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

[Brullnux]

Ignoring all the useless speculation to post some tangible news :
According to Foré, he's riding tour of britain before WC, EC and italian classics.

Glad that he's riding the Tour of Britain, but also a shame for British Cycling to be rewarded for their horrible organisational skills (still no fully published route!).

Mind you, worth being careful about the first three stages. Stage One will be a sprint finish on some quite shoddy narrow roads.

 

[Stablo]

Bora made a huge transfer.
Remco can win a lot of classics (Bora is very weak on classics), however if there is anyone here thinking Remco will win GTs, is probably naive IMO. But let's wait for the next 2 years.

You of all people calling someone naive, is IMHO extremely hilarious.

 

[Peyroteo94]

You of all people calling someone naive, is IMHO extremely hilarious.

Eheheh, I knew you would come.
You can quote me when Remco wins another GT. It's so funny to see a lot of people so sure, I still maintain my opinion he will never win a GT again.

 

[2WpK]

That's an assumption based on what we have seen in 2025, with Remco not in top shape. Be aware that Remco won a GT already, that he was 1 minute faster in the flat TT's of the TdF and Dauphine and that Lipowitz best climb efforts in the TdF 2025 are still below those of Remco in the TdF 2024.

Those are all fair points but Lipowitz is just getting started. Should be an interesting 2026 at Red Bull

 

[Stablo]

Eheheh, I knew you would come.
You can quote me when Remco wins another GT. It's so funny to see a lot of people so sure, I still maintain my opinion he will never win a GT again.

I don’t think anyone is so sure about it, but I would say there is good possibility. It's also not happening if pog or vingo are in good shape in the same GT, unless they also know how to train at RBH and we will see a magic jump in performance after next winter.

 

[AlpRaid]

Remco will quickly settle in at RBH, especially with all the people he's bringing along. He's already familiar with most of the equipment as well. I'm curious whether the team will manage to bring out the best in him—and whether the new sporting management can establish a sense of “we” within the squad. Remco is the new star and brings a lot of change with him. For many of the riders already there, things will be shifting quite a bit.

Remco surely wants to win the Tour, and RBH wouldn't bring in a rider like him just to target small stage races. That said, I don't think the Grand Tours are where his greatest strengths lie. He’s definitely capable—he’s a top-class rider and can perform really well in them. But he also tends to have weaker days during those races. Yet Remco could win so many races for the team if he shifted his focus. Races where time trials are crucial. Time trials in general. One-day Classics. That’s where I’d put the focus. I’m afraid, though, that everything’s going to revolve around the Tour. And there, I believe the team might actually have better options.

This is a great post.

My only question is when you suggest he should target “Races where time trials are crucial.” other than the obvious ITT championships I don’t believe there is a single stage race where the ITT plays a determining factor. Not just GTs but even one week races (if they even have a TT).

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Lipowitz is gonna be strong as hell next year at the Tour with both Roglic and Remco riding for him

Lipo to Remco at the 2026 Tour:

 

[jmdirt]

I was 87% sure that he would stay at SQS. I guess the 13% RBBH wins out, eh.

EDIT:
I think that 2026 will be better for him than 2025...

 

[Ripper]

Things which seem fairly clear.

• Remco didn’t come to Bora without leadership guarantees
• Bora hasn’t been courting Remco to level up their classics game, though that’s a nice bonus
• Going to Bora isn’t going to magically make him or anyone on that team competitive with the big 2
• An in-form Remco with solid prep is a better GT rider than Lipo
• All that said, the road should (and will) decide come Tour time

If one is suggesting that Remco should dial back GC aspirations and focus on the classics, one is not paying attention. To Remco, to Bora, and their respective aspirations.

It also seems clear that some folks tend to let their passions and bias deeply interfere with their ability to read this situation. You don’t like Remco? Fine, he clearly is a guy who seems to get people wound up. I find him disappointing in some ways and don’t always love his personality. But the guy is ALL about winning, and has a champion’s drive. That he’s up against one of the two or three greatest riders of all time is a tough hand to play. Acting like that makes him other than a great rider seems foolish.

The move won't magically make him better. However, I do hope that, what I assume is a more modern cycling outfit, will improve upon his training and he will be much more 'optimized' to race a GT. Clinic stuff aside, I think SQS is very old school and I think Remco is following training that is about a decade behind and is not focused on GT success. So, now we have a chance to see what he can do with a more optimal set up - better, same or worse!

 

[Rob5091]

RedBull/Bora would have been better to use their money to pay Pogi & Vingegaard to not race.

 

[Berniece]

Glad that he's riding the Tour of Britain, but also a shame for British Cycling to be rewarded for their horrible organisational skills (still no fully published route!).

Mind you, worth being careful about the first three stages. Stage One will be a sprint finish on some quite shoddy narrow roads.

I also don’t understand why they do Tour of Britain again.

I guess this week he rides in Belgium, then 3 weeks altitude, off to Britain, and if I was him I would go to Rwanda after that. I can see him come back to Belgium for a week and a half first, but that would be a mistake. Do it like TDF prep, Dauphine is Tour of Britain, and then you do another altitude before the big race. Even better that you can do this at the WC location.

