"It is becoming increasingly dangerous. I get hit at least once a year" - Oliver Naesen empathises with Remco Evenepoel after training crash

Rider safety has been thrust into the spotlight once again following the disastrous training crash that befell double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel earlier this week. According to Evenepoel's Belgian compatriot Oliver Naesen, this latest instance just highlights a growing problem in the day-to-day life of a cyclist.

"Maybe this is 'old guy speaking', but it is becoming increasingly dangerous. I get hit at least once a year," analyses the 34-year-old of the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team in conversation with Het Laatste Nieuws. "In the best case, it is a car that hits you with its mirror. But you simply cannot have a cycling career without an accident."

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.”