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

[Divergence]

Obviously they do when coupled with other zones (mainly z2 and z4). What I'm saying is that Remco is most of the time very good at 5-minute steep climbs but often collapses in long climbs.

Zones are largely an academic thing. if one rides hard during training one will improve (I am not talking about sprinting, that belongs to the track anyway).

 

[VayaVayaVaya]

But Onley didn't say he would win if....
And also didn't say he aiming for...
And also don't uses it as an excuse why he failed.... And his fanboys don't do it either.

Tbf, I’m guessing most of us don’t know what Onley has or hasn’t said. Nor do we care. That’s the price of getting paid $6M or whatever Remco’s getting paid.

 

[Netserk]

There was something wrong with his bike during WC RR…

afaik , not both in reality

 

[Divergence]

I have been reading the past few pages and I struggle to understand what would have been a good pre UAE interview from Remco according to his fans. Should he have said:
1. I am not good enough, but I will try.
2. I can and I want to win (basically what he said).
3. I was gonna be good enough to win but I am starting the race after being sick the past few days so I will not be in contention.
4. We will see what happens.

The way I see it, he has a lot of pressure from his fans and from his inner circle and it seems to me that most of them either do not have good suggestions for him but are happy to egg him on because he earns some ad money or are completely delusional.

 

[Netserk]

I have been reading the past few pages and I struggle to understand what would have been a good pre UAE interview from Remco according to his fans. Should he have said:
1. I am not good enough, but I will try.
2. I can and I want to win (basically what he said).
3. I was gonna be good enough to win but I am starting the race after being sick the past few days so I will not be in contention.
4. We will see what happens.

The way I see it, he has a lot of pressure from his fans and from his inner circle and it seems to me that most of them either do not have good suggestions for him but are happy to egg him on because he earns some ad money or are completely delusional.

if you know 2 is false you go with 4

 

[Divergence]

if you know 2 is false you go with 4

Yes, but Rog says that constantly and sponsors are not interested in paying him million of euros per year.

 

[Berniece]

afaik , not both in reality

First time there was, second time there wasn’t. And that second time was his mind saying something was wrong because his body needed readjusting again.

 

[VayaVayaVaya]

Yes, but Rog says that constantly and sponsors are not interested in paying him million of euros per year.

When he spoke his mind, pretty innocuously, about wanting to compete for the win in the 2023 Vuelta to tie the record, that didn’t go over too well.

 

[Netserk]

First time there was, second time there wasn’t. And that second time was his mind saying something was wrong because his body needed readjusting again.

so a perfect example

 

[Berniece]

so a perfect example

The complete opposite…

 

[Divergence]

When he spoke his mind, pretty innocuously, about wanting to compete for the win in the 2023 Vuelta to tie the record, that didn’t go over too well.

Well, those were just some American softies who thought one should gift a GT victory. I think he gained more fans than he lost by openly proclaiming he is there to win. In contrast, I think, by bing deceitful, Jonas lost quite a few fans.

 

[KoopaCycling]

I think we can all agree that remco needs to either improve his climbing or change his goals. (personally i want him to stick to the plan till after the Tour).

I'm curious though what you all think about the mental part of remco.
I still get the feeling he needs to take a page from Roglic his book and ride more stress-free. More relaxed.
In my opinion he seems to be riding with self-imposed stress. Take Rwanda for example. It was one thing not being able to follow Pogacar on the hardest part of the race. Completely & unnecessary imploding for the next 15 minutes is an entire other thing. Only to then find strenght back in his legs when all was already lost and all that was left was to ride as best as he could. Once he was free, he suddenly become the 2nd best rider in the peloton. Or it is just my own imagination that Remco performs best when he looks relaxed, when his mind is free.

I mean that's an obvious statement, that you perform better when your not feeling under pressure. It just that he seems to build his own pressure paperweight that's constantly pushing down on him when he is not fully certain he can be the best. And when he is released from that he just becomes what he could be.

 

[Red Rick]

Well, those were just some American softies who thought one should gift a GT victory. I think he gained more fans than he lost by openly proclaiming he is there to win. In contrast, I think, by bing deceitful, Jonas lost quite a few fans.

I only realise now that Roglic and Vingegaard then proceeded to win the next 2 Vuelta's themselves

 

[jmdirt]

Interviewer: Remco, tough race today. You didn’t win. What happened out there?


Remco Evenepoel: In the end, someone else was better. It’s that simple. The strongest rider won today. I didn’t have the legs to make the difference when it mattered.

