are very chaotic, specially AGR.
 
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