Evenepoel’s crashed domestique might still make the Tour - But will the Belgian lose another helper in Switzerland?

Vervaeke has now been given the green light to start training again. “I hope I can do half an hour on the indoor trainer today,” he told Het Nieuwsblad. “Maybe even an hour tomorrow. It’s honestly amazing how quickly a shoulder can heal.” In stage 5, the 31-year-old Belgian suffered a brutal crash, landing hard on his shoulder and breaking his collarbone.

The crash looked like something out of motorcycle racing, a so-called highsider. “I actually just talked about it with a motorcyclist. It’s strange that in a right-hand turn, I flew over the handlebars to the left. But he gave a plausible explanation: I must’ve hit something, maybe a pothole or a rock, that made my rear wheel slip. Then it suddenly regained grip and launched me violently into the air.”

His shoulder gave him a lot of trouble in the first few days after the crash. “That first night, I barely slept. Maybe three short hours in total. The team doctor was worried that the broken bone was pressing against the skin, so he pulled my shoulders back using one of those figure-eight braces. I nearly passed out from the pain. I was lucky to be able to have surgery the next day in Herentals.”

Initially, riding the Tour de France was ruled out, although the domestique hadn’t yet received official confirmation that he would be on the start list in Lille. “I didn’t have any guarantees, but I trusted I would have been selected. I think I’ve been a valuable asset for Remco in every grand tour so far. Right after the crash, I thought: ‘Everything’s ruined,’ but within the team they’re still optimistic that they might be able to get me ready in time. That’s a huge motivation for me to get back on the trainer.”

Vervaeke’s help will be crucial for Evenepoel. With Mikel Landa out and a disastrous Dauphiné behind him, the Olympic champion is left with very few domestiques. “Valentin Paret-Peintre is coming back from a broken tailbone and hasn’t raced in three weeks, that’s a lot. But let’s not sugarcoat it: Remco sitting alone in a group of forty riders is not okay. Having to fetch bottles and ice himself, having to fight for position on his own, that all costs energy, and it’s just not sustainable if you’re going into the Tour with a podium contender.”  

“The day after my surgery, I thought: ‘There’s no way I’ll make the Tour.’ I was in so much pain and couldn’t move my shoulder at all. But now, it can actually handle everything again. I can put power on it, I have control. If I make it to the Tour, sure, I’ll have missed the Dauphiné and the altitude camp in Tignes, but from a conditioning standpoint, that’s not necessarily a disaster. Apparently, Tom Pidcock won Olympic gold four weeks after breaking his collarbone. That gives me hope,” Vervaeke laughs.

Evenepoel may soon have a domestique back at his side who has supported him in five previous Grand Tours. Vervaeke was there when Evenepoel won the Vuelta a España, and again when he finished third in last year’s Tour de France. His return would be a major boost for Soudal Quick-Step, especially after a bitter blow during the Tour de Suisse: James Knox crashed and had to abandon during stage three.

The Brit was racing for the first time since the Giro d’Italia, where he performed well in the mountains and finished 19th overall. He was not (yet) part of Soudal Quick-Step’s preliminary Tour de France lineup, but with Landa out, Paret-Peintre not yet at full strength, and Vervaeke still a question mark, the team could really use a climber like him. At the moment, it’s unclear how serious his injuries are. Whether he’ll be ready for the Tour de France remains to be seen.