La Vuelta a España 2023

[Jewbacca]

17 minutes ago, peepeekaitjie said:

• 2x 
  Liège - Bastogne - Liège  ('23, '22)
• 3x 
  Donostia San Sebastian Klasikoa  ('23, '22, '19)
•   
  GC La Vuelta ciclista a España  ('22)
•   
  World Championships ME - Road Race  ('22)
• 5x 
  stage La Vuelta ciclista a España  ('23, '22)
•   
  GC Tour de Pologne  ('20)
•   
  GC UAE Tour  ('23)
• 2x 
  GC Volta ao Algarve em Bicicleta  ('22, '20)
•   
  World Championships ME - ITT  ('23)
• 2x 
  GC Baloise Belgium Tour  ('21, '19)
•   
  GC Vuelta a Burgos  ('20)
• 2x 
  stage Giro d'Italia  ('23)

 

there are still another 32 victories on his Palmares and he his only 23

I was about to do the same!

At 23 the guy has already won more than most 'brilliant' pro cyclists retire with.

For me his relationship with Patrick Lefavre and the way Pat has gone on and on and on about him since he was about 9 which has created a lot of the public waffle.

For me, as an armchair idiot, Lefavre gives me the creeps. His disdain for woman cycling, the way he treats riders and the stuff he has said and done in the past just creates a wholly unsavory picture in my mind, which sullies the way i see Remco and his Hype

[bleedToWin]

3 minutes ago, TheoG said:

Yeah maybe, but imho, he is still a arrogant little dumbass .... ☺️

I used to be Remco neutral. Now I'm a fan.

His YouTube channel and his extended interview with LR did it for me. He is a great guy, and not arrogant in the least. That interview was so positive and the "traditional media" pulling sentences out of context, or specifically focusing on the literal English meaning of the words from a non-native speaker just to create sensation when his intention was so clearly otherwise was so bizarre.

`Remco would "normally" stay at Quickstep` with an article implying Remco doesn't believe normal applies to him because he's special and deserves special treatment. What garbage. He gave a straight answer to say he is staying because he has a contract. You and I might have chosen to say "Naturally yes, I am staying. I have a contract, and I will for sure honour my contract." Using "normally" instead of "naturally" only changes the meaning if the speakers body language and the pacing of the answer and emphasis on "normally" also says "my situation is not normal".

[bleedToWin]

To win the greatest achievements requires utter commitment which cannot come without 100% self belief. If you believe you can win why are you labelled arrogant when saying so in an interview?

"Can you beat Pogacar and Vingegaard at the 2024 TdF?" If your answer is not yes then you've lost already.

[bleedToWin]

11 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

Lefavre gives me the creeps. His disdain for woman cycling, the way he treats riders and the stuff he has said and done in the past just creates a wholly unsavory picture in my mind, which sullies the way i see Remco and his Hype

Agreed on Lefevere.

The LR interview gave me a lot of insight into Remco's journey from football to cycling and how crazy rapid the progression actually was with skipping neopro etc, and Remco's current loyalty to Lefevere makes a ton of sense in that context.

[Jewbacca]

6 minutes ago, bleedToWin said:

Agreed on Lefevere.

The LR interview gave me a lot of insight into Remco's journey from football to cycling and how crazy rapid the progression actually was with skipping neopro etc, and Remco's current loyalty to Lefevere makes a ton of sense in that context.

Nail on the head 

He has also been taught to believe and made to feel brilliant, so he expects to win, he doesn't 'hope' to win.

He does, however, seem pretty fluid in how he wins.

Loses too much time on GC? Cool, ship 27 minutes instead of 10 and go for stage wins. He didn't mope around, he didn't complain. He got on with winning bike races.

I reckon he is going to try and win again before the Vuelta is done.

3 or 4 stage wins in one GT is pretty phenomenal going.

[Zebra]

16 minutes ago, bleedToWin said:

I used to be Remco neutral. Now I'm a fan.

His YouTube channel and his extended interview with LR did it for me. He is a great guy, and not arrogant in the least. That interview was so positive and the "traditional media" pulling sentences out of context, or specifically focusing on the literal English meaning of the words from a non-native speaker just to create sensation when his intention was so clearly otherwise was so bizarre.

This!
I think I bought into all the anti-Remco hype, and I have seen him being a spoilt brat a few times, BUT the Lantern Rouge interview gave me a completely different perspective on the chap, and I admire his achievement.

[edgarblount]

When it comes to Remco, the media, commentators and even fans create this 'over-hype-ness'.

You just had to listen to Hannah Walker (President of the Remco Evenepoel Fan Club) commentate on the Angliru climb about Remco just for Little Man to go backwards faster than an elephant fart. Yes he most probably already achieved what he wanted to, getting the KOM points, and then just eased up on Angliru to focus on yesterdays stage. But boy that lady doesn't run out of compliments. 

He is good, no, he is one of the best in the world, but it doesn't mean I have to like him.

Will now go watch the LR interview and see if Little Man can sway my opinion.

Edited September 15, 2023 by edgarblount
The wrong Hannah. Apologies to Hannah Barnes.

[Jewbacca]

2 minutes ago, edgarblount said:

When it comes to Remco, the media, commentators and even fans create this 'over-hype-ness'.

You just had to listen to Hannah Barnes (President of the Remco Evenepoel Fan Club) commentate on the Angliru climb about Remco just for Little Man to go backwards faster than an elephant fart. Yes he most probably already achieved what he wanted to, getting the KOM points, and then just eased up on Angliru to focus on yesterdays stage. But boy that lady doesn't run out of compliments. 

He is good, no, he is one of the best in the world, but it doesn't mean I have to like him.

