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

[HashRouge]

Also, this quote is classic Remco, and why I think he just can’t conceive of being worse in these type of races; it must be because of some external factor. He’s had at least two known phantom mechanicals in major races in the last 13 months (OGRR and the second WCRR bike issue this year). But this is his takeaway:

"In the end, it's just something that happens in the race, because I think Tadej is one minute twenty ahead of me and I'm also a minute ahead of the guys behind me, so it shows that my shape was very good this week, that the legs were there, but just some bad luck did not allow me to take my double today."

And I think he truly believes that, and truly believes the mechanicals are all real. But what I think he struggles with is loss of control, and this is a bigger issue than that first mechanical. Vingegaard used to really struggle with that. Remember that bike swapping fiasco in 2022? But he seems to have pushed through it and is better able to roll with the punches now. Remco did recover this time, at least, rather than throw in the towel like in LBL this year, but he didn’t help himself.

Yeah okay, I don't like that quote. Where is it from?

 

[Pippo_San]

The thing is he proved one more time he lacks the skill to accept losses. Birthday boy Pogi got STOMPED in the ITT and what he did? Shook his shoulders, and got on with the build up.
And he was ready to fly.
On the other hand, everytime Remco is sub par with his own expectations he goes "boom" mentally like at the TdF.
I don't believe a word about what he said happened to him in this WC. Not a single word.
This is starting to become a meme.
A shame, because he's a monster and could be that much more.

 

[Netserk]

Yeah okay, I don't like that quote. Where is it from?

'Frustration because I knew it could be different' – Strong Remco Evenepoel misses out on World Championships double after cramp at crucial moment

Belgian says he felt good but 'some bad luck did not allow me to take my double today' after position-related cramps at the key moment of the men's elite road race

www.cyclingnews.com

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

The pothole story that made his saddle straight instead of the very small angle he's used to... Come on. Thats just embarrassing.

What is embarrassing is that you seem to judge him on something that is completely false.
- The pothole story lowered the saddle, leading to his first bike change.
- The talk about the straight saddle was on the second bike.

It is embarrassing to read someone coming in to tell the truth and set things straight, and then obviously miss the details so badly as you did here. Come on, you can do better.

 

[Berniece]

'Frustration because I knew it could be different' – Strong Remco Evenepoel misses out on World Championships double after cramp at crucial moment

Belgian says he felt good but 'some bad luck did not allow me to take my double today' after position-related cramps at the key moment of the men's elite road race

www.cyclingnews.com

Maybe he should’ve said fight for double. Which is probably what he meant. There wasn’t a single Dutch interview where he said he would’ve won without mechanicals. He always said his chance was taken from him.

 

[stekelegel]

This time I would give him the benefit of the doubt.
His saddle was confirmed broken and lowered by 20mm. The effort on mount Kigali was enormous, the race very though. He went over the limit (like most) but the lower saddle caused cramps - logical with the required effort (the route was hard, the altitude, ...). Two riders could follow Pog but both went over the limit and lost their races.
The second meltdown was in his head, the bike was confirmed normal. But the race was being ridden at 100% and recouping from cramps is never easy. Obviously the cramps didnt go away as quickly als he wanted and he got the idea it was the bike.
And he had been sick since thursday.
He knew he missed a chance to beat Pog and those dont come often. Pog still being the strongest rider in the race but without the two stops and a healthy Van Wilder they might have gotten back.

 

[houtdffan]

The thing is he proved one more time he lacks the skill to accept losses. Birthday boy Pogi got STOMPED in the ITT and what he did? Shook his shoulders, and got on with the build up.
And he was ready to fly.
On the other hand, everytime Remco is sub par with his own expectations he goes "boom" mentally like at the TdF.
I don't believe a word about what he said happened to him in this WC. Not a single word.
This is starting to become a meme.
A shame, because he's a monster and could be that much more.

Classic Remco derangement syndrome here

He had a mechanical. It wasn't his legs. If it were, he would have had a less than zero chance to drop the peloton and finish solo

 

[Salvarani]

Bike problem or no bike problem.

Remco keeps dropping, only to then recover and actually ride a pretty good race. Not like he is empty.

