It would come at the compromise of his sprint, not his TT capabilities. He would also perform better mountain TTs.
- Jul 31, 2024
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Ah, The Tourmalet...
It's probably easier to guide remco into climbing shape and weight loss during 2 months of supervised training than it is when the Dauphiné breaks up the run-in period to the Tour. Normally the dauphiné is a good way to gauge wether you are on the right track. But Remco can use all the time he has got left till July, after it has basically been almost 2 years since he had climbing legs.
It's probably easier to guide remco into climbing shape and weight loss during 2 months of supervised training than it is when the Dauphiné breaks up the run-in period to the Tour. Normally the dauphiné is a good way to gauge wether you are on the right track. But Remco can use all the time he has got left till July, after it has basically been almost 2 years since he had climbing legs.
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- Sep 12, 2022
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Would be nice to see him finally get it right on Tourmalet. Vuelta 2023 he completely collapsed during that stage. TDF 2025 he quit the race there.
- Jul 7, 2013
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Well, he'll have a chance to prove himself. The pace up Tourmalet won't be pedestrian.
- Sep 12, 2022
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If he already fails there, and by failing I mean not be top 5 at the top of Tourmalet, he won't survive this TDF.
You’re still comparing Pog to Evenepoel. I don’t understand why you would ever compare any rider with him. He does things his way, he digest his way of training that no other rider can digest.
The only way riders can compete with him is to not compare with him and not try to copy his prep. Comparing the law of nature that he wins more, is simply a better rider, that he can win the tour with more racing days and with less racing days, and if he is in the mood, on a unicycle, while others falter if that butterfly is spreading its wings in the Amazon and next they face a headwind while chasing a 80K Pog solo, is simply a dead giveaway / stating the obvious.
- Sep 12, 2022
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It's not really his fault. I made the comparison and he reacted to it.
If we are correct about Pogacar wanting to destroy everyone here the pace not only won't be pedestrian bit closer to thermonuclear
- Sep 12, 2022
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- Oct 25, 2020
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I'm so glad he's not going to the Dauphine.
The man has a big ego, with the belief that he can win a race, until he's actually in the race, and gets dropped again and again and again.
He simply can't get up those hills with the elite boys.
Usually in these stage races he has a 20km ITT which he wins and somewhat glazes over the climbing deficiencies. He doesn't have that this time.
On the Saint Jean de Vieux climb on stage 1, I could see him getting dropped.
He would struggle to hold wheels on Crest Voland which is a very modest uphill finish. On Grand Colombier and Solaison he would be smoked.
And I feel sorry that he is an incredibly talented rider, who has chased a dream of being a climber, only to see him fail so desperately. I feel his hurt.
I anticipate that this year's Tour will finally finish his hopes of chasing this GT dream. He can re-evaluate his goals.
Chase and train for races that suit him.
The man has a big ego, with the belief that he can win a race, until he's actually in the race, and gets dropped again and again and again.
He simply can't get up those hills with the elite boys.
Usually in these stage races he has a 20km ITT which he wins and somewhat glazes over the climbing deficiencies. He doesn't have that this time.
On the Saint Jean de Vieux climb on stage 1, I could see him getting dropped.
He would struggle to hold wheels on Crest Voland which is a very modest uphill finish. On Grand Colombier and Solaison he would be smoked.
And I feel sorry that he is an incredibly talented rider, who has chased a dream of being a climber, only to see him fail so desperately. I feel his hurt.
I anticipate that this year's Tour will finally finish his hopes of chasing this GT dream. He can re-evaluate his goals.
Chase and train for races that suit him.
Before writing him off, lets not forget the three GTs that where his main focus of a season + that he could prepare for without being hampered by crashes:
Vuelta 2022 - 1st
Giro 2023 - DNS but while leading (Covid) + showing he was ready for the mountains in his close battle with Roglic in Catalunya.
Tour 2024 - 3rd
I am not saying he is a natural climber. He is not. However, when he works hard and gets his weight in the right zone, he can be a great climber. At least that is what he demonstrared until that crash on that van. The 2026 seasong gives us doubts but I am not going to write him off to podium the TdF and later eventually win another GT. I know his tenacity to reach his goals.
You'd be correct on the last count....but he'd need to be much better at mountain TT's to make a difference. IMO the differential would work out to be zero loss as long as his long, gradual climbing improved for events that featured that profile. His sprint would be very close to the same with a weight loss; you don't lose quick acceleration and he may actually have a better jump. He will sacrifice some of the grinding flat power to a degree because he'd also need to change his position to something more neutrally upright to make that all happen. Lots of work and a bit of loss for the power that made him Belgium's darling.
Considering we have Lipo, Martinez, Del Toro, Seixas and possibly 3-5 more young guys coming up he'll need to make a serious change to be what it takes to be a preeminent GT guy if that's the plan. The tough part is RBH offered the money and status, but the evolution of younger studs changed the game suddenly. It's tough to admit but Remco is chasing the back of the top 3 in seriously contested GTs and classics. An Olympic year ago is now light years.
I really wonder what is considered a good TDF result at this point, internally. Surely they don't count on him winning it, but would top 5 be considered a succes? I wouldn't think so after all that money spent. Top 3 minimum, with the aim to compete for the win next year I think. I hope he proves everybody wrong in july, I still have hope.
- May 3, 2010
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Some observations on Evenepoel:
- He’s won the Amstel Gold Race and was on the podium of two monuments, but people talk about him as if he’s had a terrible spring.
- Lipowitz isn’t a rival, but a teammate. The idea is to join forces to compete with UAE and Visma.
- He’s currently not at his best on the longer climbs, but he can work on that. In July he’ll probably climb better than in April.
- It’s an unusual choice to have eight weeks without competition before the national championships and the Tour. He’ll go on altitude, train his climbing, reconnoitre mountain stages, and follow a strict diet. The idea is to reach his top shape away from the limelight. In modern cycling the idea of a “preparation race” has become less important. We'll see how it works out.
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