A few days before the year 2025 which will already be turned upside down by this long stop, the double Olympic champion has agreed to give us his news.
Remco, how are you?
“It’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 is not too stiff. They also massage the muscles of my elbow, arm, but that’s it. And then, I still sometimes feel pain in the shoulder. This means that the injury is still healing and it was quite serious. not pleasant. That said, I wear one less and less. sling to support my arm when I’m at home, however, I keep it on to avoid any false movements or contact. I’m waiting for January 9, the day of the scan, to see where we are exactly. In any case, it is expected that I will only regain full strength in my shoulder six to eight weeks after the fall, so we are only halfway there.
gullI hope that on January 9th I will have the green light to ride.
When do you hope to be able to roller?
“I hope that on January 9, I will be given the green light to do a little by combining it with strengthening sessions at the physio.”
Will you be present at your team’s next training camp, at the beginning of January in Calpe?
“In principle, no, unless I’m forced to… But I don’t think so because mentally, it’s not easy. It’s still very long. After five weeks of vacation, this happened to me from my first outing. If I resume, as I hope, after eight weeks, I will not have ridden for more than three months. But I can only accept my situation, like the others. times…I have to look forward.”
gullIt will probably be too tight for the Giro.
Many riders seem to want to participate in the Giro in May. Do you think about it despite your situation?
“We have to wait, see how the first weeks of training go. But I cannot reasonably envisage a return to competition before the beginning of April, at the earliest. So, that will probably be too tight for the Giro (from May 10 to June 1)although you never know.”
The Giro director does not put pressure on Remco Evenepoel: “If he is not in good shape, it makes no sense to come”
Do you already have an idea of the races you would like to do in the spring?
“The initial plan was to resume at the Ardèche and the Drôme Classic (March 1 and 2)before competing in Paris-Nice (March 9 to 16) ou Tirreno-Adriatico (March 10 to 16). But that all fell through. If I can start training normally around February 4-5, I will only have three weeks in my legs before these two races. However, I do not intend to go there without ambition for results. So this is no longer an option. Today, I only have one idea in mind: to be at the start of the Flèche Brabançonne (April 18) and continue with the three other Ardennes classics (Amstel on the 20th, Flèche wallonne on the 23rd and Liège-Bastogne-Liège on the 27th) with the ambition to win.”
So, you could also ride the Flèche wallonne?
“If the weather is nice, yes, why not? For the moment, my idea is to start these four races. It has to be done. Otherwise, I will miss competition before the Tour de France. If there is a way to add an event 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.”