The way he pulled for several laps and then just dropped both Skjelmose and Healy stone cold tells quite the different story.

I find it hard to believe he couldnt just have tried to follow on Kigali.

And when did the problems with the bike occur? Right on Kigali, so he could not have changed it before? Thats bad luck or very convenient if you want to speculate.

Is he just afraid to go over or cant push a certain watt? Is that why he keeps being dropped?

I just feel like he could have followed as a couple of other times, but didnt do it for reasons that only he can know. Im just curious, because things arent adding up for me.

 

[Gargamel35]

There is always a problem with Remco and usually fans and himself say it's not him. That's why his thread is million posts long. Look at Pogačar. He got smashed on ITT route by Remco. He wasn't just beaten. He got overtaken and finished out of podium. There was no drama, he just wasn't good enough. Went to training, came back, killed everyone on RR a week later.

Remco had his share of bad luck but he also drops like a stone so many times it's not even funny. He's becoming ITT specialist and looses every other race against other top talent. He was a 1 day race power house but now gets beaten by Pog, MvdP and others. He wants to be a top dog in GT racing but gets beaten by many regularly.
He's close many times, but he also drops and is nowhere to be seen many times. And his technical problems would also be interesting to explore.

 

[Berniece]

There is always a problem with Remco and usually fans and himself say it's not him.

Because it wasn't him... You only looked at the result and didn't watch the race itself. Maybe it's news to you, but he had a mechanical.

 

[Gargamel35]

Because it wasn't him... You only looked at the result and didn't watch the race itself. Maybe it's news to you, but he had a mechanical.

Comment was meant for his entire career, not this race alone.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Its a fact that Evenepoels bike troubled him at a very important moment of the race. Bad luck but he responded well, like a champion. Kudos for that.

Its also a fact that there was only one section where he gained significant time on Pogacar: where he was drafting behind cars after his last bike change.

 

[KenFiamingo]

The thing is he proved one more time he lacks the skill to accept losses. Birthday boy Pogi got STOMPED in the ITT and what he did? Shook his shoulders, and got on with the build up.
And he was ready to fly.
On the other hand, everytime Remco is sub par with his own expectations he goes "boom" mentally like at the TdF.
I don't believe a word about what he said happened to him in this WC. Not a single word.
This is starting to become a meme.
A shame, because he's a monster and could be that much more.

The feeling of being done injustice is a driver for Remco, no doubt. Hence his reaction after the mechanicals. But if he's beaten fair and square, he definitely is able to accept his losses. He was very humble after being no match to Pogacar and Vingegaard in last year's Tour.

 

[Offline]

Remco wouldn't have won without bike problems. But he would have DNF'ed without help from cars.

 

[Gargamel35]

The feeling of being done injustice is a driver for Remco, no doubt. Hence his reaction after the mechanicals. But if he's beaten fair and square, he definitely is able to accept his losses. He was very humble after being no match to Pogacar and Vingegaard in last year's Tour.

Because he knew he's no match for both of them before Tour even began.

 

[KoopaCycling]

I think it's a matter of perspective. Both remco and Pogacar are champions at heart. And on the road. Tadej is just the bigger champion on the road. When they compete they want to win. It's as simple as that. And I applaud that. How they cope with loss is the same thing. They knuckle down and work hard on top of their talent so as to try and achieve their next set of goals. It's just that Pogacar is more cool and collected in the aftermath (and also has the benefit of winning more), whilst Remco need to let loose his emotions. People view his denial as unsportsmanlike and arrogance. I personallly like his will to win. And if that means he lies to himself & the world to puff himself up and get mentally ready for the next bout. so be it. That is also why so many are coming out of the woodworks to bash on remco. And why so many come to defend Remco. Cause whenever he genuinely feels on form he tries to contend. He settles when he ain't feeling that strong, but when he feels strong, he (so far) has always went at it. Whereas other riders might be more quick to ride for second place.

I've seen someone comment along the lines that Remco & his fans need not bother with EUC RR cause Pogacar will smash that as well. probably. But remco should still go out there and compete. And his fans should cheer and hope for the win. that is sports. If i wanted someone that rode not to lose and is ultimately fine with being second i'd be a Van aert or Vingegaard fan. I'm not. I cheer for Remco cause he has a winning mentality.

