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

[AmRacer]

I think it also shows a recognition of how much having Wout Van Aert alongside him for Belgium has played in his favour in Worlds and Olympics. MVDP could be that and even more.

Mathieu races for himself only.

 

[AlpRaid]

I think it also shows a recognition of how much having Wout Van Aert alongside him for Belgium has played in his favour in Worlds and Olympics. MVDP could be that and even more.

agreed.

but he has also never shied away from working for others: Gilbert, Jacobsen, etc.

glad that he seems to have buried the hatchet with WVA -- seem even friendly. Yes, WVA has been a fabulous teammate at Worlds and Olympics. Hoping that Remco can eventually be in the position to "repay". would love for WVA to trade all those silvers for one gold.

 

[red_flanders]

Mathieu races for himself only.

Fair. Feel like that's appropriate for his win rate. For Belgium choosing Wout vs Remco, much tougher and can very much see why they've made the calls they have.

 

[AlpRaid]

Mathieu races for himself only.

really?

what about all those leadouts for Philipsen...(?)

 

[hayneplane]

Mathieu races for himself only.

In the classics yes but in TDF he has done some huge leadouts for Philipsen.

 

[hayneplane]

agreed.

but he has also never shied away from working for others: Gilbert, Jacobsen, etc.

glad that he seems to have buried the hatchet with WVA -- seem even friendly. Yes, WVA has been a fabulous teammate at Worlds and Olympics. Hoping that Remco can eventually be in the position to "repay". would love for WVA to trade all those silvers for one gold.

That is true. I was at the Worlds in 2019 and even as a neo pro he was strong enough to have been a protected rider but he took it upon himself to drop back and try and drag Gilbert back to the bunch after Gilbert had crashed in the barrier section and totally emptied the tank for his idol.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Hopefully 1,5kg didn't come at the expense of balls.

Balls impress girls but add weight uphill so Remco has a tough decision to make...

 

[CyclistAbi]

Balls impress girls but add weight uphill so Remco has a tough decision to make...

Yeah, kids first, then balls can become rather redundant.

 

[Andre]

Remco also helped out his friend Lecerf

 

[houtdffan]

hmm. but vingo is likely to be better than last year too.

a third place seems like a realistic goal (and that is barring accidents, etc.).

I expect Vingo to be much closer to Pog this time around.

So if Remco can bring the gap to Pog to 5-6 minutes, he may still actually be further behind Vingo than last year (which I fully expect).

Neither were at their best due to injury, yet he had a real chance at second until the final mtf.

These diesel climbs should also favor him sonewhat.

Not saying he beats pog barring a pog implosion like the last time in courchervel, but vingo should be in play again

 

[AlpRaid]

Neither were at their best due to injury, yet he had a real chance at second until the final mtf.

These diesel climbs should also favor him sonewhat.

Not saying he beats pog barring a pog implosion like the last time in courchervel, but vingo should be in play again

But Vingo beat Pog twice, and pretty convincingly. I feel like he will be very close to Pog this time (if not pull the "upset"). So, if you extrapolate from that, Remco is not just closing down 2 1/2 minutes on Vingo, but much much more.

We'll see. It would be good for the race if they are more level, but there's also a chance at least one of them will have bad luck of some kind (hoping not, and certainly hoping Remco does not crash!).

 

[Gratemans]

In the classics yes but in TDF he has done some huge leadouts for Philipsen.

This. And by now, he's just better at the classics than Wout. Not by a huge margin, but he is.

I suspect that's also because Wout has turned himself more into an all-rounder because that's what his team needed from him.
Mathieu has always been in a team where the GC doesn't matter. He is the star in the classics, Philipsen sprints in the Grand Tours.

Had Wout been on another team where he could solely focus on the classics, things might have turned out very differently, but as it is, let's not forget he also pulled off some ridiculous stuff in support of his main GC guys. In that sense, he's actually quite unique come to think of it. But it's all speculation anyway.

 

[AlpRaid]

This. And by now, he's just better at the classics than Wout. Not by a huge margin, but he is.

I suspect that's also because Wout has turned himself more into an all-rounder because that's what his team needed from him.
Mathieu has always been in a team where the GC doesn't matter. He is the star in the classics, Philipsen sprints in the Grand Tours.

Had Wout been on another team where he could solely focus on the classics, things might have turned out very differently, but as it is, let's not forget he also pulled off some ridiculous stuff in support of his main GC guys. In that sense, he's actually quite unique come to think of it. But it's all speculation anyway.

then again, if VDP and Remco were on the same team, they largely target different types of classics, so...

it's all moot conjecture anyway.

 

[Gratemans]

then again, if VDP and Remco were on the same team, they largely target different types of classics, so...

it's all moot conjecture anyway.

