What place will Remco get in RVV?

[Didinho]

The thing is, 2-3“ is very hard with Pogačar and Van der Poel, just look at Van Aert on Eikenberg today, he got 10 seconds immediately. Or take last year‘s Flanders, on Kwaremont Jorgenson, Van Aert, Van der Poel and Pedersen manage to follow and then it‘s 15 seconds and on the Koppenberg Van der Poel follows and the others at 5-10 seconds. Once you‘re off the wheel, holding 2-3 seconds is very tough mentally as well as physically.

Indeed I know but maybe rather just before the top, have something reserve and over the top push a bit. Or try to let some wheels go and let some riders pass and close the line again. Sometimes as a Mathieu fan I think he could do this more. He always wants to go by everyone and show how strong he is. It’s okay to go over the first hills in the top 10 if everyone is close.

What I meant mostly is if Pogi looks behind and Remco is only 5m behind over the top. He surely won’t go all out immediately. Try to save as much energy as you can.

 

[mikks]

But the brutal sections are really short, and it's not like intermediate sections in Lombardia or mountain stages where it's often rolling or intermittent false flat up and downhills.

That said I kid absolutely nobody, Pogacar will just get motodraft MC because the golden child must win again.

But isnt it true that in the RVV, even the sections between the climbs are difficult — plenty of narrow roads, constant twists and turns, lots of cornering, and hardly any places to recover? I watched Remco’s new video of his recon of the final part of the race, and he seemed to feel the same way: there’s basically nowhere to rest and just cruise.

 

[vappa]

I don't think he has less power, but distributes it differently.

I thought this was self explanatory but apparently not

Remco is a few kilos lighter than Pogacar. Therefore at the same power his w/kg should be higher. They aren't

There is a public belief, which I agree with, that Remco is more aero than Pogacar. Therefore, with the same amount of power he should be beating Pogacar quite regularly or making serious inroads on flat and rolling sections. He doesn't

Also, when was the last time Remco won a sprint against Pogacar? I don't remember either

Ergo, as I just demonstrated, Remco has less power than Pogacar. The fact that he has less power than MvdP is not even up to debate

 

[memyselfandI]

Voted top 5. I see it's possible, if all goes well and he makes right decisions at the right moment. I even see it's possible for him to win this race, but for sure it's most difficult one he's ever been, with teams and main players that he's racing against on this weekend.

 

[Berniece]

will be interesting to see if the team dedicates vermeersch to position him

The whole team will ride for him I think

 

[Ulle97]

The whole team will ride for him I think

Do you think he'll win it??

 

[search]

I wouldn't hink you can really be a contender without any experience at all, but I thought the same about Alaphilippe back then. And he looked very competitive, as long as it lasted.

Still voted DNF, though.

 

[Jan the Man]

Excited to see how he fares - if all goes well I suspect he finishes in the first group behind MvP and Pog but hoping he is a protagonist who can mix it with the big 2 in these races.

 

[Tonton]

What place? 8th...

 

[Extinction]

I thought this was self explanatory but apparently not

Remco is a few kilos lighter than Pogacar. Therefore at the same power his w/kg should be higher. They aren't

There is a public belief, which I agree with, that Remco is more aero than Pogacar. Therefore, with the same amount of power he should be beating Pogacar quite regularly or making serious inroads on flat and rolling sections. He doesn't

Also, when was the last time Remco won a sprint against Pogacar? I don't remember either

Ergo, as I just demonstrated, Remco has less power than Pogacar. The fact that he has less power than MvdP is not even up to debate

I meant power to weight ratio on this type of terrain. I remember during Remco's first Liege win (different circumstances, I know, but the point of attack I think is relevant), when he attacked Nibali said he was going 3 times faster than anybody else. You don't do that if you don't have huge power. And then there was his first WRR victory. A pretty awesome display of power too. Flanders may be the type of race, if the technical aspects and lack of experience don't rule him out, in which Remco can punch with Pogacar and MvdP more or less with the same strength. We'll see. Pogacar has obviously outpowered Evenepoel on the longer climbs, but this could be different. I hope so for the race, which will be more entertaining if Remco is also up there.

 

[Berniece]

Do you think he'll win it??

I don’t know who will win, but I know he can, so that’s what I voted

 

[Netserk]

What place? 8th...

dont call me a dreamer if my bet is tenth

 

[CyclistAbi]

If Remco does good then this will be a good match in between the pair.