---

Interviewer: Was there a specific moment where you realized it wasn’t going to be your day?


Remco Evenepoel: On the final climb. I tried to respond to the acceleration, and I could follow for a few seconds, but I didn’t have that extra punch. That’s usually where I can hurt others. Today, I was the one hurting.

---

Interviewer: Do you think tactics played a role?


Remco Evenepoel: Tactics are always part of cycling, but no, I won’t hide behind that. The team did a great job positioning me. When the decisive move went, it was about pure legs. And mine weren’t the best.

---

Interviewer: Were you missing something physically — maybe peak form?


Remco Evenepoel: I felt good coming into the race. Training was solid. But racing is different. Sometimes you’re at 98%, and someone else is at 100%. At this level, that’s enough to lose.

---

Interviewer: The fans expect you to attack and dominate. Did you hesitate at any point?


Remco Evenepoel: No hesitation. I attacked when I believed it was right. I just couldn’t sustain it. You can’t bluff your way through a final like that. If you don’t have the power, you don’t have it.

---

Interviewer: Is it frustrating to admit that someone was simply stronger?


Remco Evenepoel: Of course it’s frustrating. I come to win. But I respect the sport. When someone is stronger, you shake their hand and you work harder. Making excuses doesn’t make you faster.

---

Interviewer: Last question — was there anything at all that might have affected you? Preparation, rest, anything small?


Remco Evenepoel: Honestly… maybe I didn’t sleep perfectly last night. But that’s normal before a big race. I don’t think that was it. The truth is simple: today, another rider was better. And next time, I’ll try to be that rider.


Forum: What a wanker with the constant excuses!!!

Is that an actual interview? Why not just post or link the interview?

 

[Ulle97]

Is that an actual interview? Why not just post or link the interview?

I imagine this version is slightly amended with an altered tone if not exactly different words.

 

[peterfin]

I think we can all agree that remco needs to either improve his climbing or change his goals. (personally i want him to stick to the plan till after the Tour).

I'm curious though what you all think about the mental part of remco.
I still get the feeling he needs to take a page from Roglic his book and ride more stress-free. More relaxed.
In my opinion he seems to be riding with self-imposed stress. Take Rwanda for example. It was one thing not being able to follow Pogacar on the hardest part of the race. Completely & unnecessary imploding for the next 15 minutes is an entire other thing. Only to then find strenght back in his legs when all was already lost and all that was left was to ride as best as he could. Once he was free, he suddenly become the 2nd best rider in the peloton. Or it is just my own imagination that Remco performs best when he looks relaxed, when his mind is free.

I mean that's an obvious statement, that you perform better when your not feeling under pressure. It just that he seems to build his own pressure paperweight that's constantly pushing down on him when he is not fully certain he can be the best. And when he is released from that he just becomes what he could be.

There are signs that he performs sometimes under unhealthy levels of stress and I think it has more to do of how he views himself than the impact of any outside force. Every move he makes or word he says is scrutinized in the press and on social but I doubt it really impacts him a lot, at least not today anymore. The major issue may be that he has such an unbounded view on what he can achieve, possibly strengthened by his successes as a junior and early results, that anything less is seen as a failure. I think it is part of the winner mentality but it may have reached unhealthy levels for him. When he does hit a limit under stress and strain, he can be set free, get rid of the frustration and perform at his best.

There are signs that confirm this picture when he is not racing. After he crashed in 2020, he spent a lot of time reading books on meditation and personal development. Today he finds peace in doing prayers together with his wife. To me these are signs of a mind that needs rest. I also believe that when he hit that van a year ago, he really faced one of the most depressing periods of his life (as he said) knowing that he is in his prime and had to get his act together to score that transfer to better team simply to have a chance to reach his goals.

I hope he learns something from Roglic' calmness but most likely his mind will be both his strength (winner mentality) and nemesis for his whole career.

 

[Ulle97]

There are signs that he performs sometimes under unhealthy levels of stress and I think it has more to do of how he views himself than the impact of any outside force. Every move he makes or word he says is scrutinized in the press and on social but I doubt it really impacts him a lot, at least not today anymore. The major issue may be that he has such an unbounded view on what he can achieve, possibly strengthened by his successes as a junior and early results, that anything less is seen as a failure. I think it is part of the winner mentality but it may have reached unhealthy levels for him. When he does hit a limit under stress and strain, he can be set free, get rid of the frustration and perform at his best.

