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

[Gargamel35]

Classics (all races counted as classics on procyclingstats. That includes TTs, smaller races, etc.) wins:

Remco
2025: 2
2024: 4
2023: 4
2022: 5
2021: 3
2020: 0
2019: 2
2018: 11
2017: 2

MvdP
2025: 4
2024: 4
2023: 4
2022: 5
2021: 2
2020: 2
2019: 4
2018: 2
2017: 1

Pog:
2025: 4
2024: 6
2023: 7
2022: 4
2021: 3
2020: 1
2019: 1
2018: 0
2017: 0

 

[Charlyghoul]

In an imaginary world, and Gouvenou surprises us all with a Tour route someday that it Pro-Remco, what would it look like?

I'm trying to think of a Tour that would be kind to Remco in the mountains and keep Pog's chances of attack to a minimum.

ITT 12km

Plumelec 1.5km @5%

Superbesse 5km @6%
Saint Flour 1.5km @5%

ITT 52km

Cauterets 6k @4.5% (Marie-Blanque, Tourmalet, Cauterets)
Arcalis 10km @6% (Canto, Envalira, Arcalis)

Villard de Lans 2.2km @6% (Echarasson, VdL)
Pra-Loup 5km @6% (Vars, Allos, Pra-Loup)

56km ITT

Le Markstein. (2023 stage)
Gerarardmer (2014 stage)
Finish in Paris.

This is a rough outline of a route in which I think Remco could beat Pogacar on. It has 2012 Wiggins vibes.

Do you think he'd win on this type of route??
What type of route would you make for Remco to beat Pogacar on?
Do you think we could add more climbs and still see him win?

He couldn’t beat him on any route.
In fact, I think every stage could be a pancake flat 30km tt and he might still not win, he’d have a bad day somewhere over three weeks, or a crash.

 

[Berniece]

cyclinguptodate is speculating that Remco is not transferring

Is Remco Evenepoel staying after all? Key mountain domestique extends contract at Soudal - Quick-Step

Louis Vervaeke has extended his contract with Soudal – Quick-Step through the 2028 season, confirming a long-term commitment to the Belgian WorldTour squad. The 31-year-old, who joined the team in 202...

cyclinguptodate.com

Because Vervaeke is staying… weak reason just to get some clicks

 

[greyclouds]

I don’t dislike Pogacar, that’s all in your head. I do think MVDP is the better 1 day racer. It just changes when the amount of altitude meters gets too high. Somewhere around 3.000 meters

So is it 2000 or 3000? They are both phenomenal riders but the evidence tell us that TP is currently a notch above and is a more complete one-day rider then MvdP.

These are from the last 3 years.

22	Liège-Bastogne-Liège	1.UWT	2025-04-27	ME
21	La Flèche Wallonne	1.UWT	2025-04-23	ME
20	Ronde van Vlaanderen - Tour des Flandres ME	1.UWT	2025-04-06	ME
19	Strade Bianche	1.UWT	2025-03-08	ME
18	Il Lombardia	1.UWT	2024-10-12	ME
17	Giro dell'Emilia	1.Pro	2024-10-05	ME
16	World Championships ME - Road Race	WC	2024-09-29	ME
15	Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal	1.UWT	2024-09-15	ME
14	Liège-Bastogne-Liège	1.UWT	2024-04-21	ME
13	Strade Bianche	1.UWT	2024-03-02	ME
12	Il Lombardia	1.UWT	2023-10-07	ME
11	National Championships Slovenia ME - Road Race	NC	2023-06-25	ME
10	La Flèche Wallonne	1.UWT	2023-04-19	ME
9	Amstel Gold Race	1.UWT	2023-04-16	ME
8	Ronde van Vlaanderen - Tour des Flandres ME	1.UWT	2023-04-02	ME
7	Jaén Paraiso Interior	1.1	2023-02-13	ME

26	Paris-Roubaix	1.UWT	2025-04-13	ME
25	E3 Saxo Classic ME	1.UWT	2025-03-28	ME
24	Milano-Sanremo	1.UWT	2025-03-22	ME
23	Ename Samyn Classic	1.1	2025-03-04	ME
22	Paris-Roubaix	1.UWT	2024-04-07	ME
21	Ronde van Vlaanderen - Tour des Flandres ME	1.UWT	2024-03-31	ME
20	E3 Saxo Classic	1.UWT	2024-03-22	ME
19	SUPER 8 Classic	1.Pro	2023-09-16	ME
18	World Championships ME - Road Race	WC	2023-08-06	ME
17	Paris-Roubaix	1.UWT	2023-04-09	ME
16	Milano-Sanremo	1.UWT	2023-03-18	ME

Mods: apologies for continuing the off-topic.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Where did I go but but but? I didn't even talk about Pogacar (it was you who mentioned Pogacar). I was talking about road races and how Remco won 4 races against Pogacar (because you were talking about him). And yes, Pogacar also won less than 25 races against Remco in road races (probably 23, excluding both TTs in the TdF).
If you want some stats is 4/23 = a bit more than 17%. Not good to be honest.