 

[TourOfSardinia]

But the big question is:
What does this mean for L A N D A ?

 

[Berniece]

But the big question is:
What does this mean for L A N D A ?

That he can ride any GT he wants as the leader

 

[rghysens]

Is he still gonna try Sanremo and/or the Ronde with Redbull. Maybe not the first year I guess. It was more about Quickstep needing a better competitor in the spring classics. Hope they can get his base level up so he got a better chance at winning the one week races.

And no crashes, first of all.

To do what?
Essential in the tour of Flanders is descending the "Nieuwe Kwaremont" towards the 2nd Oude Kwaremont like mad, while fighting for your position. That isn´t Evenepoels forte. He may start the descent in the first ranks of the peleton and end it at the back, basically ruining his chances.
And essential for San Remo is descending the Poggio (and Cipressa). In a best case scenario he´ll end up as Argentin in 1992.

 

[Red Rick]

Cipressa is a larger group descent most of the time, Poggio is just not that steep. He might lose some meters in the corners but he'll aerodynamically mercantalize these back in no time.

Not trying Sanremo and RvV would be a huge mistake for his career long term. Don't focus exclusively on the races where you know Pogacar will just slap you again.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Not trying Sanremo and RvV would be a huge mistake for his career long term. Don't focus exclusively on the races where you know Pogacar will just slap you again.

Not trying San Remco so far is really puzzling to me. The guy raced only 2 monuments out of 5.

 

[Red Rick]

Not trying San Remco so far is really puzzling to me.

Sanremo definitely. RvV is more complicated and higher risk. Sanremo is super simple, and always fits in the schedule. You just roll in, chill until the base of the Cipressa, then you race. If you get dropped by Pog on Cipressa, no worries, you lose the race but you're not risking anything anyway.

The idea that Ganna can follow Pogacar on the Cipressa but Evenepoel shouldn't race Sanremo is mindblowing to me.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Sanremo definitely. RvV is more complicated and higher risk. Sanremo is super simple, and always fits in the schedule. You just roll in, chill until the base of the Cipressa, then you race. If you get dropped by Pog on Cipressa, no worries, you lose the race but you're not risking anything anyway.

The idea that Ganna can follow Pogacar on the Cipressa but Evenepoel shouldn't race Sanremo is mindblowing to me.

San Remo is a race where various things can happen. It's been won by riders of different characteristics and Evenepoel with his aero advantage could have his shot in the finale. I really can't understand why a guy considered to be one of the best classics riders (some even think he's the best) has raced only 2 different monuments!

 

[Red Rick]

San Remo is a race where various things can happen. It's been won by riders of different characteristics and Evenepoel with his aero advantage could have his shot in the finale. I really can't understand why a guy considered to be one of the best classics riders (some even think he's the best) has raced only 2 different monuments!

Either they know something we don't, or they don't know something we do.

I'm leaning towards the latter funnily enough

 

[Berniece]

Sanremo definitely. RvV is more complicated and higher risk. Sanremo is super simple, and always fits in the schedule. You just roll in, chill until the base of the Cipressa, then you race. If you get dropped by Pog on Cipressa, no worries, you lose the race but you're not risking anything anyway.

The idea that Ganna can follow Pogacar on the Cipressa but Evenepoel shouldn't race Sanremo is mindblowing to me.

Not to mention he should stop putting all his eggs in one basket. He’s had so much bad luck throughout his career he should just go for whatever is possible and not try to go for perfect TDF prep.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

@Red Rick It seems to me that Remco really doesn't like non-asphalt surfaces so Flandres is more tricky to him in a way. Plus there are two absolute monsters there (Pogacar + MVP). San Ramco is a more open race and he can look for his chance in the final kms.

 

[AmRacer]

@Red Rick It seems to me that Remco really doesn't like non-asphalt surfaces so Flandres is more tricky to him in a way. Plus there are two absolute monsters there (Pogacar + MVP). San Ramco is a more open race and he can look for his chance in the final kms.

But being a Belgian.....

 

[Red Rick]

@Red Rick It seems to me that Remco really doesn't like non-asphalt surfaces so Flandres is more tricky to him in a way. Plus there are two absolute monsters there (Pogacar + MVP). San Ramco is a more open race and he can look for his chance in the final kms.

Cobbled element of RvV isn't that big in my view. It adds selectivity to the uphill climbs, and it means you can't do them out of the saddle really, but it's not like Evenepoel is an out of the saddle climber anyway. He races Brabantse and is completely fine on the cobbles of the Moskesstraat for example.

And getting away on the cobbles wouldn't be his win condition anyway.

 

[Pozzovivo]

blablablabla - Just give him two seasons of no severe injuries and he will obviously win the Tour with a super team like RB-BH will be. He is way more talented like Lipowitz. He's the only talent comparable or equal to that of Pogacar.

 

[peterfin]

I don't get it why people mention him as a classic rider while in practice he is doing only two monuments.

He should try both San Remo and RvV. The RvV is challenging but if he can TT his way back to the leaders after an explosive climb, he has a chance. The home crowd cheering him on while give it an extra dimension too. Later in his career I hope he does PR too. He has the endurance needed to win it.