Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel has suffered another setback in his ongoing recovery from injury after revealing that nerve damage in his shoulder forced him to postpone a return to on-bike training.
After being named Belgian Sportsman of the Year for the fourth time in his career, the third most among male athletes behind Eddy Merckx and Stefan Everts, Evenepoel shed light on the nerve issue which "causes a 'dead' feeling in that shoulder."
The 24-year-old has been fully off the bike for almost six weeks now after being doored by a driver in training on December 3 and fracturing his rib, hand and shoulder blade, alongside dislocating his collarbone which has caused the prolonged problem.
His plan was to make a return at Brabanste Pijl on April 18 before racing the Ardennes Classics, the Criterium du Dauphine and his big goal of the Tour de France, however, that timeline now looks less likely to materialise.
"The scan showed that a nerve in my left shoulder was affected, which means that it does not (yet) connect to the muscles on the outside of it. It causes a 'dead' feeling in that shoulder. It does not function 100%, I can hardly move it," Evenepoel told HLN.
"The healing process will therefore take a little longer than expected. Longer than that of the broken collarbone that I suffered in April 2024 in my crash in the Tour of the Basque Country."
Evenepoel remains confident that he will make the start of his second Tour after taking a stage win, third overall and the best young rider's white jersey on debut back in July. However, a chance at a third Monument victory at Liège-Bastogne-Liège is still up in the air.
"In principle, it is not a problem for the Tour. For the Ardennes classics, we have to wait and see how it will evolve and when exactly I will be able to train at full speed again," said Evenepoel. "Training outside is out of the question at the moment, that is not for another month."
He may have seven months to get ready for the Tour but it's certain that the severity of his injuries is worse than it originally seemed. It could be some time until the double Olympic champion is back at his absolute best.
"All my ligaments were gone, my joints were severely damaged. With a broken collarbone it is just a plate on top, rest for a while and then, off we go again. This is different," said Evenepoel.
"We may have all underestimated it until the final results came out. Then it dawned on us that it really is a serious injury.
"It creates doubts and question marks. I give myself time. I have that too. I know that one day I will reach my old level again. And I hope that I will be at my very best in the Tour."
