100km/h AlUla horror crash can't stop Laurenz Rex from lining up at Opening Weekend

The crash came on stage 3 of the AlUla Tour, on a high speed descent with about ten kilometres to go. The peloton was clocking more than 100 kilometres per hour when Rex hit the deck with Davide Stella and Fabien Grellier. He slid hard across the road, and the first question was simply how bad the damage would be.

Initial reports spoke of abrasions and superficial injuries. Further examinations painted a more serious picture. Rex had fractured three spinous processes in his back. The diagnosis suggested weeks off the bike and a cautious rehabilitation.

Yet even on the evening of the crash, his focus was already elsewhere. “I said already on the evening of that crash: I want to be there at the opening weekend,” Rex recalled, speaking to Sporza.

It was, in his own words, a “nasty crash”. “We were hitting speeds of around 100 kilometres per hour at that moment.”

His recovery has moved faster than anyone anticipated, including Rex himself: “It is incredible how fast my recovery has gone.”

Because the fractures were located on the protruding parts of the vertebrae rather than the structural core, the healing process proved more straightforward than initially feared. Surgery was not required and stability was maintained.

“In fact, I have only lost five training days. After a little more than a week I could already ride outside again, even if not yet at high intensity,” the 26-year-old Belgium said.

That continuity allowed him to rebuild steadily under medical supervision, gradually increasing load without setbacks. The green light for competition means he will take his place at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, as part of his new team.

“I came to this team to ride the classics,” Rex said. “That is why I absolutely wanted to start at the Opening Weekend.”