I was more responding to the "Mahieu races only for himself" statement, and why that only makes sense considering the make up of the team Mathieu is currently in.

VdP and Remco in one team? Yeah, that would make for a spring season to behold for sure.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Mathieu races for himself only.

Huh? The guy literally stopped working with Pog last year at San Remo to allow Philipsen to come back because JP said he felt great. He's led out Philipsen in sprints countless times.
I swear, I hear the craziest stuff on this board.

 

[AmRacer]

really?

what about all those leadouts for Philipsen...(?)

Remco is a sprinter?

 

[AmRacer]

Huh? The guy literally stopped working with Pog last year at San Remo to allow Philipsen to come back because JP said he felt great. He's led out Philipsen in sprints countless times.
I swear, I hear the craziest stuff on this board.

Remco is a sprinter?

 

[Berniece]

glad that he seems to have buried the hatchet with WVA -- seem even friendly. Yes, WVA has been a fabulous teammate at Worlds and Olympics. Hoping that Remco can eventually be in the position to "repay". would love for WVA to trade all those silvers for one gold.

I disagree a bit with Wout having been a great teammate. Only in the Olympics, but never really in worlds.

Remco had a big shot at WC 2021 and never got it. In 2022, WVA chased after Remco.

 

[Oldman]

love the fact that he would like to have VDP as a teammate. I know they are friends, but it also shows his willingness not to be sole top dog (as does his mention of Landa).

It's a good idea but it shows he wants a teammate that is capable of winning when he can't. It would greatly take some pressure off him and be a great step for the team. Not sure it would happen with the current management but I'm ignorant to the structural and financial upside for QS. What with sultanates and oligarchies buying up sports enterprises means to top performers offers a new angle for cycling.

 

[Oldman]

Mathieu races for himself only.

Maybe in 'cross. It's what he's paid to do. On the road he's spent multiple GT stages working hard to get his other teammates led out in sprints. He's really good at it, too.

 

[AmRacer]

Maybe in 'cross. It's what he's paid to do. On the road he's spent multiple GT stages working hard to get his other teammates led out in sprints. He's really good at it, too.

Yeah, but Remco and Mathieu targets the same races. Remco is no Philipsen.

 

[Oldman]

Yeah, but Remco and Mathieu targets the same races. Remco is no Philipsen.

And in that regard Remco is not Mathieu in most of them.

 

[AmRacer]

And in that regard Remco is not Mathieu in most of them.

There was a discussion Mathieu would help Remco winning more races.
I argue Mathieu wouldn't do that because they will target the same races, and Mathieu then only races for himself.

 

[Extinction]

It's time for Remco to demonstrate his exceptional talent against the two best. In his first pro years he did things only Pog could match, but then the devastating Lombardia crash, misguided re-entry at the Giro, followed by a series of successes and setbacks involving illness and further bad crashes, have made his trajectory a roller coaster ride. Then there have been issues with his team and ways of preparing him, which have been criticized for lack of firepower and incompetance. All throughout, however, the unusual talent has been unquestionably there. The team situation is what it is, for the moment anyway, but hopefully they've learned enough from the past to give Remco the best shot of being competitive against those two. It's the climbing that has to come up several notches, but third in your first Tour, however you look at it, means you are a fierce climber. In this age of super talents, the parcours should go back to those which gave each an opportunity to shine, meaning long, hard mountain stages, but also one or even two long flat to rolling TTs. It would make the route more balanced, test weaknesses in different GC impacting disciplines and make the race more gripping. At any rate, go Remco!

 

[Berniece]

It's time for Remco to demonstrate his exceptional talent against the two best. In his first pro years he did things only Pog could match, but then the devastating Lombardia crash, misguided re-entry at the Giro, followed by a series of successes and setbacks involving illness and further bad crashes, have made his trajectory a roller coaster ride. Then there have been issues with his team and ways of preparing him, which have been criticized for lack of firepower and incompetance. All throughout, however, the unusual talent has been unquestionably there. The team situation is what it is, for the moment anyway, but hopefully they've learned enough from the past to give Remco the best shot of being competitive against those two. It's the climbing that has to come up several notches, but third in your first Tour, however you look at it, means you are a fierce climber. In this age of super talents, the parcours should go back to those which gave each an opportunity to shine, meaning long, hard mountain stages, but also one or even two long flat to rolling TTs. It would make the route more balanced, test weaknesses in different GC impacting disciplines and make the race more gripping. At any rate, go Remco!

Preparation for Dauphine and TDF apparently went really well. They had one of the best altitude trainings, where most riders are pushing their best values ever. Remco was feeling very calm and not rushed like last year which is a good sign.

Dauphine should at least be better than last year.