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

[KoopaCycling]

So which climbs do you have in the Giro-Tour?

No idea, but clearly the climb in valencia is superior.
Valencia is known for it's oranges. Clearly the weather all year round is much better, and nicer.
Even Jonas will agree, climbing in rain and frost is no good.

 

[AmRacer]

Why would Remco need altitude camp before LBL? What will he achieve with that?

 

[KoopaCycling]

Why would Remco need altitude camp before LBL? What will he achieve with that?

Hopefully his best condition and his best shot at getting a good result
Also if remco is still serious about GT's, he needs to start spending more time climbing mountains.

 

[AmRacer]

Hopefully his best condition and his best shot at getting a good result
Also if remco is still serious about GT's, he needs to start spending more time climbing mountains.

Was he at altitude camp when he won LBL?
Yeah, I agree with the need to spending time climbing mountains.

 

[Sciatic]

Why would Remco need altitude camp before LBL? What will he achieve with that?

Higher HCT that won’t have returned to his baseline by the time of the race. Don’t know if that’s why he schedules it that way, but that’s what it does for his physiology.

 

[canina82]

I thought he meant for spring. Besides that, do you think Evenepoel will climb in TDF like he did in UAE Tour?

Neither will his rivals and I'm very convinced he will lose at least 2 minutes to Vingegaard in Catalunya just on stage 5.

 

[Berniece]

Neither will his rivals and I'm very convinced he will lose at least 2 minutes to Vingegaard in Catalunya just on stage 5.

I expect him to climb better than Del Toro at TDF but we’ll see. I see no reason why this wouldn’t be the case

 

[canina82]

I expect him to climb better than Del Toro at TDF but we’ll see. I see no reason why this wouldn’t be the case

You also expected him to win the UAE Tour but Catalunya will give us a clear picture. There is really no excuse possible for a underwhelming performance there (hoping for no crashes).

 

[AmRacer]

I expect him to climb better than Del Toro at TDF but we’ll see. I see no reason why this wouldn’t be the case

I expect Del Toro to drop Remco at TdF.

 

[Berniece]

You also expected him to win the UAE Tour but Catalunya will give us a clear picture. There is really no excuse possible for a underwhelming performance there (hoping for no crashes).

I expect a much better performance but I don’t expect his level to be at what he will be at TDF. He’s also training for short explosive climbs for Ardennes.

 

[canina82]

I expect a much better performance but I don’t expect his level to be at what he will be at TDF. He’s also training for short explosive climbs for Ardennes.

Again, no one else is peaking for Catalunya (e.g. Vingegaard, Almeida, Lipo, Pidcock, etc).

 

[Berniece]

Again, no one else is peaking for Catalunya (e.g. Vingegaard, Almeida, Lipo, Pidcock, etc).

Pidcock already went to altitude, Lipowitz is there now with Evenepoel. If you ask Evenepoel if he wants to win Catalunya or LBL, he'll say LBL. So Evenepoel is also not peaking for Catalunya. Unless you think he was also peaking for San Sebastian instead of Vuelta in 2022...

 

[AmRacer]

Pidcock already went to altitude, Lipowitz is there now with Evenepoel. If you ask Evenepoel if he wants to win Catalunya or LBL, he'll say LBL. So Evenepoel is also not peaking for Catalunya. Unless you think he was also peaking for San Sebastian instead of Vuelta in 2022...

Remco has won LBL twice, but never Catalunya although it was close.

Nobody is peaking for Catalunya then.

 

[canina82]

Pidcock already went to altitude, Lipowitz is there now with Evenepoel. If you ask Evenepoel if he wants to win Catalunya or LBL, he'll say LBL. So Evenepoel is also not peaking for Catalunya. Unless you think he was also peaking for San Sebastian instead of Vuelta in 2022...

Did I say he was peaking for Catalunya? Nevertheless, he said Catalunya was a spring goal to him and he will be very close to peak shape. For that reason, I said he doesn't have an excuse to underperform.

 

[Berniece]

Did I say he was peaking for Catalunya? Nevertheless, he said Catalunya was a spring goal to him and he will be very close to peak shape. For that reason, I said he doesn't have an excuse to underperform.

I agree, it's just that he's not the same as other riders. You compare him with Vingegaard, Almeida and Lipowitz. None of them target 1 day stage races for which you need explosiveness. Evenepoel tries to do both, and he is no Pogacar. He can't just do both. He needs specific preparation for long climbs which influences his explosiveness, and the other way around.

So even though I expect him to be very good, I don't expect him to be as good in Catalunya as he would be for the TDF, because for the TDF he will have trained on longer climbs even more than he already did now, since for now there's still LBL to take into account.

 

[AmRacer]

I agree, it's just that he's not the same as other riders. You compare him with Vingegaard, Almeida and Lipowitz. None of them target 1 day stage races for which you need explosiveness. Evenepoel tries to do both, and he is no Pogacar. He can't just do both. He needs specific preparation for long climbs which influences his explosiveness, and the other way around.

So even though I expect him to be very good, I don't expect him to be as good in Catalunya as he would be for the TDF, because for the TDF he will have trained on longer climbs even more than he already did now, since for now there's still LBL to take into account.

Every rider with ambition will be better at TdF than Catalunya, or any other one week race.

 

[KoopaCycling]

Every rider with ambition will be better at TdF than Catalunya, or any other one week race.

Jorgenson

 

[P4rthen0n]

I expect him to climb better than Del Toro at TDF but we’ll see. I see no reason why this wouldn’t be the case

Why? What are you basing your expectations on?

2024 Remco was a great climber, one of the best in the world.
2025 Remco was a tier 2/3 climber.
You, just like everybody else, have absolutely no idea what 2026 Remco will be like.
What we know for sure is that UAE Remco is the 2025 Remco, not the 2024.

 

[AmRacer]

Jorgenson

Has he ambition in TdF?

 

[KoopaCycling]

Yes

 

[KoopaCycling]

Why? What are you basing your expectations on?

2024 Remco was a great climber, one of the best in the world.
2025 Remco was a tier 2/3 climber.
You, just like everybody else, have absolutely no idea what 2026 Remco will be like.
What we know for sure is that UAE Remco is the 2025 Remco, not the 2024.

2026 is important for remco climbing ambitions, and will probably determine where he goes from here.
But Remco 2022 was good as well. Not on the same level as 2024 but still very solid. So 2024 is not a one/off

 

[Berniece]

Why? What are you basing your expectations on?

2024 Remco was a great climber, one of the best in the world.
2025 Remco was a tier 2/3 climber.
You, just like everybody else, have absolutely no idea what 2026 Remco will be like.
What we know for sure is that UAE Remco is the 2025 Remco, not the 2024.

Was there a good reason for Remco to climb like he did during TDF 2025? Not to mention he already dropped Del Toro during Lombardia 2025... So yeah, I do expect him to be better, since with proper preparation he has always been the 3rd best climber in the peloton.

 

[AmRacer]

Was there a good reason for Remco to climb like he did during TDF 2025? Not to mention he already dropped Del Toro during Lombardia 2025... So yeah, I do expect him to be better, since with proper preparation he has always been the 3rd best climber in the peloton.

Del Toro is better than last year, and Remco has at best been the 4th best climber at some point. That doesn't say he will ever reach that one time level again, and yeah one rider has started to decline.

 

[canina82]

Was there a good reason for Remco to climb like he did during TDF 2025? Not to mention he already dropped Del Toro during Lombardia 2025... So yeah, I do expect him to be better, since with proper preparation he has always been the 3rd best climber in the peloton.

"he has always been the 3rd best climber in the peloton with good preparation", this is a very bold take. I wonder what Roglic fans think about this.

Regarding Del Toro, he was dropped in a very long race (he struggled last year with long races). Or do you think Storer is also a better climber?

 

[Berniece]

"he has always been the 3rd best climber in the peloton with good preparation", this is a very bold take. I wonder what Roglic fans think about this.

Regarding Del Toro, he was dropped in a very long race (he struggled last year with long races). Or do you think Storer is also a better climber?

Yeah. I don't think Del Toro is that good of a climber, definitely not in multi-mountain stages. I'm definitely not the only one thinking that. I don't even think he's top 5.

About Roglic, I know a lot of his fans think it might still be Roglic. They feel that if he didn't crash during TDF 2024, he would've showed that. I disagree, but it's not like we actually know. Both riders haven't been able to show their true level in 2025.