There was a painful sense of déjà vu for Remco Evenepoel and Primož Roglič at the Critérium du Dauphiné on Thursday when they were among the fallers in the mass crash that caused the neutralisation of stage 5.
Unlike at Itzulia Basque Country in April, they were both able to remount and ride to the finish line in Saint-Priest, which suggested that neither man’s Tour de France participation is under threat as a result of a crash that saw more half the peloton come down.
But while the yellow jersey Evenepoel confirmed afterwards that he would be fit to ride when the Dauphiné resumes on Friday, Roglič struck a more cautious note, stating that he would undergo assessment from Bora-Hansgrohe medical staff before making a decision.
"I cannot say really anything. Now I’ll go to the doctors, do a check and then we see what to do next,” said Roglič, currently second overall, 33 seconds behind Evenepoel.
“The only thing is, I crashed on my shoulder, that’s not the best, that I had surgery on a couple of years ago. We really need to check it and be sure what state it is in.
“But for me it was definitely a lot better than some of the guys, because I still rode over the finish.”
While Roglič was quickly back on his feet after the crash, there was initially more immediate concern for Evenepoel, who spent some time seated on the roadside clutching the shoulder he had broken in the Itzulia crash. The Soudal-QuickStep rider was later involved in discussions regarding the neutralisation of the stage, however, and he confirmed at the finish that he had not sustained any fractures in this incident.
“My right side is pretty damaged but there are no fractures, otherwise I would not have been here anymore,” Evenepoel said in the mixed zone afterwards.
“That’s the positive thing about my crash, I don’t have to leave the race. But I actually had quite a big touch on my knee. Another bike came on my knee, and it was quite painful, but I actually thought it was worse than it is now.”
Evenepoel and Roglič had both been forced to abandon Itzulia Basque Country in April after coming down in the same crash that left Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) with injuries that might yet prevent him from lining out in July.
The Critérium du Dauphiné marked the return to competition for both Evenepoel and Roglič, as well as their final tune-up ahead of the Tour. Evenepoel beat Roglič to win Wednesday’s time trial, but he initially worried that he had suffered another severe setback in Thursday’s crash.
“I was not angry, but it was just like ‘whoah, again’ – just four or five days into my comeback to racing,” Evenepoel said. “I was feeling not upset but a bit annoyed, let’s say, especially with what’s coming in three weeks. I don’t want to risk things at all. But I think that’s racing nowadays.”
More than half the Dauphiné peloton hit the ground in two simultaneous crashes on a wet and slippery stretch of road following the Côte de Bel-Air in the finale. The race organisation took the immediate decision to neutralise the stage and the day’s racing was suspended altogether once it became apparent that the in-race ambulances were all occupied bringing riders to hospital.
The Visma-Lease a Bike pair of Steven Kruijswijk and Dylan van Baarle abandoned the Dauphiné after the crash, but plenty of the riders who soft pedalled to the finish in Saint-Priest would require further assessment of their injuries before making a decision on starting Friday’s stage.
“I was between 10th and 15th position, and I think the riders in fourth or fifth positions started sliding,” Evenepoel explained. “Maybe they touched the wheels in the front, I don’t know what happened, but at a certain point, I started to slide.
“I don’t know what happened behind, but I was really close to saving it. But in the last moment there was a bike that came under my back wheel and as I was braking, I did a front flip and landed on my head and shoulder. It was a pretty big bang, but in the end nothing too special from my side. It was a bit of a bowling game.
“Overall I'm fine, I fell on my right side, but it could have been worse. I hope everyone can recover from that massive fall. We'll have a look tonight at how my shoulder coped with the impact, but I'm not worried.”
Evenepoel carries a 33-second lead over Roglič into the final three days of the Dauphiné, in which the race takes in three successive summit finishes, on Le Collet d'Allevard, Samoëns 1600 and the Plateau des Glières.
“We’ll see this evening after his shower what the balance sheet is for Remco,” Soudal-QuickStep manager Patrick Lefevere told RTBF, though he indicated that the Belgian would continue in the race. “I think he needs the three days in the mountains.”
