Then the team needs to go hard from Vielsalm to the top of Cote Desnie, with an attack from Evenepoel right after the climb. They need to control the race for 57km's.
I'm not sure that is necessary. Somewhere between Wanne and Haute Levée could be enough to cut everybody's legs off. There may still be people there when he attacks, but if they are dead, it doesn't matter. Look at the size of the peloton before Alaphilippe attacked in Amstel and 5km later. They don't necessarily have to have dropped before. I'm thinking of his 2022 San Sebastian win. Even if Pogacar is with him it will be a 1v1 which will be more in his favor than in case it is a 1v1 starting after Redoute. Together they can distance the others. Pog will do his share of the work because he'll want to prove Amstel was a fluke.
He had already been working on his core strength and there was no improvement as the issue returned in his first WT race. Next explanation was saddle height. After a year of analysing the problem, if this is what caused it, i mean... that's like taking your car to the shop because it doesn't run anymore, and after having replaced the entire engine, checking to see if there is still gas in the tank.
I agree, but doubt SOQ will do this. They probably also want to wait for La Redoute, basically have the same plan as UAE. With the idea that Evenepoel can just beat him.
Yep, this was also their plain in 2023 when Pog crashed. Pog also struggled in Amstel the week before against Healy that year, and needed Leo to bail him out. So it might work against a not-top-shape Pog. But if Pogacar is on form, best case scenario Evenepoel will lose a sprint.
Most are also at the end of their long spring campaign and want to go on vacation. Podium should be a given really, and a win would be nice
So he lacked the balls to race?From Het Nieuwsblad:
So Remco believe the course is tough enough to bring som real fatigue into Nys' legs. Guess we will see some real action before Huy then.
Might Remco think a hard race on wednesday increases his chances in LBL, thinking it benefits him more than Pog?
Was that Vingegaard’s issue during the gravel stage? That he didn’t have any energy left?
Vingegaard rode strategically sound. Was waiting for the Mur the sound strategy for Evenepoel?
Did Evenepoel have other options like Vingegaard had? Or, again, was he completely dead?
So it wasn't sound to wait for the Mur and he didn't have the balls to open the race on the penultimate ascent. Sad.
He didn’t have the energy to open the race earlier. While Vingegaard did have the energy to do something else besides sucking wheels.
If he was so low on energy why have his team on the front so much working their tail off for a leader who didn’t have it at all.
There's just this pattern where he always, always comes up with an excuse where he subtly (or sometimes less subtly) puts the blame on other factors. He's got no PR savvy. And no, that's not a good thing in this case. Sometimes, you just gotta be able to say that someone was a better rider that day. He's got a lot of difficulty admitting that.
Well, the reality is there almost always IS a reason (to you that seems like an excuse) for why things go a certain way in a race, whether the result was positive or negative. As a fan I'm glad to hear what his analysis of the race is. Other riders may think the same things but not say them; that might benefit them, but I don't think it benefits us. PR savvy in 2025 is different than 20 years ago. I'm an old guy, but you make it sound like you yearn for the days when cyclists were the stoic sons from families of coal miners and farmers.
See, that's the thing. You're right, there's always a reason why you lose a race. Most often, the others were faster or smarter. I would just like him to admit to that. Just one time, saying: "Hey, the other guy was stronger".
Ideally Desnié in case the peloton behind him is already hanging by the skin of their teeth. That gives him an 11km stretch of slightly downhill, where he can get his motor running and profit from his aero position. It would also mean whoever wants to stay in the race will have to commit completely at 50km from the finish.
While i get the general idea, and like i said on the previous page, there is truth to what you are saying, but acting like he never admits he was beaten by a better rider is obviously complete BS. I hope you are aware of that. During the TDF last year, the WCC, Lombardia... i can't remember him even insinuating losing because of "reasons".
You’re right, if he just kept it strictly to that once in a while that would come across better.
Do you start a race with no energy left, or does this happen gradually, and can be accelerated by for example the cold?
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram