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

[AmRacer]

I think this issue can perhaps be resolved by asking the readers of this thread two questions:

a) Was Evenepoel worse at the UAE Tour than he should be when he is in good shape?

b) If the answer is yes, are there any explanations that are not automatically also excuses?

A) Was Remco in good shape compared with the week before and other riders?

 

[Berniece]

That's harsh. Remco was riding his race and Del Toro his own. Del Toro was strongly aggressive at the end and couldn't be brought back. Every other racer suffered the fate of "losing" to him although that isn't how GC riders perform. They race for time and the opportunity to win stages; hopefully with bonus seconds.

It’s just that Del Toro’s performance wasn’t that crazy, he lost a stage to Tiberi… so I stand by saying Del Toro’s didn’t humiliate Evenepoel because he wasn’t extremely good, Evenepoel was extremely bad

 

[HashRouge]

This is an interesting take on the UAE tour performance: https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling...-doubt-on-remco-evenepoels-uae-tour-struggles I don’t know if it is believable but it matches Remcos behaviour, before when he has underachieved it has been a lot of anger and excuses. This time it doesn’t seem so emotional, like he is not so invested. Another thing that plays into this scenario is that Red Bull sent him to UAE with a sprint team. It makes no sense to do this if they were facing UAEs best riders and wanted Remco to win.

Why would Remco go to the UAE Tour just to test himself in a 13km TT though?

 

[Berniece]

This is an interesting take on the UAE tour performance: https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling...-doubt-on-remco-evenepoels-uae-tour-struggles I don’t know if it is believable but it matches Remcos behaviour, before when he has underachieved it has been a lot of anger and excuses. This time it doesn’t seem so emotional, like he is not so invested. Another thing that plays into this scenario is that Red Bull sent him to UAE with a sprint team. It makes no sense to do this if they were facing UAEs best riders and wanted Remco to win.

I don’t think that take is really grounded in reality. I find it more plausible that they might have knew it was going to be difficult but that they went for the money. It was never part of the initial plan for the season, and added late.

 

[KoopaCycling]

Then why was Remco and the DS holding pikachu faces?

 

[Andre]

Then why was Remco and the DS holding pikachu faces?

cause it's the human nature to always expect better and strive further

 

[Low is rhe new high]

Why would Remco go to the UAE Tour just to test himself in a 13km TT though?

I don’t think that take is really grounded in reality. I find it more plausible that they might have knew it was going to be difficult but that they went for the money. It was never part of the initial plan for the season, and added late.

Yeah maybe it’s the money. I still think it’s weird that his climbing was so bad if he had been beaten by del toro and Tiberi it would have been normal, as it is known he was either ill or didn’t make his best effort on purpose.

 

[rghysens]

This is an interesting take on the UAE tour performance: https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling...-doubt-on-remco-evenepoels-uae-tour-struggles I don’t know if it is believable but it matches Remcos behaviour, before when he has underachieved it has been a lot of anger and excuses. This time it doesn’t seem so emotional, like he is not so invested. Another thing that plays into this scenario is that Red Bull sent him to UAE with a sprint team. It makes no sense to do this if they were facing UAEs best riders and wanted Remco to win.

I think Evenepoel just wasn´t in top shape. His performance was comparable to his performance in the 2022 tour of Valencia: easily winning a hilly stage and as easily being beaten on a 5km @ 10% mtf, losing almost a minute in 1.5km or so.
It also shows in his itt result: yes he won, but it wasn´t like last years wc or ec itt (and certainly the latter), when he was in top shape.

 

[AmRacer]

I think Evenepoel just wasn´t in top shape. His performance was comparable to his performance in the 2022 tour of Valencia: easily winning a hilly stage and as easily being beaten on a 5km @ 10% mtf, losing almost a minute in 1.5km or so.
It also shows in his itt result: yes he won, but it wasn´t like last years wc or ec itt (and certainly the latter), when he was in top shape.

But was everyone else in top shape

 

[Oldman]

Why would Remco go to the UAE Tour just to test himself in a 13km TT though?

Because he's a Pro and RBH undoubtedly was compensated for appearing. Plus the big teams are obligated to provide bodies; even for races that are meaningless to their overall strategies. That's also why teams with low UCI points flood the zone with riders competing for the top 10 of every stage. It Is a Bidness.

 

[Extinction]

On the

This is an interesting take on the UAE tour performance: https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling...-doubt-on-remco-evenepoels-uae-tour-struggles I don’t know if it is believable but it matches Remcos behaviour, before when he has underachieved it has been a lot of anger and excuses. This time it doesn’t seem so emotional, like he is not so invested. Another thing that plays into this scenario is that Red Bull sent him to UAE with a sprint team. It makes no sense to do this if they were facing UAEs best riders and wanted Remco to win.

On the other hand, had he gone there with only the TT in mind, then why would he have ridden that first climb in the beginning like he did? Right, he was in the leaders jersey, but if he knew his climbing shape was sub-par, why not ride on the wheels and see how far it takes you? Perhaps when they found out Pogacar wasn't racing, they said no need for Remco to be good on the climbs now? We should, in any case, see a different Remco in Catalunya. If not, then he has problems with Liege and July in sight.

 

[AmRacer]

On the

On the other hand, had he gone there with only the TT in mind, then why would he have ridden that first climb in the beginning like he did? Right, he was in the leaders jersey, but if he knew his climbing shape was sub-par, why not ride on the wheels and see how far it takes you? Perhaps when they found out Pogacar wasn't racing, they said no need for Remco to be good on the climbs now? We should, in any case, see a different Remco in Catalunya. If not, then he has problems with Liege and July in sight.

Jonas was scheduled to race?

 

[Extinction]

Jonas was scheduled to race?

Right, but initially they hoped Pog would be there.

 

[AmRacer]

Right, but initially they hoped Pog would be there.

Don't think so, Pogi was there last year.

 

[Extinction]

Don't think so, Pogi was there last year.

Bora said, whether it's true or not I don't know, when Remco was programed for the race they had hoped Pog was doing it. Then, when that didn't materialize, Vingo was supposed to be there. When that fell through he became the "favorite," although perhaps without adequate mountain prep.

 

[AmRacer]

Bora said, whether it's true or not I don't know, when Remco was programed to do the race they had hoped Pog was doing it. Then, when that didn't materialize, Vingo was supposed to be there. When that fell through he became the "favorite," although perhaps without serious mountain prep.

Did he do any mountain training before winning the UAE Tour?

 

[Extinction]

Did he do any mountain training before winning the UAE Tour?

Don't know, but the level this year was surely higher and with another harder climb to boot.

 

[Berniece]

Don't know, but the level this year was surely higher and with another harder climb to boot.

He didn’t

 

[Berniece]

Article in La Derniere Heure with Lodewyck on Evenepoel. Doesn't say much besides expecting Evenepoel to be great at Catalunya and Liege, that chance of riding Fleche is very slim, and UAE Tour wasn't a mistake.

Klaas, we haven't yet had the opportunity to ask you how your first months in your new team are going?
"Very well, thank you. At the beginning, it was a bit particular because I left many friends within the Wolfpack. But I could not pass up the opportunity to work in such a structure, especially in following Remco. This change allowed me to discover another culture, a different way of working. Here, we insist a lot on the details, like equipment. But we also often talk about tactics and strategy. Before the races, I have even more work than before but it is exciting. What I appreciate enormously is the general spirit. There is real exchange and sincere dialogue between everyone. No one believes they have all the answers."

What is your exact role?
"Of course, I am there for Remco, but not only. I must also bring my experience to the younger ones, like Tuesday at the Samyn."

But why are you so important for Evenepoel?
"Oh! you would have to ask him. But I think he appreciates my frankness, my honesty. I never lie to him. If I judge that he made a bad decision or that he rode badly, I tell him. We are always in exchange with Remco. In the good times as in the less good times."

