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

[Cycling111]

Figueira classic in 2024.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2018762414485889074

View: https://x.com/i/status/2018762414485889074

 

[Berniece]

Figueira classic in 2024.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2018762414485889074

View: https://x.com/i/status/2018762414485889074

What do you mean?

 

[KoopaCycling]

Maybe that Remco looked in good shape early on in 2024 as well.

 

[vappaxbipmv]

Remco is in good shape, but not GT shape. Hence i expect no change vs Vingegaard in the mountains during the UAE Tour. I expect to see a status quo with previous years. I hope he shows glimpses of improvement , and i want to see even more during the dauphiné. That way we know Red Bull new regime is paying off.

I'm just saying that Almeida, like Vinegaard is considered more consistent in his shape. If Almeida is as good as advertised by those that dislike Remco, it should be no contest. Personally i think they're wrong. I expect Remco and Almeida to be close (despite Remco being probably further from his best by other people logic) than Almeida will be. And if Almeida somehow can't even keep up with Remco. I'll just consider almeida his hype and negativity around Remco to be no more then recency bias fueled by a not-so-hidden agenda.

We will have to wait until the Tour I'm afraid. At Dauphine he'll face neither Pogacar nor Vingegaard. They others he should be better than anyway

 

[Cycling111]

Almeida lost against Buitrago last year. His first race isn't usually his most consistent, and this route doesn't suit him.

 

[KoopaCycling]

We will have to wait until the Tour I'm afraid. At Dauphine he'll face neither Pogacar nor Vingegaard. They others he should be better than anyway

Fair enough. I kinda assumed Vingegaard was doing the Dauphiné. I do rate Del Toro quite high. And he will be there methinks.

 

[Extinction]

Some are more talented than others or has a body type matching the challenge. Others need to work harder for it.

But who is a "natural" climber in modern cycling based on body "type" vs. someone who can just find the right power to weight combo through scientific performance training? Geraint Thomas won Alpe d'Huez during a GC battle. Was he a "natural climber" more than say a featherweight like Louis Meintjes? Does Evenepoel have less "natural" climbing ability than Thomas did, who came from the track? I find such categorizations meaningless today, unless we're talking about the obvious difference in body type/physiological propensity with heavier non-climbers.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

He also has less chances at GT. He has only 1, max 2 chances a year at them. Classics he has more opportunities so that also gives a skewed image

No, I meant all important one week races. He has won none.

Or is it that his weight during spring is focused on classics instead of pure climbing?

Since when large weight is needed for Ardennes classics? It's not like he's ever taken part in Roubaix or Flandres or even MSR. There have clearly been weight management problems in the past and he had to drop a lot of weight in some cases (i.e. before the Tour 2024). One can hope RBH will be able to stabilize his weight better (so those changes across the season are less dramatic).

 

[Berniece]

Since when large weight is needed for Ardennes classics? It's not like he's ever taken part in Roubaix or Flandres or even MSR. There have clearly been weight management problems in the past and he had to drop a lot of weight in some cases (i.e. before the Tour 2024). One can hope RBH will be able to stabilize his weight better (so those changes across the season are less dramatic).

For rouleur purposes which help during Ardennes classics it's preferred he weighs a bit more. That's at least the approach they always took at SOQ. Not saying that's correct, but that the idea of the performance team at SOQ was that he needed to weigh a bit more to have a higher chance at winning LBL. And that that's the reason why during spring, he didn't climb as well as he did during Vuelta 2022 and TDF 2024.

 

[Jan the Man]

Not followed everything - but I certainly think Remco has an excellent shot at finishing ahead of Jonas this year. Jonas is doing the Giro and the Tour will be the second GT. Jonas won the Vuelta last year but was not on a completely different level to Almeida . If history repeats then if Remco is slightly better than 2024 I think it is logical to think he can best a Jonas ridding a second GT.

It is obviously far from a certainty but it’s a logical consquence that Jonas will be beatable having to ride the Giro and having relatively speaking some decent competition (compared to Pog in ‘24 say).

People should not be clouded by Pog 24 as to how difficult the double is and the impact going all out in the Giro has on the Tour, when you are facing people who have specifically targeted the tour as their first GT of the season

 

[Berniece]

Not followed everything - but I certainly think Remco has an excellent shot at finishing ahead of Jonas this year. Jonas is doing the Giro and the Tour will be the second GT. Jonas won the Vuelta last year but was not on a completely different level to Almeida . If history repeats then if Remco is slightly better than 2024 I think it is logical to think he can best a Jonas ridding a second GT.

It is obviously far from a certainty but it’s a logical consquence that Jonas will be beatable having to ride the Giro and having relatively speaking some decent competition (compared to Pog in ‘24 say).

People should not be clouded by Pog 24 as to how difficult the double is and the impact going all out in the Giro has on the Tour, when you are facing people who have specifically targeted the tour as their first GT of the season

Indeed, Vingegaard will have a much more difficult Giro compared to the one Pogacar did. Pogacar had basically no opposition, while Vingegaard will have to go against Almeida, Pellizzari/Hindley, Ciccone, Gall, Carapaz. Wouldn't be surprised if he comes out knackered.

