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

[Berniece]

I'll give him a 50% chance of riding it. Problem is even if he pulls an excuse out of the hat he still has to travel to and ride around looking keen on Belgian roads for instagram so his preparation is still interrupted.

I don't know, they said they decided during the week of Romandie that he'll definitely ride both NC's (ITT + RR). I can't imagine them bailing on that plan unless something goes really wrong in preparation which will be shown during Dauphine. A performance similar to last year for example.

 

[Berflamand]

What is even more silly, he doesn't have the time to recon TDF stages. If he skipped NC, he could've taken the time to do that.

He can't simply skip the NC Road Race unless he fakes an injury/illness. He could skip the NC TT but I kinda prefer that he rides both with a chance to win (and a very high chance at the TT) over some recons of the TDF stages.

Are recons even that important nowadays with so many possible tools like Veloviewer, ...?

 

[Berniece]

He can't simply skip the NC Road Race unless he fakes an injury/illness. He could skip the NC TT but I kinda prefer that he rides both with a chance to win (and a very high chance at the TT) over some recons of the TDF stages.

Are recons even that important nowadays with so many possible tools like Veloviewer, ...?

Yeah I was implying that he should just fake it. I find it silly that it's obligatory.

I think veloviewer helps, but it's not the same as riding it yourself. Even more so descends of important mountain stages. Did they learn nothing from last year? He wants to reduce the gap towards Pogacar. On stage 4 alone he lost 25s in the descend on Pogacar. Work on it, which also means doing more recons to really understand each corner.

I find that more important than the NC, even if he has a chance of winning both ITT and RR.

 

[Red Rick]

What a silly take. The end result like this is better for the team, isn't that more important? If he went for himself he would've finished 4th instead of 5th. Is that worth it compared to helping your teammate ride top 10 too which might also get him to dig even more deep when he's working for you?

4th instead of 5th is something you have no idea about before events unfold because he tapped out before finding out. And I don't buy that pacing Lecerf up a climb once is gonna make any tangible impact and it's much more important how he treats his teammates behind the scenes.

I don't think it's scandalous or terrible what Evenepoel did, but I also think it's quite obvious PR spin people are falling into.

 

[Netserk]

4th instead of 5th is something you have no idea about before events unfold because he tapped out before finding out. And I don't buy that pacing Lecerf up a climb once is gonna make any tangible impact and it's much more important how he treats his teammates behind the scenes.

I don't think it's scandalous or terrible what Evenepoel did, but I also think it's quite obvious PR spin people are falling into.

And it's not only about Thyon 2000, but also about stage 2 that they paced all day for. Once Lecerf was in front, Evenepoel was a lame duck in the group.

 

[AmRacer]

4th instead of 5th is something you have no idea about before events unfold because he tapped out before finding out. And I don't buy that pacing Lecerf up a climb once is gonna make any tangible impact and it's much more important how he treats his teammates behind the scenes.

I don't think it's scandalous or terrible what Evenepoel did, but I also think it's quite obvious PR spin people are falling into.

That narrative may help Remco mentally as well.
'I didn't give up, I helped my teammate and I know I can do better.'

 

[Berniece]

4th instead of 5th is something you have no idea about before events unfold because he tapped out before finding out. And I don't buy that pacing Lecerf up a climb once is gonna make any tangible impact and it's much more important how he treats his teammates behind the scenes.

I don't think it's scandalous or terrible what Evenepoel did, but I also think it's quite obvious PR spin people are falling into.

Not sure what you are saying, but do you mean to say that if he rode for himself he might have done better than a 4th place? I think these atletes are very capable of knowing their limits. He knows the wattage he's pushing, what his heart rate is and how he's feeling. I'm not saying miracles couldn't happen, but in this case the best bet was to help his teammate.

I do find it sad that it always has to be seen as a PR spin, instead of just helping his teammate because it was the right thing to do. He said himself in interviews that he more than likely would've exploded and wouldn't have been able to follow Almeida. Why isn't that enough? Why does he actually have to try and explode instead of helping a teammate while getting a similar end result.

 

[Berflamand]

Yeah I was implying that he should just fake it. I find it silly that it's obligatory.

I think veloviewer helps, but it's not the same as riding it yourself. Even more so descends of important mountain stages. Did they learn nothing from last year? He wants to reduce the gap towards Pogacar. On stage 4 alone he lost 25s in the descend on Pogacar. Work on it, which also means doing more recons to really understand each corner.

I find that more important than the NC, even if he has a chance of winning both ITT and RR.

