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

[Didinho]

Yeah time for another team. What did they even expect?
Maybe just try to get him ready for the WC TT or so and call it a day/year. Let him rest, physically and mentally.

 

[kingjr]

I believe physically he'll be alright, eventually, I'm more concerned that he's going to beat himself up mentally.

 

[Salvarani]

I feel like Remco pushes himself too hard as well.

He pushed himself to be ready for BP, AGR, Fleche and LBL (mostly)... because he was eager and wanted to start racing.

He was tired in Romandie or at least couldnt push on the big climb.

Then Dauphine he did alright... but it was harder and tougher... his body dont recover by the sounds of it.

Then it is so close to the Tour and it is very hard to back out for many reasons I assume.

Tough. It aint easy to be a star and face of a team.

 

[kingjr]

I feel like Remco pushes himself too hard as well.

He pushed himself to be ready for BP, AGR, Fleche and LBL (mostly)... because he was eager and wanted to start racing.

He was tired in Romandie or at least couldnt push on the big climb.

Then Dauphine he did alright... but it was harder and tougher... his body dont recover by the sounds of it.

Then it is so close to the Tour and it is very hard to back out for many reasons I assume.

Tough. It aint easy to be a star and face of a team.

And there is evidently no one in his entourage, certainly not from the team side, who has the balls to push back on this and take a more measured approach.

 

[Skalman]

I feel like Remco pushes himself too hard as well.

He pushed himself to be ready for BP, AGR, Fleche and LBL (mostly)... because he was eager and wanted to start racing.

He was tired in Romandie or at least couldnt push on the big climb.

Then Dauphine he did alright... but it was harder and tougher... his body dont recover by the sounds of it.

Then it is so close to the Tour and it is very hard to back out for many reasons I assume.

Tough. It aint easy to be a star and face of a team.

Is that because of the team (As it has happened with others in that team) or simply the sport or down to the individual you may ponder?

 

[fenns]

He should aim for WC ITT - try to end the season on a high note then stop and prepare for 2026

 

[Berflamand]

Just saw Remco interview. And things sound and look bad.

Shoulder don't work. I would think it be in the midst of recuperating. So nerve damage may be permanent.
Says it does not affect cycling much. Which may be true.. but still not good.

Has no clue why form is as bad as it is, but it is clearly rly bad, cause he could not in truth 'train' after dauphiné.
Any intensity training and legs felt empty.

Still aiming for september. But after listening to that interview he really should not aim for september.
Time to heal as much as possible first and rebuild properly. Else he could jeopardise the future imo.

Mind you it was a quick read, so maybe i read to quickly and some errors seeped in.

I'm not worried about the shoulder. 4 out of his 5 wins this year are TT's. I don't think that would be possible if he would have any shoulder issue on the bike since the TT position is the most taxing on the body I guess.

Everything else is a different matter ofcourse. I hope he can still salvage something in autumn but the most important right now is having a stress free off season/winter without any issues.

 

[kingjr]

He should aim for WC ITT - try to end the season on a high note then stop and prepare for 2026

Yeah, he should definitely still aim for the TTs, depending on how his recovery from the Tour goes; even if he doesn't win, as long as he performs well, it would still be good for the head.

And someone needs to tell him to PLEASE not read social media posts about himself.

 

[houtdffan]

They weren’t able to finish a single training between Dauphine and TDF… Not sure what they expected that would happen during these 3 weeks. His body is completely drained of all energy. They went too hard too quickly and it shoots them in the face once again.

Time to rest. And I wonder if he even needs to peak another time this year. If that’s even feasible.

He can win the world TT drunk as a skunk and with Oumi having tired him out

 

[fenns]

I suspect the problem is he tried to come back at too high a level too soon. He should have started earlier by riding down the field in a stage race - not one day classics.

if you look at his '25 season there is a clear trajectory - he started well and got progressively worse.

