'It seems ok' - Remco Evenepoel avoids time loss in Tour de France crash
The Belgian was caught up in a crash inside the 5km safety zone on the chaotic run-in to Dunkerque, but his Soudal-QuickStep squad suggested his injuries were not serious. His teammate Tim Merlier sprinted to stage victory.
Remco Evenepoel is never out of the news at the Tour de France. A revival of the old murmurs linking him with a switch to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe was doing the rounds of the caravan on Monday morning, and he was again making headlines at day’s end when he was among the fallers in a crash with a shade over 3km to go.
The Soudal-QuickStep rider quickly remounted and completed the stage, chatting with Primoz Roglic as he soft-pedalled towards the line. As the incident took place within the extended 5km safety zone, Evenepoel was awarded the same time as the front group, meaning he remains 49 seconds behind yellow jersey Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in 21st place overall.
Evenepoel appeared to be holding his ribs as he crossed the finish line, but Soudal-QuickStep management downplayed the severity of his injuries.
“He didn't seem too badly injured, there were no visible signs anyway,” CEO Jurgen Foré told RTBF.
The thought was echoed by directeur sportif Klaas Lodewyck, who added: “The initial news is reassuring. He seems to be doing well.”
It was a day of mixed emotions for Soudal-QuickStep as European champion Tim Merlier powered to stage victory in a chaotic, crash-marred bunch sprint. When he reached the finish, Evenepoel immediately sought out his teammate to offer his congratulations before climbing aboard the Soudal-QuickStep bus.
“It seems okay,” sports director Tom Steels told Sporza of Evenepoel’s crash. “Crashing is never good, because in the Tour, you don’t get time to recover. But hopefully it won't be too bad.”
Evenepoel had been towards the head of the peloton on the approach to the final 5km to ensure he didn’t lose time to his fellow GC contenders. After reaching the apparent sanctuary of the safety zone, he began to drift back through the peloton, and he came down in a crash that involved Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe rider Jordi Meeus and Laurence Pithie with a little over 3km to go.
“It was an annoying fall. Someone panicked, slammed everything shut and Remco was there,” Steels said.
But with Evenepoel relatively unscathed, the day was a positive one for Soudal-QuickStep, who got off the mark with a stage victory for Merlier, his first since he won the corresponding stage on his debut four years ago.
“It gives different vibes to the team. This pushes everyone forward,” said Steels, who outlined how the squad divided its labour between leaders Evenepoel and Merlier.
“You can only do that with a sprinter who can position himself very well. Yesterday Bert [Van Lerberghe] and Tim also worked for Remco, and tomorrow they will do that again. It’s a mix.”
Evenepoel remains 45 seconds behind Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and 43 down on Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) after stage 3. The Belgian and his GC rivals could well be at the fore on Tuesday's rolling run-in to Rouen, while the stage 5 time trial to Caen represents an opportunity for Evenepoel to recoup the time lost when he missed the split on the opening day.
