Evenepoel only discovered broken rib during the Tour and kept it secret: "We didn't go around saying it, so as not to give the competition any ideas"

The CEO of Soudal Quick-Step says that they only found out during the Tour that the rib was broken. “After his crash at the Belgian Championships, Remco's symptoms weren't that severe. It wasn't until further examination after his new crash on the third day of the Tour that a small fracture in one of his ribs was discovered,” he explains to CyclingUpToDate. “Fortunately, it hadn't displaced, so taping provided relief and we were able to continue treating it.”

It was then clear that the Tour would be an even tougher test than it already was. But the injury was kept secret. “Of course, we didn't go around saying it, so as not to give the competition any ideas. It certainly wasn't a gift, something like that is frustrating. But I don't think we should see it as the main reason for his withdrawal,” said Foré.

Because it was not physical pain that forced him to withdraw, but his body was exhausted, Evenepoel himself said. Ultimately, the team boss thinks that his protégé was already ill, even though there were no symptoms yet. “Until the day he dropped out of the race, his blood sugar levels were perfectly normal and at the same level as last year – Remco has never started a stage sick. But that changed in the days that followed. So he was probably already carrying it.”

So no podium for Soudal Quick-Step, but with four stage wins (1x Evenepoel, 1x Valentin Paret-Peintre, and 2x Tim Merlier), it was still a fantastic Tour. That's why Foré wants to focus on the positives. “We're living a bit of a dream. Four stage wins in a Grand Tour: that's the exception rather than the rule. There are fourteen teams that haven't won anything in this Tour. That's the story, isn't it?”