What can we still expect from Remco Evenepoel? "Impossible that he is at 100%"

Remco Evenepoel continues in the Tour of Catalonia, but the question is what we can still expect from the Belgian after his crash. His team director Patxi Vila tempers expectations in an interview with Het Nieuwsblad. "The first 48 hours after such a crash are always the hardest."

Injured or not, Remco Evenepoel took the start today of the shortened fourth stage of the Tour of Catalonia. “Hey guys, the good news: everything is fine,” he said this morning. The leader of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe seemed poised to sprint for victory yesterday but crashed in a strange way, probably due to a pothole in the road.

"The medical team took good care of Remco and we saw that everything was fine," former rider Vila said before the start of the shortened fourth stage. "We wanted to wait and see. This morning we checked how well he had slept, and that was good. The first 48 hours after such a crash are always the hardest. There can be consequences, but at this moment, there’s nothing wrong."

"I have quite a bit of confidence. He feels good. But today during the stage we will see how it evolves. His elbow is the worst affected. After such a crash, you have to be realistic; it’s impossible for Remco to be 100% tomorrow. But well, that’s just how it is. In the situation we are in, we have to do our best and try to make up as much time as possible."

"Still suffering in lower back and elbow, but legs remain unaffected"
And what else did Evenepoel say before the start? "The scans were all okay, nothing was broken. If that had been the case, I would have stopped with the Ardennes Classics in mind. The crash stopped me yesterday, but not for the rest of the week. I still have some pain in my lower back and elbow, but the legs are unaffected," he remains determined.

The fact that the first mountain stage was shortened due to strong winds might be a blessing in disguise for Evenepoel. "It suits me well; I get an extra day to see how my body responds. But I also came here for the mountains, and now there is one less day for the GC."