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

[Krzysztof_O]

I know it‘s bad, but no reason to commit suicide.

It's not that dangerous: he's sharing it with Remco.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

It wasn’t mentioned that Pelgrim would join, right?

Well, there would be no point in moving teams at all.

 

[Berniece]

Well, there would be no point in moving teams at all.

Better teammates with a bigger focus on GT’s. But if Evenepoel thinks that’s the part that keeps him from reaching new heights he’s arrogant and naive

 

[AmRacer]

So when is it realistic to see him race again?
He takes a few weeks holiday now and can start light training next week or the week after.
2 weeks of easy riding and then slowly increase the load.
End of August, at earliest, real training and if needed, altitude camp. Start racing mid September.

 

[KoopaCycling]

He should not race till WC. Just get right, train right.

Personally i rather he starts with EUC in October. But it's been confirmed today he will ride WC.

 

[Berniece]

He should not race till WC. Just get right, train right.

Personally i rather he starts with EUC in October. But it's been confirmed today he will ride WC.

Isn't that way too late? Shouldn't he need that impulse you can only get from a race on the road AND for his mental wellbeing.

 

[theyoungest]

Buying Roglic and his entire entourage hasn't quite gotten Ralph Denk the results he wanted, so now he buys Evenepoel and his entire entourage... great strategy. But if you have all the money in the world I guess you can take a punt.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Buying Roglic and his entire entourage hasn't quite gotten Ralph Denk the results he wanted, so now he buys Evenepoel and his entire entourage... great strategy. But if you have all the money in the world I guess you can take a punt.

Roglič won the Vuelta, he won Catalunya, won the Dauphiné, what results do you think Denk expected? Winning the Tour? I don‘t get why people started ignoring Roglič‘s actual results after his Giro crashes this year.

 

[Berniece]

Roglič won the Vuelta, he won Catalunya, won the Dauphiné, what results do you think Denk expected? Winning the Tour? I don‘t get why people started ignoring Roglič‘s actual results after his Giro crashes this year.

I already said this in the Roglic topic. When you get at a certain age, you need to perform every year to prove your worth. It's difficult for people not part of the team to know if he still has it, or if he's just getting older.

 

[Red Rick]

I already said this in the Roglic topic. When you get at a certain age, you need to perform every year to prove your worth. It's difficult for people not part of the team to know if he still has it, or if he's just getting older.

It's the all time classic of cycling fans. Roglic needs to prove everything time and time again. Evenepoel does not. 10 years from now, he will only be 35 after all.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

I already said this in the Roglic topic. When you get at a certain age, you need to perform every year to prove your worth. It's difficult for people not part of the team to know if he still has it, or if he's just getting older.

Well ok, but what I was reacting to wasn‘t if Roglič needed to prove his worth but saying he didn‘t get the results they expected, which he did.

 

[theyoungest]

Roglič won the Vuelta, he won Catalunya, won the Dauphiné, what results do you think Denk expected? Winning the Tour? I don‘t get why people started ignoring Roglič‘s actual results after his Giro crashes this year.

It's pretty obvious they're not satisfied, given their actions. I'm not saying it was realistic to expect more, but they clearly didn't spend all that money to win the Vuelta and Catalunya. They wanted to challenge at the Tour... which they actually did, but not with Roglic.

 

[Berniece]

It's the all time classic of cycling fans. Roglic needs to prove everything time and time again. Evenepoel does not. 10 years from now, he will only be 35 after all.

Yeah Evenepoel definitely doesn't have to prove himself over and over again. People are saying he isn't even a GT rider anymore after this year's TDF.

 

[Berniece]

Well ok, but what I was reacting to wasn‘t if Roglič needed to prove his worth but saying he didn‘t get the results they expected, which he did.

That's true, but those results were last year. This year he was mostly unlucky. Although I do think that Bora saw enough in the TDF. They know he could've gone for that podium spot. But since Roglic is a teamplayer he went for a stage instead.

 

[Valv.Piti]

It's pretty obvious they're not satisfied, given their actions. I'm not saying it was realistic to expect more, but they clearly didn't spend all that money to win the Vuelta and Catalunya. They wanted to challenge at the Tour... which they actually did, but not with Roglic.