 

[vappaxbipmv]

Indeed, Vingegaard will have a much more difficult Giro compared to the one Pogacar did. Pogacar had basically no opposition, while Vingegaard will have to go against Almeida, Pellizzari/Hindley, Ciccone, Gall, Carapaz. Wouldn't be surprised if he comes out knackered.

Tbh the only relevant name here is Almeida. Ciccone said he won't be going for GC anymore because he simply can't do it. The rest are more or less in line with what Pogacar was facing

 

[Krzysztof_O]

For rouleur purposes which help during Ardennes classics it's preferred he weighs a bit more. That's at least the approach they always took at SOQ. Not saying that's correct, but that the idea of the performance team at SOQ was that he needed to weigh a bit more to have a higher chance at winning LBL. And that that's the reason why during spring, he didn't climb as well as he did during Vuelta 2022 and TDF 2024.

I agree that 1-2 kilo more than Tour weight is fine and healthy for most of the season (including hilly races and TTs) but my point is that he had bigger weight changes in the past (see his Dauphine vs Tour look in 2024 for example). It's not like 1 kilo more suddenly transforms a Tour podium finisher into a rider that consistently loses significant time in big one-week races (vs theoretically weaker competition).

 

[Berniece]

Tbh the only relevant name here is Almeida. Ciccone said he won't be going for GC anymore because he simply can't do it. The rest are more or less in line with what Pogacar was facing

Yeah Almeida is the real challenge, but Carapaz, Hindley and Pellizzari are better than Thomas and Martinez. They can still create chaos.

 

[Berniece]

I agree that 1-2 kilo more than Tour weight is fine and healthy for most of the season (including hilly races and TTs) but my point is that he had bigger weight changes in the past (see his Dauphine vs Tour look in 2024 for example). It's not like 1 kilo more suddenly transforms a Tour podium finisher into a rider that consistently loses significant time in big one-week races.

Dauphine - TDF 2024 difference was because he was still recovering from his crash. There wasn't time yet to properly decrease his weight.

I think 1kg is around 30s per X amount of km's. Don't now X anymore, I know logic used to say this here sometimes.

If Evenepoel loses significant time in mountains in big one week races, it barely has to do with his weight, and mostly with the build up towards goals. Most of them are easily explained by crashes.

 

[AmRacer]

Dauphine - TDF 2024 difference was because he was still recovering from his crash. There wasn't time yet to properly decrease his weight.

I think 1kg is around 30s per X amount of km's. Don't now X anymore, I know logic used to say this here sometimes.

If Evenepoel loses significant time in mountains in big one week races, it barely has to do with his weight, and mostly with the build up towards goals. Most of them are easily explained by crashes.

No more excuses this season.

 

[vappaxbipmv]

Yeah Almeida is the real challenge, but Carapaz, Hindley and Pellizzari are better than Thomas and Martinez. They can still create chaos.

2022 Thomas was easily 3rd best at the Tour. 2023 Thomas was as close to winning the Giro as you can be without winning it

 

[Berniece]

2022 Thomas was easily 3rd best at the Tour. 2023 Thomas was as close to winning the Giro as you can be without winning it

So? 2023 Thomas wasn’t impressive, and neither was 2024

 

[AmRacer]

So? 2023 Thomas wasn’t impressive, and neither was 2024

If so, what is that telling about the rest of the contenders?

 

[vappaxbipmv]

So? 2023 Thomas wasn’t impressive, and neither was 2024

None of the guys you mentioned, except Almeida, is impressive either. He wasn't impressive but his level was high regardless

 

[Berniece]

None of the guys you mentioned, except Almeida, is impressive either. He wasn't impressive but his level was high regardless

Those guys are all stronger than what Thomas and Martinez showed in 2024

 

[AmRacer]

Those guys are all stronger than what Thomas and Martinez showed in 2024

No, they aren't.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Dauphine - TDF 2024 difference was because he was still recovering from his crash. There wasn't time yet to properly decrease his weight.

I think 1kg is around 30s per X amount of km's. Don't now X anymore, I know logic used to say this here sometimes.

If Evenepoel loses significant time in mountains in big one week races, it barely has to do with his weight, and mostly with the build up towards goals. Most of them are easily explained by crashes.

I think we can agree that too large mass cost him a lot in some important races vs inferior opponents but also that some crashes made it harder for him to prepare good form (and optimal mass of course, he tends to get fatty quickly when off the training regime).

1 kg should be around 0.1 w/kg, which is around 1 second per 1 minute of very steep climb (the difference is lower on shallower climbs where gravity isn't such a dominant resistive force).

 

[RedheadDane]

Random thought, nothing to do with his racing, but rather his helmet.

I get that Red Bull wants all their riders to wear the Red Bull helmets, but... come on! They could have least have made one for him with a golden bull.

 

[Berniece]

Random thought, nothing to do with his racing, but rather his helmet.

I get that Red Bull wants all their riders to wear the Red Bull helmets, but... come on! They could have least have made one for him with a golden bull.

Not sure if it had an influence on it, but Evenepoel requested for not too many changes on his bike. He wanted it to look a lot like the rest of the team. Maybe that thinking was also used for the rest of his outfit?