Really bad moment on really bad day at worst time possible and at some point he does give up. Almeida was also complete *** and he didn't give up. So it doesn't really start as a mental issue.
In the 2025 TDF Remco made some early physical and mental mistakes, but because of sound mind and body he put his train back on the track with a great TT. Remco and the rest have seen two distinct things, Pogacar can cover anything they are capable of, Remco and the rest can't begin to match Pogacar ..
In his defense I should mention that he did limit the loss to a few seconds and excluding 26 seconds of boni's and 39 seconds during the echelon stage, his loss to Pogacar in the uphill sprints is just 11 seconds. Apart from Vingegaard and Pogacar, he performed better than the rest. It's clear that he lacks the power to accelerate in the final but his pacing on longer climbs might still be better than the other 3rd place contenders.
Yes, it was only 11s in the climbs, but Remco did not pass the eye test, as in he does not look to be on Tour 2024 form and the high mountains aren't here yet.
I'm not that sure because he didn't look so hot when Pogacar countered over the top of Lipowitz. And I know he paced on the climb, but he wasn't going that fast considering Pogacar/Vingegaard took time while literally sitting on Lenny Martinez. And then 2 minutes of pacing isn't enough to make losing 3s into the uphill sprint look good.
I generally agree. I have the same feeling. I just want to give him the benefit of the doubt and wait until the high mountains.
He nearly closed the gap when they sat on Martinez. He was never dangling at the back. He didn't seem dead to me, just missing an any sort of acceleration.
If it was a bad day would he have made his little attack? Also what was up with Pogi and Vingo grabbing Lennie's wheel when he came back by them when they slowed up? I think they both wanted to keep a few seconds on the rest and they were both spent enough that they didn't want to have to negotiate who should pull (because then they would have been caught for sure. "Look here comes Martinez let's just sit on him and hope he keeps us just clear of the rest, eww where did all this blood come from?). I give them gentleman marks for staying behind him across the line, that was nice of them.
Since Pogi and Jonas couldn't drop each other, they didn't bother to work anymore. Had they went full gas from the bottom of the climb, they'd put minutes into everyone else.
If Visma is serious about giving it all to try to win the Tour at all cost, Jorgenson definitively should work with Remco in such a scenario.
I agree with the others. Visma's first objective has to be to take out Pogacar. They didn't come to be 2nd, they play for 1st. Even if Evenepoel were to get into yellow, they will prefer that situation to Pogacar being in yellow. First of all because they will feel more confident they can deal with Evenepoel when it comes down to it as opposed to Pogacar, and secondly, because i also think if they had to chose, they'd more likely not want UAE/Pogacar to win.
Up to a point, they won’t give them 10 minutes, but definitely 2-3min. It’s not that Vingegaard cares if he is 2nd or 3rd, only first position counts. Visma should poker.
They also have the team for it. Even if Evenepoel takes another 2-3min, if they go hard with the team during stage 18-19 they can easily take that time back
I see a more beneficial alliance with Pogacar. Jorgenson is more of a rival to Remco than to Pogacar in the overall standings.
You mean pivot and try to get 3rd spot with Jorgenson? I think there's an outside chance of that happening, but not until like Ventoux or the Alps. And it really requires underutilizing Jorgenson.
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