Contador doesn't think Remco Evenepoel has a great team in the Giro: "I think Soudal Quick-Step is going to have a hard time controlling the race".
CyclingWednesday, 10 May 2023 at 10:09
Alberto Contador commented on the fourth stage of the Giro d'Italia for Eurosport and was surprised that Remco Evenepoel had not tried to attack on the final climb. The Madrid-born cyclist thinks his team may not have been up to the task.
"I think Remco had this stage marked to try to make a difference, it's something that we'll never know or that he's never going to comment on. I have been left with the fly behind my ear, we have seen van Wilder suffer, Remco has been left alone, I think Soudal Quick-Step is going to have a hard time controlling the race," he said.
Regarding today's stage, the fifth, with a hilly start and a flat finish, Contador thinks that despite the fact that there will be attempts at breakaways like yesterday, it will end up in a sprint:
"In the first part there will be an important fight to get into the breakaway, although I think it will be possible to finish the sprint, we will see riders who will suffer a lot more after what happened in stage four, I think the breakaway will not have so many options to get there.
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- If a non-GC rider is to take the KOM jersey, it should be a climber who can go in breakaways and win consistently (as in, to beat all the other breakaway riders). Martinez has not shown that climbing level.
Llywelynglyndwr25-07-2025 - The reason for the 8 point deduction is that Martinez would have got 12 points for 3rd place.Llywelynglyndwr25-07-2025
- I would let him go, take the cash, and go back to what the team does best - and what the fans love. Crush the cobbles! They won’t ever have the budget to compete with a super team. Jumbo has the current Giro winner riding as a domestique. Plus Sepp, Mateo, etc. Almeida might be the best rider not named Tadej, and he would have been a domestique. Along with Yates and more. This drama will hang over the club forever making it harder to sign riders.mij25-07-2025
- After the Lipo debacle yesterday, i no longer have confidence in the Bora staff that they can maximize Remco's gainsabstractengineer25-07-2025
- I was also surprised seeing Visma publicly announcing exactly what their plans were, and also claiming they were wearing Pogi out by giving him a free ride at the tail end of a group of their own guys cracking the wind.Ride197425-07-2025
- This seems like the logical move for Remco Evenepoel, but I think that many people will still have to question whether he's truly Grand Tour material. I believe that a rider like Florian Lipowitz has more potential in a GT than Remco does, so it will curious to see how things play out on that team. As well, where does all of this put Primoz Roglic, and does it pave the way for his imminent retirement from cycling?
santiagobenites25-07-2025 - Yes, but he does not race very often and his one big target he'll never win again, so I think Jonas needs to think about changing his strategy. He is in the prime of his career now, and unless he finds a Froome magic solution will not beat a healthy Pogacar, so maybe time to do some Italian Fall Classics or look into some of the Ardennes races and the 1 GT that Pogi does not target? Because if not, then you can be sure that the exodus of brilliant riders (Valter, Benoot, et al) from Visma will continue as the younger riders seek their opportunities to win and the current crop ages out of first line GT Domestique duties... Visma cannot allow Vingegaard's very limited racing scope, calendar and ability drag them down in the long termDoctorNurse7125-07-2025
- ...Not if that 2nd best GC rider only rides 1 GT a year and always gets spanked like a naughty child by a dominant champion.. JV will never beat a healthy Pogacar and we will never have to speculate about that ever again. If Jonas stays at Visma, he is going to eventually justify to Van Aert, Jorgensen and Yates why they should continue to sacrifice their palmarés for a man who won't ever win another race that Pogacar wants to win. Visma has already lost riders like Valter and Benoit to other teams and that trend will continue as these champion riders see the man they dedicated all their hard work and sacrifice for get an 11 second time loss in 500m like today .. Jo as does not have the Charisma or the palmares to keep champions working for such a lost cause. He and Visma both need to rethink their approach and make other targets. Their time winning the TdF against a healthy Pogacar is over, sooo... What's next?DoctorNurse7125-07-2025
- I think they should deduct all 20pts from that KomZamorano25-07-2025
- Exactly this... he doesn't have to jump, he's taken his time he needs to defend that time. If he decides to jump on La Plagne so be it but he doesn't have to. Tadej has always been in control... that simpleslappers6625-07-2025
Robbie McEwan on GCN also made a interesting comment that Remco was playing mind games with the extra gear he had on. Pointing out that despite the peleton going hard, Remco hadn't even warmed up yet!
Yeah, it did have the look and vibe of, "I'm not even riding hard enough to warm up" from Remco. Good on him!
Polish Eurosport commentators (former pro rider Dariusz Baranowski) talked a lot yesterday about Remco's mighty outfit - he was wearing a lot of extra clothes, comparing to other riders. There were rumours about him possibly catching a cold a day earlier.