"I rode into a big gap" - Clear-minded Remco Evenepoel details what led to astonishing Catalunya crash

Remco Evenepoel is an emotional rider and the end of stage 3 of the Volta a Catalunya was a true whirlwind of events. A surprising late attack in the crosswinds; an argument with an uncollaborative Jonas Vingegaard and a crash out of nowhere in the final kilometer marked the Olympic Champion's day. However, with a night of sleep and some recovery already in, the Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe rider has discussed what happened in detail.

The stage into Vila-Seca was prone to early attacks or a breakaway win; but it soon became apparent that a bunch sprint was set to decide the outcome of the day with the peloton seemingly under control. However as soon as the riders entered the final flat section of the day, away from the climbs and descents that marked it, the crosswinds came into play.

Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe attacked and split the peloton quickly, and then Remco Evenepoel himself attacked with 28 kilometers to go. He was followed only by Jonas Vingegaard, who at first didn't collaborate for several minutes, leading to a lot of frustration, and visible anger from the Belgian.

"There was some doubt, and I just kept going. I saw that Jonas was closing the gap, so I wanted to go to the finish with him," Evenepoel said this morning to CyclingPro.net. "We had a nice gap to go for the win and sprint, but fate decided otherwise".

"We knew in the morning that the wind would be at our backs on this road, but we also knew that on the return it would come more from the side. So it was going to be echelons. The team did it perfectly, first on the descent, but then we also took care of the selection. It was amazing. It was exactly how we wanted to do it".

It happened as quickly as one could've possibly imagined. Evenepoel crashed seemingly with no obstacles on the road only with a few hundred meters to go for the stage finish and with several seconds of lead over the peloton.

The road spelled disaster for him, a 'one in a million' crash. "I wanted to shift gears for the sprint, but at that moment I rode into a big gap [on the road]. I didn't see it, and it wasn't clearly visible on the road. That's why I went over my handlebars".

The consequences: A lot of road rash, but no fractures, he confirms. "We had scans done at the hospital, but apart from some back issues, everything is okay. Regarding the tactics: everyone has their own goals, and that is their prerogative. I only asked for some relief so I could settle in a bit, but that didn't happen. It only gives me more motivation".

The cut of today's stage, originally into Valter 2000 Setcases, provides the leader of Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe with an extra day to recover from his injuries. The new finale makes it a day that is expected to be discussed between the sprinters; but this Friday and Saturday the riders are likely to still make the trip to the Pyrenees.

"We shall see. There are some major injuries, so we will see tonight and tomorrow morning how everything reacts. But as I said: I am standing, and nothing is broken, so that is good," he concluded.