Van Aert is better at GT cause he has a bigger engine. But Van der poel smokes him in palmares cause VDP imo can simply dig deeper in the moment. He'll give it everything in order to win. (I may be wrong about Vingegaard, but i still find it hard to put him alongside Remco, Tadej, VDP when it comes to winning mentality).

At the end of the day, you gotta applaud remco performance, you can hate on the drama, and all that comes with it. But you gotta respect his performance. So many here seem incapable of doing that.

 

[bah]

Bike problem or no bike problem.

Remco keeps dropping, only to then recover and actually ride a pretty good race. Not like he is empty.

The way he pulled for several laps and then just dropped both Skjelmose and Healy stone cold tells quite the different story.

I find it hard to believe he couldnt just have tried to follow on Kigali.

And when did the problems with the bike occur? Right on Kigali, so he could not have changed it before? Thats bad luck or very convenient if you want to speculate.

Is he just afraid to go over or cant push a certain watt? Is that why he keeps being dropped?

I just feel like he could have followed as a couple of other times, but didnt do it for reasons that only he can know. Im just curious, because things arent adding up for me.

They're not adding up for you because you don't want to accept Remco's explanation.

 

[AmRacer]

They're not adding up for you because you don't want to accept Remco's explanation.

*Excuses and what-ifs

 

[tigabara]

Remco should be proud of his accomplishments. He won the ITT and finished second in the road race. He's better than Tadej, who won the road race but failed to get medal in the ITT. The ITT and the road race are equally prestigious, aren't they?

 

[AmRacer]

Remco should be proud of his accomplishments. He won the ITT and finished second in the road race. He's better than Tadej, who won the road race but failed to get medal in the ITT. The ITT and the road race are equally prestigious, aren't they?

No, they are not. ITT was added to Worlds 1994, rigth?

 

[Gargamel35]

Remco should be proud of his accomplishments. He won the ITT and finished second in the road race. He's better than Tadej, who won the road race but failed to get medal in the ITT. The ITT and the road race are equally prestigious, aren't they?

No, they are not and Remco knows this.

 

[Salvarani]

They're not adding up for you because you don't want to accept Remco's explanation.

I said bike problem or no problem.

The broader point was him being dropped at crucial points a few times now, but always seeming to have the legs to fight back. It does not seem like it is because he has a bad day or bad legs... or whatever the explanation may be each time.

Hence me asking what I asked in the post.

Im just trying to figure out what the problem might be.

 

[bah]

Remco should be proud of his accomplishments. He won the ITT and finished second in the road race. He's better than Tadej, who won the road race but failed to get medal in the ITT. The ITT and the road race are equally prestigious, aren't they?

Who has even claimed that?

 

[Berflamand]

Gold and silver at the Worlds. Only beaten by the best rider of this generation who is well on his way to becoming the best rider in the history of the sport.

He should be very proud of his achievements.

His 8th medal at the Worlds (recordholder) and 10th medal at the Worlds and Olympics combined (recordholder together with Cancellara). He truly is a Championship rider.

But to me as a fan, there's also still a small 'What if?'-story about the mechanicals. I agree that Pogacar was the strongest and the most likely scenario is that he gets dropped later in the race but I am convinced that without the mechanical he could have followed on Mont Kigali and we get a different race. It wouldn't be the first time Remco has cooked very strong riders on his wheel when they relayed with him but in this case we're talking about Pogacar so chances are small it would have affected him and judging by the time gaps and the fact that Pogacar rode solo for a very long time, it would have likely been the other way around. It's still a shame though we couldn't see a more straight up fight between them.

Now on to the Euro's. One can hope for some decompression and too many parties for Pogacar so he actually has a shot at the Road Race?

 

[fenns]

Remco is a monster in flat TT-type conditions - without peer in modern cycling. He would have caught Pogacar yesterday if it had been flat after Mt Kigali - like he did in the Amstel after being dropped. We'll find out over the next 2 weekends what the most plausible explanation is for why he got dropped yesterday - unless he also has mechanicals in these races.