I think they wanted a podium finish which was very realistic last year, even though I think Remco was stronger. And if you contest the podium, you never know if someone ahead crashes etc. I don't really ever think it was realistic to challenge the Tour, although in late 2023 it was a different landscape since Roglic was only marginally weaker than Jonas in the 2023 Vuelta and Pog hadn't taken his massive step. So it wasn't as far-fetched back in 2023/early 2024 to target the Tour to win the race.

It became very clear though, in mid 2024, that it wasn't really realistic. Pogacar was too good, and Roglic looked bad despite winning Dauphine in 2024. But I don't think the signing was made to straight up win TdF, Bora was put on the map as a serious team that would be up there, setting them up for even bigger things in the long run. Now they have Lipowitz and Remco entering their prime to contest at least the podium in 2026 and Roglic, Hindley and Giulio to go along with that.

The most interesting part of 2026 will be how teams like Bora and UAE plan their season. They just have an abundance of great GT riders at their disposal.

 

[James M]

It's pretty obvious they're not satisfied, given their actions. I'm not saying it was realistic to expect more, but they clearly didn't spend all that money to win the Vuelta and Catalunya. They wanted to challenge at the Tour... which they actually did, but not with Roglic.

Since you're proven to be somewhat realistic—liking other riders while still dealing with facts which is only nice and now that the Tour went exactly as expected regarding Pog and how easily he won(just as we discussed)

Will Remco move to Red Bull be like Richie Porte move to Ineos? Is he going there to become the second strongest?(I know he won’t in his mind blabla, but in sense of being second strongest in reality)

Sending him to second-tier GTs and classics that Pog isn’t riding is the best move if he wants wins. The real question is: will he or the team be satisfied with second-tier races? I dont see the ego of Remco being of much value in a co-captain scenario in general either at all.

 

[Berniece]

The real question is: will he or the team be satisfied with second-tier races? I dont see the ego of Remco being of much value in a co-captain scenario in general either at all.

When did Remco show not to be a co-captain when someone was equally as good as him? I don’t think he has a problem with his ego at all for this.

 

[James M]

When did Remco show not to be a co-captain when someone was equally as good as him? I don’t think he has a problem with his ego at all for this.

Remco has an ultra competitive spirit, extremely so. Being Belgian, the media pressure is also on his shoulders, often unwarranted and not justified based on his results. But still, it’s there.

I'm talking about the Tour here. Remco has shared what his dream and biggest goal is. And knowing how fiercely competitive he is, he won’t accept being number two in the team long-term in that aspect, a edition if hes off sure he will,long term no, that dont fit his personality at all. So he better step up, sink or swim, eat or get eaten.

 

[Links2003]

The sports management is going to face a major challenge. Bora wanted to become a team focused on stage races and brought in Jai and Alex. Jai won the Giro straight away with a strong team, and Alex performed well in shorter stage races. Then they signed Roglic, including the team around him. That certainly wasn't easy for some of the riders.

Now, if Remco joins and brings some of his people with him, things will shift again. Plus, there's Lipo, who’s suddenly in a position to stake his claim, and Giulio has also shown he’s got potential.

Finding the right balance there is tough. The team first needs time to grow together. Remco brings plenty of winning opportunities, especially outside the Grand Tours. The question is: what does he want? Is he desperate to win the Tour? Or does he see that he can win a lot, but the long GTs are especially tough for him since he's not always consistent. It’ll be important to reconcile all these interests. And Remco is the new guy — he first needs to settle into the team. It would be better if he came on his own, then integration would likely be easier. It’s going to be super exciting.

The problem is: none of the mentioned riders is the clear leader. At UAE, that’s obvious. If Pogi is racing, it's all about winning. In that case, it's easier to fully commit as a support rider than when things aren’t so clear and you yourself think you could also ride at the front.

 

[Berniece]

Remco has an ultra competitive spirit, extremely so. Being Belgian, the media pressure is also on his shoulders, often unwarranted and not justified based on his results. But still, it’s there.

I'm talking about the Tour here. Remco has shared what his dream and biggest goal is. And knowing how fiercely competitive he is, he won’t accept being number two in the team long-term in that aspect, a edition if hes off sure he will,long term no, that dont fit his personality at all. So he better step up, sink or swim, eat or get eaten.

