Double Olympic champ Evenepoel breaks rib, shoulder, hand in crash

BRUSSELS: Double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel suffered fractures to his rib, shoulder blade and hand, his team Soudal-QuickStep said today, following reports of a collision with a vehicle in Belgium.

According to Belgian media reports, the 24-year-old crashed into an open door of a postal vehicle while he was on a training ride in Oetingen.

“Following an incident while training today, Remco Evenepoel was taken to hospital where it was revealed that he has sustained fractures to his rib, right shoulder blade and his right hand,” a Soudal-QuickStep statement said.

Evenepoel, who claimed gold in the men’s road race and time trial at the Paris Olympics this year, was conscious after the incident with the impact breaking the Belgian’s bike, reports said.

“Remco has pain in his shoulder and his hand. Our doctor is working on it,” Soudal-QuickStep’s manager Patrick Lefevere told Belgium’s state-funded sports website Sporza.

“His bike broke in two in that incident. But it’s better to split his bike in two than his arm.”

In an update to Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, Evenepoel’s father Patrick said: “He has already sent us a message, so we hope everything is okay.”

Evenepoel was taken to the Erasmus Hospital in Anderlecht after the incident and will now be moved to a hospital in Herentals, where his injuries will be assessed further.