In Evenepoel's case, it was the opening door of a BPost van that caused the issues, leaving the
Soudal - Quick-Step leader hospitalised with numerous injuries following the incident, such as a dislocated collarbone and lung contusions. As Naesen notes though, this is not really the fault of Evenepoel or the unfortunate postman, but rather a case of "brutally bad luck".
"This is not about who is the perpetrator and who is the victim, very often it is about an unfortunate combination of circumstances," explains Naesen thoughtfully. "The traffic is so busy that the margin for making mistakes is very small."
As you might expect given the recency of the crash, a real indication of when Evenepoel can get back on his bike is still some way off. If the Belgian's latest comments are anything to go by though, it may yet be some time. “I have much more trouble than after my crash in the Itzulia Basque Country,” Evenepoel said in conversation with VTM Nieuws. “There also more injuries. They had to do some serious hammering on that dislocated collarbone in particular, which destroyed all the surrounding joints. I will need more recovery time than I did before.”