I agree that I don't think he will accept to be number 2 as long as he thinks he is number 1. But I also don't think there is anyone that is able to contest that at Bora at the moment. So Evenepoel will fight for it to make that clear. He has seen Lipowitz at Dauphine and TDF, he knows what to do to be top dog in that internal hierarchy.

 

[Berniece]

Then they signed Roglic, including the team around him. That certainly wasn't easy for some of the riders.

For who? I haven't heard anyone from Bora having difficulties with Roglic's entourage. Also who did he bring besides his performance guy who was already employed by Red Bull?

 

[Red Rick]

Anyone see them actively race against each other in the Tour? No?

There shouldn't be a big problem. I don't think they were happy Roglic was doing his own thing in the Alps, but that would likely be agreed upon before the race or they didn't have the stones to call him back. The "issue" is just that it ended up looking dumb especially with a German in 3rd place.

Think you easily can just do double leaders in most stage races. Roglic/Hindley in Giro, Lipowitz/Evenepoel in TdF. Roglic/someone in Vuelta depending on whoever is fit enough by the time the Vuelta rolls around. Back Evenepoel in the classics, including throwing him in Sanremo and RVV.

And that's one year. Roglic will probably not extend and most likely retire. Then you have 2 of the best GC riders outside of Pogacar/Vingegaard.

The bigger issue would be for the likes of Pellizzari rather than the top 3.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

It's the all time classic of cycling fans. Roglic needs to prove everything time and time again. Evenepoel does not. 10 years from now, he will only be 35 after all.

Dude, i got ganged-up on in 2022 when i DARED to say Evenepoel was a bigger TT talent than Küng (because you know, in 2021 Evenepoel didn't have his best year, coming back from his crash so wtf was i thinking). According to half the forum, Evenepoel can't climb... every time he does a poor climb. The fact that he is breaking records on another day is quickly forgotten in order to go into mock-mode.

The difference is in what people expect. Roglic will need to prove himself every year, because he is already 36 and the only thing he excels at, are GC's. That conversation was completely different in 2019-2020 when everybody assumed Roglic was going to win the Tour multiple times, so your comparison is crooked. Unlike Evenepoel, Roglic is not a generational talent, in a sense that at his peak in his best year, he could never do the things Evenepoel already did at the age of 22-24. I am not talking about just GC's, i am talking about everything. Even the biggest trolls know it (though they might not admit it) that Evenepoel is a bigger talent and we have all seen what he is capable of when he is "on". The problem is staying healthy and managing his weight so that he can start races at 100%. And he doesn't have the expertise behind him that riders at Visma or UAE have. So it's not surprising people are simply waiting for the guy who already showed he can take the world by storm, to put all the pieces together.

The question is whether it will ever happen, because if he is indeed taking Lodewyck with him to Bora, then he is still clueless himself. Lodewyck is one of the people who has been holding him back, his biggest enabler in all the wrong decisions he makes and a huge airhead when it comes to race tactics. I don't mean that bringing him in as a DS is what will hinder Evenepoel, but the fact that he still hasn't figured it out, doesn't bode well.

If Evenepoel really wants to improve and untap the full extent of his potential, he needs to:

• work on his bikehandling (it will save him of a few crashes)
• work on his cornering (idem + will make him more dominant in TT's, help in GC stages in the mountains)
• work on his positioning (culmination incl. bikehandling and cornering + will save him a lot of energy)
• get rid of yes-men enablers
• keep his weight down (examples show he does not need to weigh more in order to dominate TT's or classics)
• get a performance/medical team behind him on par with Visma/UAE (so Bora has work to do)

Those first 4 to 5 points is where Quickstep completely failed in developing him.

 

[Rou]

Remco is back on the startlist for San Sebastian on PCS.
LET'S GO!

 

[Berniece]

If Evenepoel really wants to improve and untap the full extent of his potential, he needs to:

• get a performance/medical team behind him on par with Visma/UAE (so Bora has work to do)

Don't they have a great performance team? With the whole Red Bull Performance Center thing. They made a big thing about it before the 2025 season. And you could say that 2025 wasn't that impressive, definitely not the classics, but if you look at Lipowitz he's been doing great.

Inside the Red Bull Plot to Stampede to the Top of Pro Cycling: '2025 Will Be the Real Start for Us'

Will access to a space-age performance center and an F1 expert draw Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe level to Pogačar?

velo.outsideonline.com