Will now go watch the LR interview and see if Little Man can sway my opinion.

To be fair, Hannah Barnes adds hype and wonderment talking about anything and everything.

She sounds excited talking about road conditions and tire choices and LOVES a accentuated absolute..

'THEEEE best (insert whatever she is talking about)'

She also seems to talk to a lot of people the day before she is on air. The amount of times she says 'I was chatting to (insert name) yesterday and he/she was telling me........'

[bleedToWin]

29 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

To be fair, Hannah Barnes adds hype and wonderment talking about anything and everything.

She sounds excited talking about road conditions and tire choices and LOVES a accentuated absolute..

'THEEEE best (insert whatever she is talking about)'

She also seems to talk to a lot of people the day before she is on air. The amount of times she says 'I was chatting to (insert name) yesterday and he/she was telling me........'

I was about to give a much harsher assessment of her commentary, but you summed it up well. 👏

Perhaps someone with a podcast can bring her on as a guest and change my opinion of her... 😏

[Frosty]

1 hour ago, Jewbacca said:

For me, as an armchair idiot, Lefavre gives me the creeps. His disdain for woman cycling, the way he treats riders and the stuff he has said and done in the past just creates a wholly unsavory picture in my mind, which sullies the way i see Remco and his Hype

Perhaps listen to this podcast with Ashleigh, as she is on a team managed by Lefevere.

https://www.fasttalklabs.com/fast-talk-femmes/ashleigh-moolman-pasios-balancing-act-between-athlete-and-businesswoman/

From the transcript on the podcastpage.
Ashleigh Moolman Pasio  48:01
Yeah, definitely. Yeah, it’s actually really interesting, because Patrick LeFevre doesn’t necessarily have the best reputation when it comes to the things he’s he’s said about women’s cycling, but it’s been really interesting being part of this team. You know, initially, I was a bit nervous, because I thought, you know, signing with a team that’s owned by Patrick LeFevre, you know, am I damaging my own reputation, and what I stand for, by associating myself with his name, but you know, what, continue, as you know, I’m not shy to take up a challenge. And, you know, what continued to motivate me is that, you know, the, the ambition of the team, or the purpose of the team still aligns with me as a person. And then it’s been interesting, actually, you know, being on the inside and actually getting to know Patrick, because he’s very different to, in person to the way he’s painted in, in the media. And there’s no doubt he does, he doesn’t really have the best way with words. So he doesn’t always find the best way to say something. And then the media generally likes to latch on to certain parts of what he said, which are often controversial, rather than giving the whole picture of what he said. And so then that’s often what comes across really negative in the media, there’s no doubt that that he’s a businessman and, and that he, you know, he’s he didn’t want to just create a woman’s team for the sake of creating a woman’s team to keep his sponsors happy or, or to do the politically correct thing. He wanted to create a women’s team that could perform at the at the highest level or be as competitive as his men’s team. But also that was thinking about development as well. You know, he didn’t want to just, you know, put the money and get the best riders and go straight into the world tour because that’s not sustainable. So he actually applied his business mindset to the whole project, in that, you know, creating sustainability within women’s cycling as well and yeah, getting to know him. I’m actually as the person, you know, I realized that he has a good heart. And he really means well, and he really does want to see his woman’s team, you know, getting better and better with the years and being properly sustainable within a cycling context. So yeah, it’s been a, it’s been a good experience around.

[peepeekaitjie]

18 minutes ago, Frosty said:

listen to this podcast

just in the transcript, she said "you know" 14 times so, you know, I will have to skip it.

[Frosty]

2 minutes ago, peepeekaitjie said:

just in the transcript, she said "you know" 14 times so, you know, I will have to skip it.

It doesn't sound so bad at 1.25x speed, while sitting at 0.25x speed in traffic.

[Jewbacca]

@Frosty That is interesting.

I always go on about how we, as spectators so far removed from thew reality, can't really judge the riders and staff etc, but Patric has always come across as a sleezeball to me.

He may be very different behind closed doors or in person, which sort of backs up my stance on the matter in general, but it would take a lot of him actually not being a sleezeball in public to change how I see him.

Even Jacob Zuma has friends and people who love working with him.....

[Koos Likkewaan 2]

1 hour ago, edgarblount said:

When it comes to Remco, the media, commentators and even fans create this 'over-hype-ness'.

You just had to listen to Hannah Barnes (President of the Remco Evenepoel Fan Club) commentate on the Angliru climb about Remco just for Little Man to go backwards faster than an elephant fart. Yes he most probably already achieved what he wanted to, getting the KOM points, and then just eased up on Angliru to focus on yesterdays stage. But boy that lady doesn't run out of compliments. 

He is good, no, he is one of the best in the world, but it doesn't mean I have to like him.

Will now go watch the LR interview and see if Little Man can sway my opinion.

👆This

Question: My problem is with Hannah Walker (DSTV commentary). Is there more than one Hannah who thinks this man can do no wrong ?

[peepeekaitjie]

4 minutes ago, Frosty said:

in traffic

i don't have traffic to contend with so i don't have to time to murder

[Dirt Tracker]

32 minutes ago, Frosty said:

Perhaps listen to this podcast with Ashleigh, as she is on a team managed by Lefevere.

https://www.fasttalklabs.com/fast-talk-femmes/ashleigh-moolman-pasios-balancing-act-between-athlete-and-businesswoman/

 

Will be interesting to hear her take on the team and PL after she leaves that team. Riders aren't always 100% honest about the team when they are still getting a salary from that team, even if it is 'our Ash'. Much like it'll be interesting to hear Sepps take on everything around (t)his victory* when his biography comes out 8 year from now.

*If Remco doesn't go for a GC raid on the last day.