Remco Evenepoel joined his Soudal-QuickStep teammates for their Omloop Het Nieuwsblad reconnaissance ride on Wednesday as he continues his recovery and base training after his collision with a postal van and complex shoulder injury.
Evenepoel turned up in Kruisem in western Flanders and was given a warm welcome by his teammates on the Soudal-QuickStep team bus. He then rode with them as they studied the key cobbled sectors and Flemish climbs to the east of Oudenaarde. Evenepoel rode his gold bike and wore a gold helmet in recognition of his double Olympic victory in Paris last year.
He appeared happy but offered few words, promising to shave off a moustache and thin beard he had grown for a recent movie premiere in Belgium.
"The desire is great, but at the moment not much is possible. But everything is okay. You will receive updates soon," Evenepoel told the Flemish media of his gradual return to fitness.
Evenepoel suffered rib, hand and shoulder blade fractures and dislocated his collarbone, sparking nerve damage in his shoulder. He spent six weeks off the bike and only returned to training indoors in mid-January and rode outdoors for the first time on February 2.
He has since increased his training load but is only expected to make his 2025 season debut at Brabantse Pijl on April 10, two months later than his rivals. The Tour de France remains Evenepoel's major goal for 2025 after he finished third in 2024 behind Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard.
Evenepoel completed a 136km ride in Belgium last week and was keen to ride with his teammates at pace on the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad route. He planned to ride from the finish in Ninive to his home in Schepdaal, west of Brussels.
“From there it is not that far home, right”, Het Nieuwsblad quotes him as saying, an indication he planned a lengthy ride.
Yves Lampaert and talented young French rider Paul Magnier will lead Soudal-QuickStep at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. Also in the team are Pascal Eenkhoorn, Dries Van Gestel, Gil Gelders, Casper Pedersen and Mattia Cattaneo.
Five riders will come into the team for Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne on Sunday, with Soudal-QuickStep hoping Tim Merlier can win the expected sprint finish.