Unknown how much team/sponsor pressures are responsible for his schedule

 

[Charlyghoul]

He can’t win the tour with Vingegaard and pogacar in it I think he should concentrate on classics and worlds go for smaller grand tour like giro or Vuelta again. He’s like Sean Kelly very good at everything obviously better at tine trials just can never compete with really elite climbers.
Maybe he could scrape a tour with one of them out or retired but realistically not going to happen and someone else who’s a pure grand tour rider will step up and still be better than him.

 

[kingjr]

He can’t win the tour with Vingegaard and pogacar in it I think he should concentrate on classics and worlds go for smaller grand tour like giro or Vuelta again. He’s like Sean Kelly very good at everything obviously better at tine trials just can never compete with really elite climbers.
Maybe he could scrape a tour with one of them out or retired but realistically not going to happen and someone else who’s a pure grand tour rider will step up and still be better than him.

He's completely unlike Sean Kelly in almost every respect.

 

[Salvarani]

I suspect the problem is he tried to come back at too high a level too soon. He should have started earlier by riding down the field in a stage race - not one day classics.

if you look at his '25 season there is a clear trajectory - he started well and got progressively worse.

Unknown how much team/sponsor pressures are responsible for his schedule

Tour is what the team/sponsor cares about.

Given the message that Remco himself put out before his first race... he was eager to start racing.

 

[Charlyghoul]

He's completely unlike Sean Kelly in almost every respect.

Maybe you are right.
But two facts are the same they both are very good at everything great all rounders but neither can compete with the best of climbers at altitude. I don’t think Remco will ever win the tour but he can win everything else like Sean Kelly if it makes sense .

 

[kingjr]

Maybe you are right.
But two facts are the same they both are very good at everything great all rounders but neither can compete with the best of climbers at altitude. I don’t think Remco will ever win the tour but he can win everything else like Sean Kelly if it makes sense .

I see your point, but I don't see why he shouldn't keep trying. It's perfectly possible to combine a spring classics campaign with the Tour. The only way he's guaranteed to not win a Tour is not riding it. Even Joop Zoetemelk won one eventually.

 

[Unchained]

I really don't know what to say...
-Unless there is a medical reason for packing it in, riding out the TdF might be good for his legs/form.
-Obviously if there is an issue, stopping ins wise.

Anyway, keep fighting, see you soon RE!

I believe it a hybrid approach, Remco could have waved off, switched down, small chainring, sit up, relax ride groupetto, just save gas.
Him going off the back could immediately relieve the pressure. Wait for opportunity for a stage. He can go as hard as he wants to, unlike @90% of people, if he rides moderate to hard for half, he makes a time cut, gets some more time in TDF..if nothing else. Paris is perfect for him.. I hope that Remco, public, Bora and everyone don't pump up Vuelta too much, because if Remco gets doormatted in Spain by Pogacar and others.. Just sounds like a scenario for mental crushing blow.
I hadn't seen the interview, but if he is talking about his shoulder.. Yikes..

 

[Berniece]

He can win the world TT drunk as a skunk and with Oumi having tired him out

Course is a bit harder this year. Quite a lot of altitude meters. In perfect shape he would win it easily, but when you’re not sure and Pogacar actually wants to win it…

 

[Berniece]

Maybe you are right.
But two facts are the same they both are very good at everything great all rounders but neither can compete with the best of climbers at altitude. I don’t think Remco will ever win the tour but he can win everything else like Sean Kelly if it makes sense .

That’s completely ignoring all crashes and the impact it had on him.

 

[Lequack]

Are you guys sure it wasn't because he cut his hair? That's when all the trouble started.

 

[Charlyghoul]

I see your point, but I don't see why he shouldn't keep trying. It's perfectly possible to combine a spring classics campaign with the Tour. The only way he's guaranteed to not win a Tour is not riding it. Even Joop Zoetemelk won one eventually.

I see your point, but I don't see why he shouldn't keep trying. It's perfectly possible to combine a spring classics campaign with the Tour. The only way he's guaranteed to not win a Tour is not riding it. Even Joop Zoetemelk won one eventually.

