Three weeks on from fracturing collarbone and scapula at Itzulia Basque Country, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) is back in training in preparation for his debut at the Tour de France.
The Belgian star posted the first activity to his Strava account since the horrific crash, which also left two-time defending Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) with a pneumothorax, broken collarbone and ribs.
“On my way back,” Evenepoel titled a 98.7km ride near into Flanders from home to the west of Brussels.
Evenepoel's injuries are not as severe as Vingegaard, who only got out of hospital in Spain last week. He was swiftly back in Belgium for collarbone surgery and recovered quickly, convinced that he can still be ready for the Tour de France Grand Depart on June 29.
The ambitious, but realistic 24-year-old, stated earlier this season that reaching the Tour de France podium in Nice at the end of July "would be a dream come true".
Evenepoel enjoyed a final day of recovery with a trip to Britain to see Arsenal football match in London. The time trial World Champion then completed a near-three hour 98.75km ride around Schepdaal, where he grew up, at a solid average speed of 34.7km/h.
The next step on the “#RoadToFrance” as his caption read will see him head to Sierra Nevada for an altitude camp with Soudal-QuickStep. Following this, he will be off to either the Critérium du Dauphiné or Tour de Suisse, depending on fitness, to regain his race rhythm and punch before the Tour kicks off in Florence.
Vingegaard in contrast has been ruled out of attending Visma-Lease a Bike’s upcoming training camp with an appearance at the Tour still in doubt unless he is at his best according to the Dutch team.
If the Dane is to miss out, Evenepoel and Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe), who also crashed out of Itzulia but without any fractures, would become the top contenders to challenge the former two-time Tour winner Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates).
Evenepoel’s compatriot Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) has similarly been making a return to riding on the road since crashing out of Dwars door Vlaanderen in March. The Belgian pair share the same physiotherapist who has overseen their returns to fitness.
Thijs Hertsens from LAB Antwerp is the man looking after the superstars in Belgium and his work hasn’t gone unnoticed with both men returning to the road this week.
Van Aert was shown on video turning the pedals for the first time since his high-speed crash on Wednesday.
"After working a lot on his mobility, he [Evenepoel] is already back on track,” Hertsens told Sporza earlier this week, clearly aware of how close Evenepoel was to getting back out on the road.
Van Aert has worked with the physiotherapist since his awful crash at the 2019 Tour de France and Evenepoel since his horror incident at the 2020 Il Lombardia.
"Cyclists are hard workers by nature, so it is very pleasant to guide them,” said Hertsens.
Van Aert's goals have been derailed due to his crash but he will switch focus to the Paris Olympics where he and Evenepoel will lead a top-level Belgian team that will want to claim both the road race and the time trial.
