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"They didn't give the jersey away, they lost it" - Johan Bruyneel on Evenepoel's red jersey loss, Jumbo-Visma tactics and Sepp Kuss GC ambitions
CyclingFriday, 01 September 2023 at 20:23
On the 'The Move' podcast Johan Bruyneel has analyzed what was a very explosive and important stage in the Vuelta a Espana. Among the many important plot points, the Belgian talked about Remco Evenepoe, Sepp Kuss and Jumbo-Visma.
"They didn't give the jersey away, they lost it," he said of Soudal - Quick-Step and Remco Evenepoel. "You can never, never, let a leading group of forty ride. That's madness, there's no way you can control that. No way. Fortunately, they still got help from Movistar and INEOS, otherwise that group with Sepp Kuss would have been gone. If he gets more than ten minutes, how are you going to get it back?"
The former leader had said that he did not mind giving away the jersey to someone in the breakaway, but perhaps the statement led many others to give it a shot. That led to a 42-rider group which included almost half of the Top20 present. Although most don't prove a worry for Evenepoel, the likes of Lenny Martínez and Sepp Kuss - now first and second - do bring some tension, even though the work of INEOS and Movistar alongside Quick-Step largely controlled the gap from expanding uncontrollably.
"If Kuss saves himself, he can win the Vuelta uphill. The Vuelta could also have been in danger for Evenepoel, but we also have to ask ourselves whether Jumbo-Visma would be okay with Kuss being in that position?" Bruyneel wonders. "They have no guarantee that he can keep up the Vuelta for three weeks as a GC rider. I am very impressed with Kuss. When I heard he was still going to do the Vuelta I thought they had gone crazy. But they know what they're doing in that team, I'm sure they were aware that he could be prepared in a good way. He will be crucial again."
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However back in the peloton Jumbo-Visma deal an equally important hit, as the duo of Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard took 32 seconds on the Belgian champion and are now right on his heel. For some minutes it seemed as if Evenepoel was to lose significant time, but he paced himself to the finish to minimize losses.
"Louis Vervaeke did a great job, by the way, while Evenepoel himself was able to limit his losses in the end. I was surprised that he was dropped, but he recovered well," he concludes.
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- Oh, and yes: I am no psychiatrist/psychologist, but Bruyneel and Texas Turd are both sociopaths. It goes well beyond "protect my world and anyone would" that is the usual zeitgeist of their bullshit. No normal person has Bob Roll go at Greg Lemond with an audio recording device at Ron Keifel's bike shop...for example.EricJensenRidesBikes26-12-2024
- Funnier: this website keeps giving credo to their ramblings. In this case, why in any possible way would Boonen want to create a fantasy world to attach himself to these two clowns when more likely he would want to forget he was even there? Laughable.EricJensenRidesBikes26-12-2024
- A sociopath is an informal term used to describe someone with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), a mental health condition characterized by a chronic pattern of disregard for social norms, laws, and the rights and feelings of others.EricJensenRidesBikes26-12-2024
- Rowe spent his whole career on one team being nothing more than a thug for Skyneos. I have no idea why another team would want import this type of person into their program.Sweep26-12-2024
- “CyclingUpToDate would like to extend it's condolences to family and friends of Pascal.” Paging a copy editor….menk26-12-2024
- yeah, that’s a more fair assessment. “reaching mathieu’s level” doesn’t mean you’re planning to replicate his whole career. the former IS doable, potentially. it’s just the latter that likely is not.OCexile25-12-2024
- That’s not entirely true. Every person follows their own development path and peaks differently. Remco and Primoz had hardly started cycling before elite level. Jonas was pretty much under the radzr until he unexpectedly had to take over responsibility at JV. Some guys only get real good in their thirties others have peaked mid-twenties. You can’t tell in advance how and upto what level they will progress, obviously his career might not have MVDPs length but nothing says he could not end up doing a few seasons at his level.Mistermaumau25-12-2024
- well, del grosso is 21 right now. when mathieu was a year younger than that, he was already winning elite level world championships, not U23. i think del grosso will be a very good pro for years, but if he was really going to be the next van der poel someday, he’d already have to be at that level right NOW. van der poel was showing signs of true greatness when he was 15-16. THAT’S what generational talent looks like.OCexile25-12-2024
- Yeah.... gear 😅.mikolajjj24-12-2024
- It shouldn’t be about expectations in the first place should it? Besides, if you look at everyone’s calculations as a whole they don’t add up in the first place. There’ll be 2-3 riders with a 50% chance, a dozen with 10 or 20% and dozens more with a 5% so we’re expecting at least 2 if not 3 winners. Remind me again who won before her? Says it all about using data to decide on participation.Mistermaumau24-12-2024