'It gives me wings' - Laurenz Rex's miraculous recovery from 100km/h AlUla crash to sixth in Kuurne

Laurenz Rex (Soudal Quick-Step) made a miraculous recovery to not only return to action just one month after being involved in a horrific 100km/h crash at the AlUla Tour, but finish sixth after a hard-fought performance on Sunday at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. 

On stage 3 of the AlUla Tour on January 30, Rex was involved in a crash on a high-speed descent with around 10km to the finish. The peloton was travelling at a speed of over 100km/h when Rex, Davide Stella (UAE Team Emirates-XRG Gen Z) and Fabien Grellier (TotalEnergies) hit the deck.

The result of the crash for Rex was that he had broken three spinous processes in his back. Despite that, he was determined to recover in time to be ready to start in Kuurne. “I said already on the evening of that crash: I want to be there at the opening weekend,” Rex told Sporza before taking to the start in Kuurne.

In the end, it was a remarkably impressive return to action for the 26-year-old as he navigated the hills and cobbles to make the final selection and sprint to sixth place.

After the finish, Rex admitted that he had felt nervous in the peloton to begin with, particularly with the high number of crashes over Opening Weekend, similarly to race winner Matthew Brennan (Visma | Lease a Bike), who crashed on Saturday at Omloop.

“I’m super happy. I think this morning there was a bit of a question mark about how my back would survive,” Rex told Cycling Pro Net. "I was quite scared at the beginning of the race because it was super hectic and there were a lot of crashes again.”

The Belgian admitted that there was a moment when his mindset switched, and this helped him focus on the racing and achieve a strong result.

"But then at one moment I just said that I need to turn the switch off and go,” explained Rex. “Then from there on, I was in the race, and I could race like all the times before. I was super strong, I think all the team was super good.”

Rex confirmed that he didn’t feel too much pain in the peloton as a result of the crash during Sunday's race, and jokingly admitted that he will find out the real consequences after a night’s sleep.

“Not really, the back held, the muscles didn’t have a lot of pain,” said Rex when asked if he felt pain in the race as a result of his injuries. “We will maybe see tomorrow if I will be stiff, but luckily, there is no race for me. But today it was quite okay."

Rex also highlighted his incredibly rapid recovery and how his performance and result in Kuurne have boosted his confidence for the upcoming objectives.

“Of course, four weeks ago I was lying there on the ground, my back broken, but now I think with this result I have even more motivation, and it gives me wings for the future.”