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

[pelotonIQ]

Did Merlier not want to win either?

Couldn't care less, Tim can always go at it next sprint stage and nothing has changed. Giving away 40 seconds on GC though, good luck with that.

 

[Kedjan]

Remco, Remco, it wasn't that hard to predict that Visma might try something.
I mean, they usually ride agressive when there are echelons.

Yellow still a possibility, but it will take one hell of a ride on wednesday.

 

[houtdffan]

now, if he cannot take 40 seconds out of Pog and Vingo in a 33km flat ITT, he does not deserve to take yellow anyways

 

[Flamin]

Weeeellll, let's not go THAT far...

Well, this would never ever have happened with Pat calling the shots 😉

 

[hayneplane]

I’m so annoyed by his lack of taking stages like this seriously. Even if there was a very very very small chance of winning the Tour, it’s gone. Taking yellow stage 5, gone.

Don’t think taking yellow is completely gone as the hilly stages are an opportunity if the team are willing to attack them.

 

[dobrien]

Don’t think taking yellow is completely gone as the hilly stages are an opportunity if the team are willing to attack them.

No offense but imho with Jonas/Visma and Pog looking so strong, Remco isn't going anywhere on any of those stages. The only stage Remco really has any sort of advantage is the TT, otherwise Jonas/Visma and Pog/UAE are more than a match for Remco/Soudal in virtually any terrain. Not saying he shouldn't attack for podium chances, certainly he's still in that fight and it would be fun to watch him get away with the Big Two, just doubt he'll be given the slightest bit of rope with respect to the yellow. As always, I could be wrong!

 

[dobrien]

Well, this would never ever have happened with Pat calling the shots 😉

Just having a little fun with it!

 

[LookProGoSlow]

Game over for podium me thinks. He will lose more time in the next 9 days. Ah well

Edit: except the ITT of course

 

[kingjr]

Couldn't care less, Tim can always go at it next sprint stage and nothing has changed. Giving away 40 seconds on GC though, good luck with that.

He had a great and maybe unique chance to win yellow today. Nah, they messed up tactically, has nothing to do with Remco not wanting to win.

 

[hayneplane]

No offense but imho with Jonas/Visma and Pog looking so strong, Remco isn't going anywhere on any of those stages. The only stage Remco really has any sort of advantage is the TT, otherwise Jonas/Visma and Pog/UAE are more than a match for Remco/Soudal in virtually any terrain. Not saying he shouldn't attack for podium chances, certainly he's still in that fight and it would be fun to watch him get away with the Big Two, just doubt he'll be given the slightest bit of rope with respect to the yellow. As always, I could be wrong!

I tend to agree with you but equally it’s his best terrain and an area where he can advance against Almeida/Gall etc who don’t have any great record in hilly classics parcours.

 

[fenns]

now, if he cannot take 40 seconds out of Pog and Vingo in a 33km flat ITT, he does not deserve to take yellow anyways

he'll be more like 1'30" behind by then - probably more

 

[KoopaCycling]

It would have been nice had remco been in the first echelon. That way he could have taken time on all of his podium rivals.
As it stands, only Mas & Jorgenson of the GC rivals ahead of him.

And yes i'm aware Pogacar and Vingegaard were at the front as well. But the way I see it Remco is fighting for third this year.

Not a perfect start, but all in all nothing problematic happened. He did not crash. Roglic, Almeida, Rodriguez, Thomas in same time.

Arensman, Adam yates, Simon Yates lost minutes.

Also in the offchance that Remco is actually in it to win it. 39 sec prob. won't make the diffrence. This will be a minutes tour.

 

[Salvarani]

He loses time again because of bad positioning.

He doesnt like the fight for position or have trouble handeling it. Maybe a fear of crashing.

 

[KoopaCycling]

He loses time again because of bad positioning.

He doesnt like the fight for position or have trouble handeling it. Maybe a fear of crashing.

This wasn't cause of bad positioning. Soudal as a whole decided nothing was gonna happen, and formed as a group further down the peloton. Not the smartest of moves from the team. But no man overboard.

