Remco Evenepoel admitted he faces at least a month off the bike and then lots of physiotherapy before he can begin to train for the 2025 season.
The Soudal-QuickStep rider said he will be unable to attend a training camp in Spain next week, but he faces a month off the bike and his 2025 season debut will likely be delayed due to the complex injuries he suffered on Tuesday.
Evenepoel was diagnosed with fractures to his rib, right shoulder blade and right hand after reportedly riding into the door of a parked Bpost postal vehicle which suddenly opened in front of him. It is the Belgian's third major injury of his career after fracturing his pelvis at the 2020 Il Lombardia, and his collarbone and scapula in the Itzulia Basque Country mass crash last April.
“I have much more trouble than after my crash in the Tour of the Basque Country. There are also more injuries," Evenepoel told VTM Nieuws before he headed home.
"They had to do some serious 'hammering' on that dislocated collarbone in particular, which destroyed all the surrounding joints. I will need more recovery time than I did then.
"December will be a long month, because I will be able to do almost nothing, certainly not in terms of strain on the shoulder. Cycling will also not be possible.
"A scan will measure the damage and determine the further healing process after that. Then I hope to be able to start training on the rollers and to do some more intensive physiotherapy. Every piece of the puzzle will be important. I will have to listen carefully to my body."
Evenepoel's injuries will massively disrupt his winter training, forcing him to work on his base training, in 2025 when other riders start to race. The injuries should not affect his hopes of targeting the Tour de France in July.
"I'll have to skip the team training camp in December, and the one in January will also be difficult to make. By then, I will at most be riding slowly for a few hours and still have a lot of physiotherapy work.
"The intention was to start the new season in the first weekend of March, in the two one-day races in the French Ardèche. But that debut will of course have to be postponed. In terms of training, we will see what is still possible in March. Now we just have to wait and see."
Evenepoel smiled and tried to be upbeat in his first message on Instagram after surgery on his shoulder.
"Better now than, say, in April," he said. "Because then it would have been difficult to make the Tour. It'll be fine. I don't have any other option. It is what it is. I can't change things, unfortunately."
Evenepoel also spoke about the dynamic of his collision with the car door, avoiding blame of the driver.
“I was just able to pull away, causing the right side of my body to ram the suddenly swinging door of the postal van and be catapulted to the other side of the road. That explains the nature and severity of my injuries.” he revealed.
“The lady was very affected but she was just doing her job. It was a small moment of inattention in combination with the high speed at which I was cycling. A coincidence."