There are signs that confirm this picture when he is not racing. After he crashed in 2020, he spent a lot of time reading books on meditation and personal development. Today he finds piece in doing prayers together with his wife. To me these are signs of a mind that needs rest. I also believe that when he hit that van a year ago, he really faced one of the most depressing periods of his life (as he said) knowing that he is in his prime and had to get his act together to score that transfer to better team simply to have a chance to reach his goals.

I hope he learns something from Roglic' calmness but most likely his mind will be both his strength (winner mentality) and nemesis for his whole career.

He needs to focus on the things that he's good at. Time trials, one-day races (monuments, classics, championships) and perhaps some one week stage races that suit him. He can develop his palmares into an all-time great status if he would simply focus on this. (In fact, his palmares currently as it is, is already top class and the envy of many)

He's 26 years of age, trying to morph himself and his body composition into that of a climber which he is simply not able to do. The greatest moments us Remco fans have, is when he produces performances like in Liege, San Sebastian or the ITTs, especially when he caught and passed Pogacar in the World's.

More of this please Remco.

 

[Gratemans]

I'm curious though what you all think about the mental part of remco.
I still get the feeling he needs to take a page from Roglic his book and ride more stress-free.

I'll not go into that first part, as to not enrage fellow-members. But when it comes to that second sentence, I feel I actually gotta defend Remco here. "Just ride more stress-free" isn't something you just do.
We all have our own inherent character and temper. You can't expect Remco to just flick a switch and turn from the flamboyent, boisterous character he is to the stoic, unperturbed ways of the Roglic. That's just not fair.

Sure it would benefit him to take it down a notch when in front of a camera / microphone. Cut it out with all the gesturing on the bike when things don't go as planned as well, and I'm pretty sure more people would actually grow to like him. But you can't expect him to become a completely different person.

 

[KoopaCycling]

I'll not go into that first part, as to not enrage fellow-members. But when it comes to that second sentence, I feel I actually gotta defend Remco here. "Just ride more stress-free" isn't something you just do.
We all have our own inherent character and temper. You can't expect Remco to just flick a switch and turn from the flamboyent, boisterous character he is to the stoic, unperturbed ways of the Roglic. That's just not fair.

Sure it would benefit him to take it down a notch when in front of a camera / microphone. Cut it out with all the gesturing on the bike when things don't go as planned as well, and I'm pretty sure more people would actually grow to like him. But you can't expect him to become a completely different person.

I don't. I like that he wants to win. he just feel like he needs to find a better balance between wanting to win and not letting the stress that comes with that impede him. He needs to find a way to keep his ambitions without being thwarted by them is my opinion on the matter. Now he seems to fade at times physically from mental pressure. With Rwanda RR a good example.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Zones are largely an academic thing. if one rides hard during training one will improve (I am not talking about sprinting, that belongs to the track anyway).

I wouldn't say they mean nothing. You just don't go very hard all the time in training. They need Z4 and Z5 sessions (for peak aerobic performance as well as maximizing lactate steady-state level) but they need a lot of volume in lower zones as well (so called base, majority of training time). Even 1500-meter runners do 10-15 km runs regularly (base). Both types of training are needed to gradually improve sporting level.

 

[Ulle97]

Remco has no race now until Catalunya. That is a full month away.
What are we going to do or talk about in the interim??

Withdrawal symptoms going to hit me hard!!

 

[Berniece]

Remco has no race now until Catalunya. That is a full month away.
What are we going to do or talk about in the interim??

Withdrawal symptoms going to hit me hard!!

 

[Krzysztof_O]

To bad there's no Logic anymore. He would give us exciting updates about Remco's weight during this time.

 

[Berniece]

To bad there's no Logic anymore. He would give us exciting updates about Remco's weight during this time.

Talked with him on Discord. First thing he said after Wednesday was that apparently still no one sees that he's overweight for climbing long or hard climbs. He specifically said:

65 kilos strikes again
When he retires in 10 years, someone will suggest that he might have been better off riding uphill at 60kg.
Red Bull is just as laughable. Van Wilder is a minute faster here, lol. 5kg in half an hour of climbing is a 2.30m difference. Wow, who would've thought...

The only constant through all his uphill failures is his weight. Remco usually handles the heat well. CSS, Vuelta, UAE 2023... the only exception was Switzerland 2022 because it was unexpected there.

 

[Netserk]

damn hed have won by one and a half minute if only the fat bastard could skip a meal ( more than two minutes faster than pogis fastest time on that climb ever )