Remco Evenepoel has set April 18, 2025, as his return to racing at De Brabantse Pijl after struggling a number of fractures in a coaching crash earlier this month. The double Olympic champion plans to begin all 4 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 proper hand after crashing into the door of a Bpost postal car that opened in entrance of him on December 3. He swiftly underwent surgical procedure after the incident, adopted by two weeks of relaxation, based on his Soudal-QuickStep group.
Since then, Evenpoel instructed La Derniere Heure/Les Sports activities that he’s “getting higher however slowly.”
“I really feel small day by day progress. When it comes to workouts, I can not do something besides just a little manipulation of my shoulder in order that it isn’t too stiff. Additionally they therapeutic massage the muscle groups in my elbow, my arm, however that is it. After which, I nonetheless typically really feel ache in my shoulder. Which means that the harm continues to be therapeutic and that it was fairly critical. It is not nice,” Evenepoel mentioned.
A scan scheduled for January 9 will present extra info on his restoration and hopefully permit him to get again on the rollers. Full energy in his shoulder is predicted to return six to eight weeks after the harm.
Pre-crash, the preliminary 2025 plan was to begin racing at the start of March on the Ardèche and the Drôme Traditional earlier than competing in Paris-Good or Tirreno-Adriatico.
“If I can begin coaching usually round February 4-5, I’ll solely have three weeks in my legs earlier than these two races. However I don’t intend to go there with out ambition for outcomes. So, it’s now not an choice. At this time, I solely have one thought in thoughts: to be at the beginning of the Flèche Brabançonne [De Brabantse Pijl] and comply with up with the three different Ardennes classics with the ambition of taking part in for the win.”
The tip objective stays the Tour de France in July, the place he appears to be like to surpass his third-place total end and stage victory from this 12 months’s race.
“For the second, my thought is to participate in these 4 races. I’ve to. In any other case, I’ll miss competitors earlier than the Tour de France. If there’s a means so as to add a race to my program, we’ll do it however I do not know something about it in the meanwhile. With this harm, it is a particular 12 months and I’ve to adapt.”
Evenepoel gained Liège-Bastogne-Liège twice – in 2022 and 2023 – and completed sixth the final time he raced De Brabantse Pijl in 2022.
Although additionally scheduled to race the Giro d’Italia, from Might 10 to June 1, he’ll in all probability should skip the primary Grand Tour of 2025.
“We’ve got to attend and see how the primary weeks of coaching go. However I can not moderately envisage a return to competitors earlier than the start of April, on the earliest. So, it is going to in all probability be too brief for the Giro, even for those who by no means know.”