 

[vappa]

I meant power to weight ratio on this type of terrain. I remember during Remco's first Liege win (different circumstances, I know, but the point of attack I think is relevant), when he attacked Nibali said he was going 3 times faster than anybody else. You don't do that if you don't have huge power. And then there was his first WRR victory. A pretty awesome display of power too. Flanders may be the type of race, if the technical aspects and lack of experience don't rule him out, in which Remco can punch with Pogacar and MvdP more or less with the same strength. We'll see. Pogacar has obviously outpowered Evenepoel on the longer climbs, but this could be different. I hope so for the race, which will be more entertaining if Remco is also up there.

Neither of these examples are the same terrain as Flanders. Plus, he rode away from much lesser riders than he will be facing this time. It's a bit different if you're riding away from Powless or Lutsenko or trying to hold the wheel when Pogacar goes all out on 22% on cobbles. Also, he has never, ever shown that his punch is elite enough to compete with Pogacar/MvdP here

 

[canina82]

I meant power to weight ratio on this type of terrain. I remember during Remco's first Liege win (different circumstances, I know, but the point of attack I think is relevant), when he attacked Nibali said he was going 3 times faster than anybody else. You don't do that if you don't have huge power. And then there was his first WRR victory. A pretty awesome display of power too. Flanders may be the type of race, if the technical aspects and lack of experience don't rule him out, in which Remco can punch with Pogacar and MvdP more or less with the same strength. We'll see. Pogacar has obviously outpowered Evenepoel on the longer climbs, but this could be different. I hope so for the race, which will be more entertaining if Remco is also up there.

Last year, Pogacar was constantly gaining 5-10" every time they went over Kimihurura in Kigali.
Remco doesn't have the power of Pogacar and I think the gap is significant. Remco just has the ability to "cut the wind" and no one comes close to him in this.
I will be shocked to see Remco able to follow Pogacar on Kwaremont (last time) if they arrive there together (I'm assuming Pogacar would try to drop Remco).

 

[Extinction]

Last year, Pogacar was constantly gaining 5-10" every time they went over Kimihurura in Kigali.
Remco doesn't have the power of Pogacar and I think the gap is significant. Remco just has the ability to "cut the wind" and no one comes close to him in this.
I will be shocked to see Remco able to follow Pogacar on Kwaremont (last time) if they arrive there together (I'm assuming Pogacar would try to drop Remco).

Alright, now, let's see. It's curious. Although I did not like the mystery. Because if you make a bad showing of youself, then you look like an arse. I mean, the jersey giveway and all. Just race! But I'm too old for this kind of marketing nonsence.

 

[AlfaLum]

Somehow I see him crashing and ruining the rest of his spring as a very plausible scenario.

 

[Berniece]

Last year, Pogacar was constantly gaining 5-10" every time they went over Kimihurura in Kigali.
Remco doesn't have the power of Pogacar and I think the gap is significant. Remco just has the ability to "cut the wind" and no one comes close to him in this.
I will be shocked to see Remco able to follow Pogacar on Kwaremont (last time) if they arrive there together (I'm assuming Pogacar would try to drop Remco).

And in the UEC RR, Pogacar lost time every time they did Val d'Enfer (EDIT: or maybe equally as fast, let me look for the article)

I think it will all depend on positioning. If his team can get Evenepoel well positioned, he will burn much less energy, and I don't see him getting dropped.

 

[jotafap]

And in the UEC RR, Pogacar lost time every time they did Val d'Enfer.

I think it will all depend on positioning. If his team can get Evenepoel well positioned, he will burn much less energy, and I don't see him getting dropped.

I really don’t quite understand that level of confidence. It’s not like Remco has ever been at Tadej’s level, or been able to go with him in such a long, demanding race. I do understand the hope and Remco’s potential to be great at RVV, but it’s his first participation, and so far we also haven’t seen him perform at such a high level this season.

Can surprises happen? Sure. But that level of confidence against a guy who has already dominated, twice!, one of the best, if not the best, cobbled rider of all time is too much for me.

As for the UEC RR, we all know Pogi managed the gap as he pleased, the race was over once he went clear.

