Remco Evenepoel rides Brabantse Pijl with special tape: "If I were a tennis or basketball player, my career would be over"

On Monday, Evenepoel already made his feelings clear on his social media. "Finally, my comeback week has arrived," he wrote on his social media. "After days, weeks, months of waiting and waiting, I can finally look towards my first races. The way to where I am now has been very hard and challenging."

"Definitely the hardest battle of my life so far. Mentally and physically," said Evenepoel, who has already experienced some low points in his relatively short career, in that message. "I can honestly say that I have been under the ground and really doubted a lot of my future. Loads of tears and frustration were present in our life," he wrote.

Of course, the Belgian was asked about the message and the fact that he considered quitting. "And that was really the case. My injuries were really bad, especially my shoulder. The nerve problem that developed on top of that meant that my shoulder was barely functioning. It was a difficult period," said Evenepoel.

"At a certain point, you start to have doubts, and I let those thoughts come through in that message," he said. "I think it's one of the few messages I've written myself in recent years, so that shows how personal it was. Sometimes, it's not bad to show that instead of always putting on a mask. Perhaps everyone knows a little better what to expect in the coming weeks, although it's also true that I'm happy now and that everyone has seen me change positively over the last few weeks."

So, did the outside world underestimate it? "It's not the first time I've had a bad crash. The fact that it happened right after the holiday period didn't make it any easier. Everyone was returning to training, and I was completely sidelined for another six weeks. I found that difficult to accept," says the Soudal Quick-Step cyclist, who also turned to religion to help him recover physically and mentally. "Islam is something I've gotten to know more over the past year. It's something Oumi and I share, but everyone looks for that kind of support for themselves. It gives me stability in life, and I enjoy it very much."

“If you compare it to my injury after the Tour of Lombardy (in 2020, ed.), that also happened during the holiday period. The weather is nice; you can go outside—with or without a wheelchair or crutches—and so on. Now the weather was bad, and you couldn't go outside. On top of that, it was the second time in a few months that I broke the same shoulder."

And that shoulder fracture was not the only problem. "After a few weeks, we discovered a nerve injury. Part of my shoulder still doesn't function properly, but fortunately, I'm not a tennis player or basketball player. That would have meant the end of my career, so I'm glad I'm a cyclist. My hand, ribs, lungs, and shoulder blade are all fine again, but the ligaments in my shoulder are still sensitive. For example, we're trying to stabilize them with tape, which is necessary for the cobbled sections in the Brabantse Pijl."

In the meantime, his competitors performed well in the major races. "I watched the classics, but I always do that. There were great battles between Mathieu van der Poel, Tadej Pogacar, and the others. That also motivated me to train hard and strive to reach the level I need to compete with them. Will you see me in those classics? Definitely in Sanremo and Flanders, but I'm not sure about Roubaix yet. That depends on my motivation because it's one week before the Ardennes. And I'll always have a better chance there than in Roubaix."

Okay, that's for next year. First, there's the Brabantse Pijl on Friday, followed by the Amstel Gold Race, the Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and the Tour de Romandie. "It's hard to estimate how much progress I've lost. On February 1, I could ride outside again for the first time, but it took a while before I could increase the intensity. In recent weeks, I feel that I'm making progress, so it's not that my comeback is too early. The Brabantse Pijl passes where I live, so I'm trying to enjoy myself."

"I feel ready and have been able to train long and hard. I'm not in top form yet, but I'm good enough. Can I beat Pogacar and Pidcock in top form? I don't know, we'll see. I'm especially happy to be back," said Evenepoel, who will face the Slovenian from UAE Emirates-XRG again on Sunday in the Amstel Gold Race. "I hope to be back in top form for Liège, but I realize it will be difficult to beat him. But I believe in it because otherwise, I might as well stay home. These are long races, and I've worked hard."

"It's inspiring to see what Tadej is doing, but he remains an opponent on the bike. I try to learn from him when I see him racing, but above all, I try to be the best version of myself. He's the best cyclist since Eddy Merckx, but it's up to us to challenge him. And I need to use the coming weeks to build up to the big goals: the Tour and the championships later in the year," Evenepoel adds.