“It feels like twenty trucks have run over it”: Remco Evenepoel reveals “difficult to accept” shoulder injury after ‘dooring’ crash, as “his condition is getting worse while everyone else is improving”; Pidcock in Q36.5 colours + more on the live blog

No one was expecting Remco Evenepoel, after achieving an unprecedented feat in men’s cycling by winning gold medals in the road race and the time trial at the Paris Olympics, would become an exemplar of the precarious nature of a pro cyclist’s career where events completely outside your control have a devastating impact on your performance, but that’s how the tragic situation has played out after the dooring crash in Belgium with a bpost van which resulted in fractures to his ribs, right shoulder blade and right hand.

His pre-season training has been completely derailed, and some of the races Evenepoel would have liked to ride this year are now off the table. But if his recovery goes well — which at the moment seems like it is — Evenepoel aims to be back in action for the Ardennes classics.

> Remco Evenepoel calls for drivers to use Dutch Reach after suffering multiple fractures in dooring incident on training ride

“The Ardennes classics are difficult to return to. But I know those races well, so that’s a plus and positive,” he told Wielerflits. “I’m going to start a little earlier, in the Brabantse Pijl. Also for the motivation, because that’s a race close to home.

“After that, the Amstel Gold Race, the Walloon Arrow and Liège-Bastogne-Liège will follow. A one-day race is easier than Paris-Nice or a Giro d’Italia. That's why the Giro is completely off the table. I know that I have three months now. That’s enough space to be good in the Brabantse Pijl. Liège is also only two weeks later. It’s a risk, but we have confidence in it.”

He shared his feelings about missing the Spanish winter training camps, saying: “That was and is very difficult to accept. I am literally lying in bed, my condition is getting worse by the day, while everyone else is improving their form. The gap is growing by the day. I have not done any exercise for five weeks now. Not on the bike, not in the gym. And before that I went on holiday. That means that I have not done anything for about ten weeks now.

“It is difficult to live with that. I have experienced it before. These are low points in my career. The contrast with my successful summer is great. Although I know what needs to be done. I am also more positive by the day. Around New Year I also sought out the sun, knowing that it might be the last relaxation for the coming months. But that did me good.”

> “I don’t panic easily, but I do feel a bit anxious at the moment”: Remco Evenepoel says he’ll have to skip “big goals” in early 2025 due to injuries from dooring incident, which left “everything in shoulder region pretty much destroyed”

Evenepoel added: “If there is one thing I can be happy about, it is that this injury occurred in December. We also had to decide now and that is why I am not riding any spring races. I want to be 200 per cent ready for the Tour de France . Maybe we will add the Tour de Romandie after the four hilly classics, to have a few more racing days in my legs.

“After that we want to copy last year's preparation. I have no doubt that if I follow that path, I will be in very good shape for the Tour. There are still seven months until then. There is time. That is why the Tour is the main goal now. If things do not go well in the Ardennes classics, then it is part of the process towards the Tour de France. That is how I am looking at it in the coming period.”

Remco Evenepoel wins men’s time trial at the 2024 world road championships, Zurich (Ed Sykes/SWpix.com)

Despite all the setbacks, Evenepoel is at least elated about his scan results, which are coming out positive. “I had my scan on Thursday morning,” he said. “There’s positive news, because the result was good. After that, I could immediately start my first session with the physiotherapist in Herentals.

“My rehabilitation can finally begin now. We are taking it day by day. We want to be sure that everything is 100% recovered. I have to strengthen my muscles. A nerve on the outside of my shoulder has been hit. As a result, the outside feels a bit dead. The pain is bearable, except when I get up. Then it feels like twenty trucks have run over it. There is also no muscle reaction yet. We have to keep an eye on that. But the most important thing is that I can start now.”

After a summer of Olympic success followed by an autumn of disillusionment and burning bridges, British rider Tom Pidcock is finally starting to look at home with his new team Q36.5 Pro Cycling. After being spotted on training rides with his new teammates in his old Ineos kit, which he surely would be itching to get off, the Swiss team has announced that tomorrow’s the day when the full kit reveal takes place, and fans will finally be able to catch a glimpse of how Pidcock will look in new colours going into the 2025 season.

 

 

 

 

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