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

[Barkintheeye]

The thing with Evenepoel is he will give a different excuse every interview usually contradicting himself.

But "I could have made the 2nd group and the race would have been different" is hilariously compatible with dropping like a sack of bricks on the Roche aux Faucons.

We should start calling him Little [political figure not to be named]. Fickle as a feather changing with the smallest gust of wind yet always the best in his own mind.

 

[Oldman]

On a normal day, Remco would be second.

Maybe...but the other two podium finishers managed to stay close without other help and after racing aggressively. Their effort defined their result and adding Remco might merely include another guy for Ciccone and Healy to beat in a sprint. Those two showed some serious form.
If adding Remco to the support group brought them back to Pogacar; then you have a more open outcome.

 

[houtdffan]

you CANNOT give Pog a 45 second head start on La Redoutte. However, that mistake may be on Remco. He blew up his team at FW for no reason

Yeah, he gave up when he saw he couldn't win. Because the climb up Forges looked like he was sprinting up the climb easily

 

[QueenStagiaire]

He was literally losing the wheel himself on La Redoute,

What wheel did he lose?

 

[Oldman]

Which makes it all the more baffling that the team does not care about a plan B at all. They also have Van Wilder, who won Tre Valli solo from a group with Pogacar, Roglic, Carapaz, O'Connor (who he rode off his wheel), but never is he used as either a back-up or as a decoy. Vansevenant and Schachmann could be used as decoy as well, they are both capable riders on this sort of terrain that could ride a good result.
In the days before LBL it was all about hoping to finally give the fans a 1v1 against Pogacar because it never really got to that in the classics they both started and about bringing the fight to Pogacar. And now after imploding, the narrative has shifted to "i'm not a robot", "it's quite logical this happened after his comeback from injury" though they also didn't see it coming. Another "obvious explanation" after the facts, just like his rain jacket in FW and him leading out the sprint 300m into a headwind. Seriously. **** off! The team does nothing to protect him from it, they parade him as their only option and that's a big reason why other riders aren't ready to step up when something like this happens. They aren't treated as viable alternatives or even outside options. It's the team who are much of the cause of why he has to deal with this pressure. Like they are amazed everybody is looking at Remco from Team Remco. Who would have thought?!
Either this team is in need of new management or he needs to move away for his own good. The team nor the team car are doing him any favors. It's not like they have the best performing staff of the peloton. At this point the only reason to stay is Specialized. But i fear that realisation has to come from within Evenepoel first, that he is being surrounded by yes-men.

Agreed that team strategy is flawed. On the other hand, he raced over 200km with either Pogacar right behind him or right in front of him. Getting out of position before Redoute? That is a serious mistake and Remco's alone. He can say "we" were out of position if he is using the royal/plural self-reference. Of all the things everyone knew: position on that hill was the priority. It's OK to say my training hasn't got me to the point I can dictate a race in the 6th hour....or third week but he still has to ride his bike to the hill base in some sensible way.

 

[Oldman]

What wheel did he lose?

Every important rider.

 

[houtdffan]

Every important rider.

he was caught behind turtles. That's why he lost the wheel. The turtles got dropped and Remco was caught in "lapped traffic"

His fault alone

 

[AmRacer]

Maybe...but the other two podium finishers managed to stay close without other help and after racing aggressively. Their effort defined their result and adding Remco might merely include another guy for Ciccone and Healy to beat in a sprint. Those two showed some serious form.
If adding Remco to the support group brought them back to Pogacar; then you have a more open outcome.

Or Remco drops them on a normal day.

 

[Oldman]

he was caught behind turtles. That's why he lost the wheel. The turtles got dropped and Remco was caught in "lapped traffic"

His fault alone

Just re-watched that section, highlighted on the race thread. Remco had open lanes to respond, if he chose. He didn't while Healy and an EF teammate ramped up the pursuit tempo and then Pidcock and Ciccione attacked to create a gap. Remco rode to the top of Redoubte before he had terrain he could accelerate on. His efforts were short and he knew he didn't have it. He wasn't caught behind anyone he couldn't ride around when he's on a normal day.
He's got a way to go for a real normal, for him.

 

[Oldman]

Or Remco drops them on a normal day.