Mm yeah I understand your point but I just prefer to see him race for the win as much as possible (even if it's 'only' the NC), especially in this already shortened season.

Also, there are no (substantial) downhill finishes in this TDF and gaining (or not losing) 30 seconds or a minute because you could recon some stages won't make much of a difference in the overall result this year I think.

Now in a 'normal' year and if it looks like he can reduce the gap to Pogi/Vinge, I would agree that if they go all-in for a TDF GC bid he needs to look after every 'marginal gain' and needs to make sure he knows the key stages inside and out. But this year is simply not a normal year and I'd like to see him (fight for the) win as much as possible this year instead of banking too much on the TDF.

 

[houtdffan]

Yeah I was implying that he should just fake it. I find it silly that it's obligatory.

I think veloviewer helps, but it's not the same as riding it yourself. Even more so descends of important mountain stages. Did they learn nothing from last year? He wants to reduce the gap towards Pogacar. On stage 4 alone he lost 25s in the descend on Pogacar. Work on it, which also means doing more recons to really understand each corner.

I find that more important than the NC, even if he has a chance of winning both ITT and RR.

Remco likely lost 2 stage wins due to descending last year.

He cannot repeat this

 

[Carrick-On-Seine]

Oh no, you're not gonna sucker me into watching LRCP for the first time in 2 years.

I got suckered and it'll be at least another two years before I go there again.

 

[red_flanders]

I got suckered and it'll be at least another two years before I go there again.

You don't want to listen to a 4 hour recap of 2 hours of race action?

 

[houtdffan]

Lrcp beats horner

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

What is even more silly, he doesn't have the time to recon TDF stages. If he skipped NC, he could've taken the time to do that.

Yeah... so what has he and the team been doing the past months when he wasn't able to train due to his injury? Wasn't that the ideal moment to do extensive recons and analysis of the TDF route?

 

[AmRacer]

Yeah... so what has he and the team been doing the past months when he wasn't able to train due to his injury? Wasn't that the ideal moment to do extensive recons and analysis of the TDF route?

Maybe Remco wasn't able to do a proper recon on the bike before end of Mars.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Yeah... so what has he and the team been doing the past months when he wasn't able to train due to his injury? Wasn't that the ideal moment to do extensive recons and analysis of the TDF route?

I find it very hard to judge a road by driving over it in a car. I guess they didn‘t think it was worth it.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Remco likely lost 2 stage wins due to descending last year.

He cannot repeat this

Two stage wins, and especially a chunkload of time. After Galibier, he is only a few seconds behind Vingegaard on the top, yet he can't catch Vingegaard until the descent has long ended and he himself has been caught by Ayuso etc. If he catches Vingegaard in the descent, they can work together on the flat, keep Ayuso's group behind and very likely catch Pogacar.
In the final TT, he lost most of the time to Pogacar on the downhill section, not on the climb. He also lost time on the short downhill in the first TT. There are even more examples i am now forgetting.

I find it very hard to judge a road by driving over it in a car. I guess they didn‘t think it was worth it.

If they are lazy, sure. I would expect a minimum of effort checking out key spots and especially finishes. I don't know whether at SQS they are physically impaired, but most people are able to park the car, get out, and walk for 500 meters to get a good idea of the road. It baffles me if they did not take the time to do that back in january or february when he couldn't train.

 

[Andre]

but overall, can we say that he is at this point an improved downhill rider?

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

but overall, can we say that he is at this point an improved downhill rider?

I don't think so. What has changed? He has done good descents in the past before, just to be followed by very poor descending days/weeks/months later. There was a lot of talk about helping him improve his bikehandling skills (he was going to do cyclo cross training in the winter, he was going to take cornering lessons from Cal Crutchlow to improve his descending...) None of that happened to my knowledge.

 

[Andre]

I don't think so. What has changed? He has done good descents in the past before, just to be followed by very poor descending days/weeks/months later. There was a lot of talk about helping him improve his bikehandling skills (he was going to do cyclo cross training in the winter, he was going to take cornering lessons from Cal Crutchlow to improve his descending...) None of that happened to my knowledge.

oh, well hopefully he does these things soon. Remco is still young enough to improve a whole lot...but of course like you've said, he'll need some better handlers and trainers to accomplish more success

 

[QueenStagiaire]

I think in the dry, Remco has learned to take the risks downhill, although he isn’t great, but on the TT bike he’s one of the best bike handlers. In the wet however, he is still not good at all, although we just lack recent data there.