 

[Berniece]

I really don’t quite understand that level of confidence. It’s not like Remco has ever been at Tadej’s level, or been able to go with him in such a long, demanding race. I do understand the hope and Remco’s potential to be great at RVV, but it’s his first participation, and so far we also haven’t seen him perform at such a high level this season.

Can surprises happen? Sure. But that level of confidence against a guy who has already dominated, twice!, one of the best, if not the best, cobbled rider of all time is too much for me.

As for the UEC RR, we all know Pogi managed the gap as he pleased, the race was over once he went clear.

You can interpret UEC RR however you want. I'm just stating facts, while you are trying to get in the mind of Pogacar, and guess what he was doing.

About my confidence. This is De Ronde van Vlaanderen, not Lombardia. Total elevation is 2.000 meters, and the Oude Kwaremont is 2km's long, but only 500m are a bit tough. There's a reason why MVDP is able to match Pogacar here. When you do a lot of long climbs, UAE is able to completely suffocate everyone, and then Pogacar attacks. Here the climbs are much shorter. I have no reason to believe Evenepoel will get dropped if he's just able to position well, and not lose unnecessary energy.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

You can interpret UEC RR however you want. I'm just stating facts, while you are trying to get in the mind of Pogacar, and guess what he was doing.

About my confidence. This is De Ronde van Vlaanderen, not Lombardia. Total elevation is 2.000 meters, and the Oude Kwaremont is 2km's long, but only 500m are a bit tough. There's a reason why MVDP is able to match Pogacar here. When you do a lot of long climbs, UAE is able to completely suffocate everyone, and then Pogacar attacks. Here the climbs are much shorter. I have no reason to believe Evenepoel will get dropped if he's just able to position well, and not lose unnecessary energy.

Evenepoel doesn't have Pogacar's or Van der Poel's uphill explosivity, not even close. From what i've seen MVP wasn't able to match Pogacar at all during their last two face-ups there so saying "is able" is a big stretch. Evenepoel will likely be dropped by Pogacar's nuke but maybe will be able to come back later, which can be most dangerous to Pogacar (if MVP is with Remco as well).

 

[Berniece]

Evenepoel doesn't have Pogacar's or Van der Poel's uphill explosivity, not even close. From what i've seen MVP wasn't able to match Pogacar at all during their last two face-ups there so saying "is able" is a big stretch.

MVDP came back from illness and a crash. Saying Evenepoel isn't explosive uphill when he has won uphill sprints is a bit weird, but we'll see how it goes this Sunday

 

[Krzysztof_O]

MVDP came back from illness and a crash. Saying Evenepoel isn't explosive uphill when he has won uphill sprints is a bit weird, but we'll see how it goes this Sunday

Still, you can't say he is able to match him cause he simply wasn't able for 2 editions. I edited the previous post. If Evenepoel can be close behind Pogacar he may be able to catch him.

BTW: have you seen Pogacar's uphill attacks, have you seen Fleche and other races? Evenepoel himself said he lacks Pogacar's kick and is working on it last winter.

 

[jotafap]

You can interpret UEC RR however you want. I'm just stating facts, while you are trying to get in the mind of Pogacar, and guess what he was doing.

About my confidence. This is De Ronde van Vlaanderen, not Lombardia. Total elevation is 2.000 meters, and the Oude Kwaremont is 2km's long, but only 500m are a bit tough. There's a reason why MVDP is able to match Pogacar here. When you do a lot of long climbs, UAE is able to completely suffocate everyone, and then Pogacar attacks. Here the climbs are much shorter. I have no reason to believe Evenepoel will get dropped if he's just able to position well, and not lose unnecessary energy.

I’m not trying to get into Pogacar’s mind, I’m just trying to be logical.

As for RVV, there’s also a reason why MVDP can’t match Pogacar after all the difficulties accumulated, but maybe Remco can on his first try, who knows. I just hope there are no misfortunes on Sunday for any of the big favourites, so no excuses can be made afterward.

 

[Berniece]

Still, you can't say he is able to match him cause he simply wasn't able for 2 editions. I edited the previous post. If Evenepoel can be close behind Pogacar he may be able to catch him.

BTW: have you seen Pogacar's uphill attacks, have you seen Fleche and other races? Evenepoel himself said he lacks Pogacar's kick and is working on it this winter.

That's fair. Fleche is a bit different of course since we are talking about 10-17% for 750m, maybe I'm expecting too much from Evenepoel.