 

[Andre]

disgusted...I'll wait for another year. *** crap

 

[AmRacer]

It would have been nice had remco been in the first echelon. That way he could have taken time on all of his podium rivals.
As it stands, only Mas & Jorgenson of the GC rivals ahead of him.

And yes i'm aware Pogacar and Vingegaard were at the front as well. But the way I see it Remco is fighting for third this year.

Not a perfect start, but all in all nothing problematic happened. He did not crash. Roglic, Almeida, Rodriguez, Thomas in same time.

Arensman, Adam yates, Simon Yates lost minutes.

Also in the offchance that Remco is actually in it to win it. 39 sec prob. won't make the diffrence. This will be a minutes tour.

Thomas? Arensman and the Yates brothers aren't competing for anything.

 

[FroomeWagon]

Remco says "We fell asleep a bit." Not sure why you wouldn't be ready on Stage 1 of the TDF.

"I think we were not really expecting [crosswinds] anymore, we fell asleep a bit and I must say, we were a bit too relaxed," Evenepoel explained to the media, including Cyclingnews, at the finish about the important setback to his GC options.

"It was a big [mistake] and the only mistake we made today, because otherwise, we were always pretty well in front and well organised. We kind of believed that the race was just going to be a sprint. So yeah, big mistake by us, and it's a pretty unfortunate situation," the 25-year-old added.

We fell asleep a bit

 

[Oldman]

Yes. He had plenty of oppurtunities 1-15k before the last wind sector to move up in the peleton!Either he is sick or else is an incredible amateurish tactical mistake by him and the team!Really strange as the team looked good in the earlier wind sectors with Cattaneo,Eenkhoorn,Remco,Schachmann and Van Wilder all looking good and in the correct positions!

I haven't watched the live detail of the gap forming. Your point is spot on if they weren't close enough to JV to grab a wheel. The DS should be (maybe was) screaming about the impending crosswind. In those type of races there should be 2 teammates in front of Remco. If not; his move is to get on Jonas' or Tadej's closest wheel.

Much of the time a good team, collaborating with another can have riders engineer the gap. That almost all of UAE and Alpecin were right there and made the gap suggests that might have been an on-the-road alliance. One team alone can't do it.

PS: Watched the helicopter shot, not much definition of who didn't pursue but there is a group of rider's on the windward side that just soft pedaled long enough to force the field apart. All the guys on the leeward side waited....until solo efforts weren't going to close. For QS to suggest they didn't expect wind must mean they were riding with their eyes closed. Remco rode off the pavement on the leeward side several KM before the split and ended up further back. Sorry, Remco: that's all on you.

 

[Oldman]

Remco says "We fell asleep a bit."


We fell asleep a bit

The job of the DS was simple....another reason why Remco is clearly not on a serious GC team right now.

 

[red_flanders]

The job of the DS was simple....another reason why Remco is clearly not on a serious GC team right now.

Gotta imagine Bruyneel just shaking his head at how they run this team.

 

[KoopaCycling]

Tour has def. begun. I can see your points, at the same time you all are exaggerating .
Zulle once lost 5 minutes in stage 2, and still finished 2nd place.

 

[pelotonIQ]

He had a great and maybe unique chance to win yellow today. Nah, they messed up tactically, has nothing to do with Remco not wanting to win.

The way he rode today says otherwhise. Crosswinds and he decides to postion himself towards the back The Belgians are fuming.

 

[dobrien]

I tend to agree with you but equally it’s his best terrain and an area where he can advance against Almeida/Gall etc who don’t have any great record in hilly classics parcours.

Definitely agree with this.

 

[dobrien]

Tour has def. begun. I can see your points, at the same time you all are exaggerating .
Zulle once lost 5 minutes in stage 2, and still finished 2nd place.

I don't think anyone here is thinking he can't podium, but I don't blame anyone here for thinking this already puts paid to what already was a very small chance of him winning. And aside from crashing out, it's the absolute worst way to start the race, not just from a time lost perspective but psychologically as well. He's shown he can bounce back from adversity, which I expect him to do, but damn, so unnecessary.

 

[pelotonIQ]

"We’d been riding well all day, but we let ourselves get lulled to sleep by the calm in the peloton. It was our mistake, collectively." - Remco

Remco not taking responsibility for his blunder.