Remco Evenepoel has set April 18, 2025, as his return to racing at De Brabantse Pijl after suffering multiple fractures in a training crash earlier this month. The double Olympic champion plans to start all four Ardennes Classics - Amstel Gold on April 20, Flèche Wallonne on April 23, and concluding with Liège-Bastogne-Liège on April 27.
The Belgian fractured a rib, shoulder blade and right hand after crashing into the door of a Bpost postal vehicle that opened in front of him on December 3. He swiftly underwent surgery after the incident, followed by two weeks of rest, according to his Soudal-QuickStep team.
Since then, Evenpoel told La Derniere Heure/Les Sports that he’s “getting better but slowly.”
“I feel small daily progress. In terms of exercises, I can't do anything except a little manipulation of my shoulder so that it's not too stiff. They also massage the muscles in my elbow, my arm, but that's it. And then, I still sometimes feel pain in my shoulder. This means that the injury is still healing and that it was quite serious. It's not pleasant,” Evenepoel said.
A scan scheduled for January 9 will provide more information on his recovery and hopefully allow him to get back on the rollers. Full strength in his shoulder is expected to return six to eight weeks after the injury.
Pre-crash, the initial 2025 plan was to start racing at the beginning of March at the Ardèche and the Drôme Classic before competing in Paris-Nice or Tirreno-Adriatico.
“If I can start training normally around February 4-5, I will only have three weeks in my legs before these two races. But I do not intend to go there without ambition for results. So, it is no longer an option. Today, I only have one idea in mind: to be at the start of the Flèche Brabançonne [De Brabantse Pijl] and follow up with the three other Ardennes classics with the ambition of playing for the win.”
The end goal remains the Tour de France in July, where he looks to surpass his third-place overall finish and stage victory from this year’s race.
“For the moment, my idea is to take part in these four races. I have to. Otherwise, I will miss competition before the Tour de France. If there is a way to add a race to my program, we will do it but I don't know anything about it at the moment. With this injury, it's a special year and I have to adapt."
Evenepoel won Liège-Bastogne-Liège twice - in 2022 and 2023 - and finished sixth the last time he raced De Brabantse Pijl in 2022.
Though also scheduled to race the Giro d’Italia, from May 10 to June 1, he’ll probably have to skip the first Grand Tour of 2025.
"We have to wait and see how the first weeks of training go. But I can't reasonably envisage a return to competition before the beginning of April, at the earliest. So, it will probably be too short for the Giro, even if you never know.”