I think Zoetemelk was a better grand tour rider and better climber than Remco can be but I agree he can possibly win one like Zoetemelk did. I just can see asomebody else taking over the Tour as pogacar and vingegaard get older and he has no chance against them in the high mountains while they’re still there. He also isn’t 19 anymore, you would think he would have shown climbing ability to win the tour by now he just doesn’t seem to have it .

 

[peterfin]

And there is evidently no one in his entourage, certainly not from the team side, who has the balls to push back on this and take a more measured approach.

They do sometimes. They convinced him to stop today.

 

[Red Rick]

Look if the story is true that he couldn't properly train after the Dauphine someone really had to just man up and pull him from the Tour. It's insane to start him, and it's even more insane to talk big beforehand how you wanna compete with the 2 mutants.

Like, I'm actually dumbfounded why anyone in his camp is even acting surprised about "we need to figure out what happened". Because I can tell them based on couchpotatoeing cycling for a few years.

Like dude, go on vacation, do some nice training, get yer performance metrics up and target that WC ITT, even though it couldn't suit him worse once he gets his post-target binge.

 

[kingjr]

Look if the story is true that he couldn't properly train after the Dauphine someone really had to just man up and pull him from the Tour. It's insane to start him, and it's even more insane to talk big beforehand how you wanna compete with the 2 mutants.

Like, I'm actually dumbfounded why anyone in his camp is even acting surprised about "we need to figure out what happened". Because I can tell them based on couchpotatoeing cycling for a few years.

Like dude, go on vacation, do some nice training, get yer performance metrics up and target that WC ITT, even though it couldn't suit him worse once he gets his post-target binge.

Yeah, that's what does my head in as well.

 

[kingjr]

I think Zoetemelk was a better grand tour rider and better climber than Remco can be but I agree he can possibly win one like Zoetemelk did. I just can see asomebody else taking over the Tour as pogacar and vingegaard get older and he has no chance against them in the high mountains while they’re still there. He also isn’t 19 anymore, you would think he would have shown climbing ability to win the tour by now he just doesn’t seem to have it .

IMO, what he showed last year would be enough in most eras. I think we cannot overstate just how good Tadej and Jonas are.

 

[Valv.Piti]

The same GT Kelly and Valverde won, two riders who struggled in the Giro and Tour except for one exceptional year. Valverde finished on the podium in the Tour, but it was an exceptional year.

I think that's the case with Remco. He could have a good Tour, like last year, and he could even win the Giro some year, but I think he'll have more bad years than good in those GT. The level in the Tour is higher.

The Vuelta is different; the mountain stages are generally less hard, and that's evident in the winners' list. There are several riders who weren't the best in GT but still managed to win the Vuelta.

To be fair to Valverde, he crashed out in 2005 and 2006. In 2005 he won against Lance on Courchevel and looked fine for a podium. 2006 he was actually probably the biggest favorite after Basso, Ullrich and Vino didn't race, crashed again. 2007 he was off halfway through the race for some reason. 2008 he crashed right before Hautacam and shipped lots of time and looked good in the Alps. Then Tour-suspension in 2009 and real suspension 10 and 11, comeback 12 and looked good for a podium until QS did him dirty in the crosswinds in 2013. 2014 should have podiummed, very disappointing performance. 2015 podium. 2016 did the Giro, but 2017 was a real shot against a crappy field, but crashed again in his best season to date.

What Im trying to say his Valverde's Tour palmarés doesn't really do him justice at all, even though it wasn't the best race for him, that I admit.

Remco was doing incredibly well last year to finish 3rd racing against Jonas and Pog who were putting up absolutely insane numbers. Some even thought 2nd was possible. A better route, a few years without a problem and then who knows. But lots of things have happened to Remco which has made him underperform in several GTs for different reasons, but when he's on (Vuelta 22 and Tour 24), he is almost as good as anybody. Well, he is as good as anybody bar Jonas and Pog doing numbers out of this world.