Nope, still 8 vs 25.

 

[Berflamand]

He posted a ride on Strava today so he's at least started training again.

 

[peterfin]

cyclinguptodate is speculating that Remco is not transferring

Is Remco Evenepoel staying after all? Key mountain domestique extends contract at Soudal - Quick-Step

Louis Vervaeke has extended his contract with Soudal – Quick-Step through the 2028 season, confirming a long-term commitment to the Belgian WorldTour squad. The 31-year-old, who joined the team in 202...

cyclinguptodate.com

Vervaeke was never mentioned as part of the group that would follow Remco to RBH so it's not a surprise his contract is extended. It makes sense. He is a good helper that can win a stage too (e.g. Oman this year).

 

[AmRacer]

He posted a ride on Strava today so he's at least started training again.

He maybe would like to see how his body responds to training

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Vervaeke was never mentioned as part of the group that would follow Remco to RBH so it's not a surprise his contract is extended. It makes sense. He is a good helper that can win a stage too (e.g. Oman this year).

There would be no point in changing teams at all if he is going to bring over guys like Vervaeke. Bad enough he 's taking Lodewyck.

 

[KoopaCycling]

@Peyrote cycling needs competition. It's fine to have 1 guy at the top like Pogacar but he needs to be challenged.
If it's a walkover, you can only gush so long about how extraordinary it is. I did not bother to watch Strade Bianchi from a certain point onwards. Just went and did something else. Same for LBL. I more or less skipped last 10 stages of the Tour. With both the Tour and the top 4 more or less decided.

The paragraph above is a tad wrong. cause i like cycling. and i fast forwarded the stages, watched it like i would watch stuff on youtube.

The Giro on the other hand was the better GT . Not from an athletic POV. But as a viewing spectactle.

Now i'm sure purists will gush about Pogacar and love to see his dominance. But i want to see tic tac toe battles as much as possible. It's why for all MVDP greatness in recent years, the battle between him and Van Aert back when they were more equal to each other was imo more fun to watch. The saving grace is that Pogacar has kinda replaced Van Aert in the early classics.

As for Remco, if that is one of his first training rides. We should not expect much of him in the coming weeks prior to WC. He might ride some stuff, but it will be as part of build up. Would be my guess at least. He should also go at least a week prior to the actual event to Rwanda (if safety can be guaranteed). That only leaves a month and 10 days or so. Not sure if racing in that period would do him any good. Probably better to just train.

 

[AmRacer]

@Peyrote cycling needs competition. It's fine to have 1 guy at the top like Pogacar but he needs to be challenged

This I agree.

 

[Berniece]

So is it 2000 or 3000? They are both phenomenal riders but the evidence tell us that TP is currently a notch above and is a more complete one-day rider then MvdP.

These are from the last 3 years.

22	Liège-Bastogne-Liège	1.UWT	2025-04-27	ME
21	La Flèche Wallonne	1.UWT	2025-04-23	ME
20	Ronde van Vlaanderen - Tour des Flandres ME	1.UWT	2025-04-06	ME
19	Strade Bianche	1.UWT	2025-03-08	ME
18	Il Lombardia	1.UWT	2024-10-12	ME
17	Giro dell'Emilia	1.Pro	2024-10-05	ME
16	World Championships ME - Road Race	WC	2024-09-29	ME
15	Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal	1.UWT	2024-09-15	ME
14	Liège-Bastogne-Liège	1.UWT	2024-04-21	ME
13	Strade Bianche	1.UWT	2024-03-02	ME
12	Il Lombardia	1.UWT	2023-10-07	ME
11	National Championships Slovenia ME - Road Race	NC	2023-06-25	ME
10	La Flèche Wallonne	1.UWT	2023-04-19	ME
9	Amstel Gold Race	1.UWT	2023-04-16	ME
8	Ronde van Vlaanderen - Tour des Flandres ME	1.UWT	2023-04-02	ME
7	Jaén Paraiso Interior	1.1	2023-02-13	ME

26	Paris-Roubaix	1.UWT	2025-04-13	ME
25	E3 Saxo Classic ME	1.UWT	2025-03-28	ME
24	Milano-Sanremo	1.UWT	2025-03-22	ME
23	Ename Samyn Classic	1.1	2025-03-04	ME
22	Paris-Roubaix	1.UWT	2024-04-07	ME
21	Ronde van Vlaanderen - Tour des Flandres ME	1.UWT	2024-03-31	ME
20	E3 Saxo Classic	1.UWT	2024-03-22	ME
19	SUPER 8 Classic	1.Pro	2023-09-16	ME
18	World Championships ME - Road Race	WC	2023-08-06	ME
17	Paris-Roubaix	1.UWT	2023-04-09	ME
16	Milano-Sanremo	1.UWT	2023-03-18	ME

Mods: apologies for continuing the off-topic.

Yeah he rides more races doesn’t make him better

 

[AmRacer]

Yeah he rides more races doesn’t make him better

Merckx rode many races, he's no good.