Tuesday, you were at the Samyn, won by Jordi Meeus. What do you take away from this victory?
"Jordi has evolved. He is perhaps stronger than ever. He makes fewer placement errors. He chooses better the moment when he must produce his maximum effort. And then, he has gained confidence. It is perhaps even more important for a sprinter than for another rider."

He is scheduled to participate in Paris-Roubaix on April 12 next. With what ambitions?
"Jordi has the ideal physique for riding on the pavements of Hell of the North. He is a big powerful frame. If he is in form and if he has no mechanical issues, he can achieve very beautiful things on this Monument. We know that if van der Poel and Pogacar are at the start, that limits the chances of all the others for the victory, but Jordi must believe in his abilities. This classic is made for him."

Tuesday at the Samyn, he brought the team's total victories to ten since the beginning of the season...
"Yes, that's not bad at all. Everyone knows the importance of winning early. In the wake of our success in the team time trial in Majorca, there were all those of Remco (Editor's note: six since the beginning of the season). That plunged the team into a positive dynamic and gave ideas to other riders. Look at Arne Marit! He arrived in the team on tiptoe and already imposed himself on February 1st. And, within a few centimeters (Editor's note: he was beaten by Biniam Girmay), he was winning the 1st stage of the Tour of Valencia and seizing the yellow jersey."

With hindsight, how do you analyze what Remco did at the UAE Tour?
"Everyone had enormous expectations. We, the first. But it was a mistake. To play the win on this race, you must be very fresh, which was not the case with Remco. For me, he was not super, but not catastrophic either, as I heard. He won the time trial, while Tarling was in very great form."

Was it not the race too many for him after Majorca and the Tour of Valencia, when he had not yet had a period of rest?
"We all asked ourselves the question. We even discussed it among ourselves. Maybe he rode too much. But, for me, it was not a mistake because we learned more from that week than from the races he won. For a champion like him, it was not pleasant not to be able to be part of the very best, but he took a certain detachment from all that. He remained very calm and that is very good. You know, I sense that Remco is very serene because he was able to conduct an optimal winter preparation. It did him a world of good."

Did it not worry you that he could not follow the best in the two climbs of the week?
"No, not at all. Isaac Del Toro is a phenomenon and everyone knows it. As for Antonio Tiberi, he had done a big preparation, with an altitude training camp. The Italian was stronger than in Valencia. I know Remco well and I can assure you that he will be super at the Tour of Catalonia and at Liège-Bastogne-Liège."

He has repeated several times that he will probably skip the Fleche Wallonne. You confirm?
"There is, indeed, only an infinitesimal chance that he will take the start. We put him on the list of reserves in case he had to change his mind, but Remco wants to be 100% at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. And to be, he cannot put himself in the red three days before. Yet we know how much the climb of the Mur de Huy constitutes a violent effort."

 

[canina82]

Article in La Derniere Heure with Lodewyck on Evenepoel. Doesn't say much besides expecting Evenepoel to be great at Catalunya and Liege, that chance of riding Fleche is very slim, and UAE Tour wasn't a mistake.

They never learn. First, they were expecting him to win UAE Tour. Now, they expect him to be "super" in Volta a Catalunya. I have a feeling they will come back to reality after Coll de Pal.

 

[Berniece]

They never learn. First, they were expecting him to win UAE Tour. Now, they expect him to be "super" in Volta a Catalunya. I have a feeling they will come back to reality after Coll de Pal.

Where did they say they expected him to win UAE Tour?

 

[Red Rick]

I expect him to be very good in Catalunya.

The issue however is really that in moving teams, they set the expectation for something different, but getting dropped in UAE and then being very good in Catalunya changes absolutely nothing.

 

[Cycling111]

He said he hoped to win two stages and the GC

 

[Berniece]

He said he hoped to win two stages and the GC

Yeah, that’s what Evenepoel said. Is that RBH?

 

[AmRacer]

Yeah, that’s what Evenepoel said. Is that RBH?

RBH said Remco won't win the UAE tour