Yeah, they all get to race on their best normal day, right?

 

[Sciatic]

Just re-watched that section, highlighted on the race thread. Remco had open lanes to respond, if he chose. He didn't while Healy and an EF teammate ramped up the pursuit tempo and then Pidcock and Ciccione attacked to create a gap. Remco rode to the top of Redoubte before he had terrain he could accelerate on. His efforts were short and he knew he didn't have it. He wasn't caught behind anyone he couldn't ride around when he's on a normal day.
He's got a way to go for a real normal, for him.

That's what I observed as well.

 

[AmRacer]

Yeah, they all get to race on their best normal day, right?

Especially Remco 🤣

 

[KoopaCycling]

Remco 'forced' to waste 'mental' time on media today. Ruben Van Gucht making Remco angry. Admittedly, if someone made such insinuations about family, I probably would have felt the need to adress it as well.

 

[Berniece]

Remco 'forced' to waste 'mental' time on media today. Ruben Van Gucht making Remco angry. Admittedly, if someone made such insinuations about family, I probably would have felt the need to adress it as well.

For context, a journalist (Ruben Van Gucht) said on national TV that there are rumours that Remco is taking care of his wife's family. Obviously Remco felt the need to respond that it's a blatant lie, and that the family has got more than enough money themselves and worked hard for this.

His response in English:

Let me be very clear: this is complete nonsense. My wife comes from a wealthy family. With parents who have built a wonderful life for their children through hard work and entrepreneurship. Oumi was my neighbor. Her parents live just 200 meters from mine in Schepdaal. Everyone who lives there knows that they live in a beautiful villa. A huge house.

I have always been welcomed there with open arms since I was 17. We have known each other since we were young. Long before there was any talk of money, fame or anything else. Her parents do not owe their prosperity to anyone. Certainly not to me.

And then you, Ruben, come and tell me that I would take care of them? Let me explain something to you: if anyone has helped, it is more likely to be our (in-laws) who have always done everything to support us and make us stronger.

I don’t know where you get your stories from, Ruben. Or is it hard for you to believe that a Moroccan family simply worked hard and is well-off? That says more about your limited worldview than about reality.

The real truth is simple: love, respect and hard work have brought us where we are now. Not prejudices. Not gossip. And certainly not people who prefer to call themselves journalists, but prefer to spread nonsense.

Maybe you should worry more about your own family, Ruben... Because we hear things too.

 

[Salvarani]

“That was a major collective error. We were too far back on La Redoute. My form was there — my power numbers on La Redoute were better than in the editions I’ve won. With a better position I could’ve gone with Healy and Ciccone (in the chase behind Pogacar, ed.). It wasn’t my absolute best day and I felt a bit tired in the final, but it was actually pretty decent.”

“We were far too badly positioned at the foot of La Redoute. We didn’t race aggressively enough heading into that climb. It’s a shame, because I actually had the legs to stay with the second group. It would’ve made for a very different race.”


So why give up and hide on RaF? Poor mentality.

This pretty much aligns about what I said. That he didnt seem to be that cooked.

Just that his position was so poor going into Redoute, that he basically forfeited by finding himself in such an unfavorable position. Giving too much of an advantage to others.

Vervaeke dropped early. Serry was seen dropping as well.

You can say the team, with the guys he had left, should have helped him stay in the front. Remco could have tried to follow other riders and teams as well though. It just doesnt seem like he wanted to or could get involved in the fight for position. That the peloton was still quite big was bad for him, if this is a problem.

 

[pastronef]

with his twitter reply to that lunatic piece of shyyte Festinaboy-Vayer a few months ago and now this reply, I'm on the Remco bandawagon

 

[BubbaChuck]

remco will be fine,people are acting like its end of the world.he just needs to tune that belgian *** out and keep working.he had a bad day,so what.it happened to pogacar many times.real question,.what will you do next day.if pog likes anyone from peleton,its remco.

 

[AmRacer]

remco will be fine,people are acting like its end of the world.he just needs to tune that belgian *** out and keep working.he had a bad day,so what.it happened to pogacar many times.real question,.what will you do next day.if pog likes anyone from peleton,its remco.

When Pogi has a bad day, he comes second or third.