 

[AlpRaid]

@Peyrote cycling needs competition. It's fine to have 1 guy at the top like Pogacar but he needs to be challenged.

I have zero issue with a dominant rider, in the sense that it is fun to see exploits and not have everything decided by a group sprinting it out at the top of a MTF for mere bonus seconds.

However, I would enjoy a return to pre-2024 when there could be healthy debate, all top riders had their strengths and a few weaknesses. While pog was arguably still top all around dog, it was not a foregone conclusion. 2024-onwards, the only way he loses is illness or crash or a completely flat sprinter's race. The fact is right now you cannot imagine any other rider winning the worlds or Lombardy, not even close.

Likely the most exciting race of the year was Amstel, when Remco was at least able to peg him back. More of that would be exciting. Any discussion needs to delineate the difference between pre- and post- the start of 2024. The leap pog made is absolutely extraordinary and no one else has made any equivalent jump (unless it's someone on his own team).

 

[Karl Merckx]

Glass-half-empty view again. In some classics, maybe, but not in the general picture. Is it genuinely hard for you to admit that MvdP is the better classics rider compared to Remco in a general sense? That might explain a few things—because, my friend, that’s just common sense

In the general sense of classics as 1 day races, Remco is better than Mathieu in a lot of them. Of course when climbing matters but not only.
Furthermore, Remco won several flemish type races, i don't think Mathieu won any climber 1 day race.

 

[AmRacer]

In the general sense of classics as 1 day races, Remco is better than Mathieu in a lot of them. Of course when climbing matters but not only.
Furthermore, Remco won several flemish type races, i don't think Mathieu won any climber 1 day race.

Was Mathieu racing?

 

[Peyroteo94]

In the general sense of classics as 1 day races, Remco is better than Mathieu in a lot of them. Of course when climbing matters but not only.
Furthermore, Remco won several flemish type races, i don't think Mathieu won any climber 1 day race.

For example? Without mentioning Fleche Brabançonne (not an important race).

MVP won AGR.

 

[Karl Merckx]

Was Mathieu racing?

I hope you realize this is a dumb question : was Remco racing when MVDP won one of his monuments ?

 

[AmRacer]

I hope you realize this is a dumb question : was Remco racing when MVDP won one of his monuments ?

Remco wouldn't stand a chance, that's the difference

 

[Karl Merckx]

For example? Without mentioning Fleche Brabançonne (not an important race).

MVP won AGR.

As for flemish type races, he won FB, Brussels cycling classic, Belgian championship, stage from tour of belgium, druivenkoers.

Who cares about importance. MVDP didn't even win any unimportant climber race. Don't you understand the argument ?

But if you want Important 1 day races with parcours that suits MVDP : Olympics RR (which mathieu's main goal last year), WC 22.

AGR is not really a climber's race, it's intermediate between flemish and ardennes type.
And i think Remco is better than MVDP in AGR.

 

[Karl Merckx]

Remco wouldn't stand a chance, that's the difference

Time will tell

 

[Valv.Piti]

In an imaginary world, and Gouvenou surprises us all with a Tour route someday that it Pro-Remco, what would it look like?

I'm trying to think of a Tour that would be kind to Remco in the mountains and keep Pog's chances of attack to a minimum.

ITT 12km

Plumelec 1.5km @5%

Superbesse 5km @6%
Saint Flour 1.5km @5%

ITT 52km

Cauterets 6k @4.5% (Marie-Blanque, Tourmalet, Cauterets)
Arcalis 10km @6% (Canto, Envalira, Arcalis)

Villard de Lans 2.2km @6% (Echarasson, VdL)
Pra-Loup 5km @6% (Vars, Allos, Pra-Loup)

56km ITT

Le Markstein. (2023 stage)
Gerarardmer (2014 stage)
Finish in Paris.

This is a rough outline of a route in which I think Remco could beat Pogacar on. It has 2012 Wiggins vibes.

Do you think he'd win on this type of route??
What type of route would you make for Remco to beat Pogacar on?
Do you think we could add more climbs and still see him win?

Wouldn't be close. Pog would easily be able to go long range on the stages to Cauterets and Pra Loup, and Markstein is plenty hard to make kinda big differences in the final. Arcalis is not joke either if you go hard from the bottom has UAE and Pog has done recently. That is if Pogacar even needs to go long range which I don't think he'd need to even do, cause what is he losing in the time trials? 2 or 3 minutes? Maybe even less.

Remco would need more time trials and lesser mountain stages than these

 

[Red Rick]

New conclusion. MVP is better than Pogacar in classics and using the same logic, I can say Freire is a better "classicomano" than Boonen. If we talk about WC and monuments, Freire won more races against Boonen than the opposite.

Well Freire is way underrated anyway

 

[AmRacer]

Time will tell

Yeah, time. Mathieu is a few years older so he should decline first.

 

[kingjr]

Well Freire is way underrated anyway

He made half a career out of clinging on to Zabel's back wheel. Which is no mean feat, of course, Zabel's back wheel was very popular in its day.