Is Remco Evenepoel the new Eddy Merckx? He's Belgian, he's 20 years old and he's won both stage races he's taken part in so far this season.

Following up victory at the Vuelta a San Juan, the Deceuninck-Quick Step sensation won the Tour of the Algarve with a strong performance in the hills and an impressive time trial.

In this episode of The Cycling Podcast Richard Moore, Lionel Birnie and Daniel Freibe discuss Evenepoel's potential and ask how he will fare in his debut Grand Tour, the Giro d'Italia, later this season.

Of course, Lionel is on hand with his fire extinguisher to dampen down the excitement around Evenepoel, cautioning against getting carried away and reminding everyone that Merckx won Milan-Sanremo in his first full season as a professional in 1966.

We also discuss the resurgence of Nairo Quintana, who added the Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var title to the Tour de La Provence he won last week.

And with coronavirus cancelling sporting events in Italy we ask whether Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico, Milan-Sanremo and possibly even the Giro might be affected by the spread of the virus.

Plus there's news of Daniel's impromptu lamb lunch with John Degenkolb in Majorca and some joking about unusual race names and some nonsense about a stage race named after a German airport.

The Cycling Podcast is supported by Science in Sport.

Listeners to The Cycling Podcast can get 25% off all their Science in Sport products by going to scienceinsport.com and entering the code SISCP25 at the checkout.

This episode is also sponsored by Stitch Fix. If you want to update your wardrobe with the help of a personal stylist sign up at stitchfix.co.uk now. For a £10 monthly styling fee, you can get a delivery of five items of clothing selected for you, which takes the hassle out of clothes shopping. Keep and pay for the items you love and send the others back.

We are also supported by Laka, a community of cyclists all operating together to insure their bikes and equipment while keeping premiums down and ensuring claims are settled quickly by staff who understand cycling. Check out Laka at laka.co.uk.

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1. The Stage That Didn't End – Stage 19 of the 2019 Tour de France

2. The Cycling Podcast On Tour – The best bits from Belfast and Edinburgh

3. The Grand Tour Diaries Audiobook – Part one, 2019 Giro d'Italia

Bonus from the archive: The Rise and Demise of HTC-Highroad

Bonus from the archive: The Revenants

4. The Grand Tour Diaries Audiobook – Part two, 2019 Tour de France

Bonus from the archive: Meeting Jean Bobet

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