"For two or three months, we didn’t recognize Remco" - Patrick Evenepoel reveals mental turmoil of his son after latest crash scare

After nearly half a year since his nightmare crash with a BPost van in early December, Remco Evenepoel is finally nearing a return to the peloton at Brabantse Pijl 2025 on Friday. With this being far from the first lengthy lay-off of the Belgian's career however, this time the problems were as much mental as they were physical.

“It was already the third time he’d been sidelined due to injury. First after that heavy crash in the Il Lombardy, and then again following the one in the Itzulia Basque Country last year," explains the double Olympic champion's father, Patrick Evenepoel in conversation with Philippe Gilbert on RTL’s Dans le Peloton. "This latest setback was especially hard to deal with, because it was caused by a careless postman. Psychologically, that must have been incredibly tough for Remco.”

So psychologically tough was it for the Soudal - Quick-Step leader, that his father admits that for a while, he barely recognised his own son. Thankfully though, with a return to the pro peloton imminent, Evenepoel is back in high spirits. “For me, the most important thing is that he’s mentally in a good place again. That he’s back to being the person we know," says Patrick Evenepoel happily. "For two or three months, we didn’t recognize Remco. People need to understand - he himself didn’t know if things would turn out okay.”

“Remco and Oumi worked hard, because it really wasn’t easy. She had exams and spent all day studying in her room, while he couldn’t do much more than watch Netflix downstairs," continues Evenepoel senior. "At one point, Agna (Remco’s mother) and I went to visit them. As parents, it’s our job to support our child - not the cyclist, not the athlete. Our child. That’s what matters most.”

Hopefully it won't be too long before Evenepoel gets back to his best!