"We cannot expect that Remco will immediately compete for the win" - Evenepoel's coach plays down expectations ahead of Criterium du Dauphine
CyclingWednesday, 29 May 2024 at 18:30
For the first time since his spring-ending crash at the Itzulia Basque Country earlier this year, Remco Evenepoel will return to racing at the Critérium du Dauphiné on the 2nd of June.
Given his lengthy spell out of action however, Evenepoel's coach, Koen Pelgrim is keen to play down the expectations surrounding his rider. "We cannot expect that Remco will immediately compete for the win," Pelgrim explains in conversation with Sporza. "If he lets it go for a day and is therefore unable to ride a classification, then so be it. The most important thing is that Remco improves over the course of the stage race. There are certainly still percentages to be gained."
On that crash earlier this year, Pelgrim admits he still feels slightly bitter. "It was a big disappointment. Remco had 3 goals in the spring: Paris-Nice, the Tour of the Basque Country and the classics (Amstel, Liège and possibly La Flèche Wallonne). If 2 of the 3 goals suddenly disappear, then That's a downer," he reflects rather ruefully.
Evenepoel also suffered mentally due to the crash. "He couldn't help but face reality, regain his strength and be happy that it wasn't worse. See how he narrowly missed a boulder and tree when he jumped over that ditch," Pelgrim recalls. "Remco was not immediately pain-free during his first training sessions. The time trial bike, sprinting and riding over potholes were things we had to avoid in the first weeks."
Evenepoel in action earlier this year
Despite the trials and tribulations of the last few months however, Pilgrim is pleased by the progress Evenepoel has shown in his recovery over recent weeks. "It's great to see how driven Remco is and how he is making progress," says coach Pelgrim. "Remco did training sessions of 6.5 to 7 hours in the Sierra, at an altitude of 5,000 meters."
"You cannot make up for those 3 weeks of inactivity with 3 weeks of training at altitude. Remco made a nice step forward during the altitude training. But if he had been able to ride at a level up to and including Liège-Bastogne-Liège with a week of rest afterwards, he would now have been further conditionally," he concludes with an eye towards the Tour de France. "We are confident that the conditional backlog will be eliminated by then."
claps 2visitors 2
Just in
Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter today!
Apr 06, 15:11
0
Popular news
Latest comments
- Yep, and considering neither is really built for climbing, it speaks volumes. Only name I can see who has a climbers build is KN. An observation maybe someone will find interesting or have more info on, compared to men, the strong lady climbers are heavier, often the equivalent of their male versions for same height. Is it because the girls try to build muscle to climb better or the boys try to lose weight for that or both, seems paradoxical.Mistermaumau09-05-2025
- His injury problems were known to his past team who still tried to re-sign him, who’s fault, especially if the medical team fails to resolve problems? Not sure it’s offered or possible but teams are free to consider insurance or contract clauses in order to mitigate financial risks.Mistermaumau09-05-2025
- Lafay is the classic example of you get a great TDF stage win, get a lucrative contract and then you dont perform ever again, due to partying or injuries.abstractengineer09-05-2025
- I think it’s pretty weird under the circumstances and won’t be surprised if one day we discover some unmentioned detail that triggered this. In the meantime, hope he finds himself elsewhere.Mistermaumau08-05-2025
- Reusser is amazing too. More than just a TT specialist.mobk08-05-2025
- Tough to beat her on the long climbs if she has a team that will bring her fresh to the bottom of the climbsmobk08-05-2025
- Er, building up a 20 second gap in less than a km against the best is not exactly nothing, must have been at least 10% faster. Peletons also reel in breakaways but if they don’t manage BEFORE the end the reeling in doesn’t really mean much does it. She did exactly the right think, destroyed the others’ chances of catching her with a massive attack.Mistermaumau08-05-2025
- Demi must be so happy to now be on a team that works for her, and not against her. I think that if she and the team get their tactics dialed in, she could prove to be unstoppable this year.
santiagobenites08-05-2025 - I wouldn't call 24 seconds destroyed. At the end she was suffering and Reusser was slowly reeling her backabstractengineer08-05-2025
- I dont expect much from them top 5 maybeabstractengineer08-05-2025
5000 metres elevation in the Sierra? Unless he was in South America that seems unlikely.
Glad to see there are other observant people here. I doubt anyone really goes cycling at that elevation:-)
If I’m not mixing things up, I think another article mentioned 5000 ELEVATION
In my experience, there is a first threshold somewhere between 2700 and 3200 (depending on how fast you go up, 2700 being with something quite fast (car, motorbike), 3200 being by foot so maybe cycling would in between) where you get nausea and need a short break for adaptation before continuing to the next critical level.
Any have experiences with this?