"My elbow, back, and hips are scraped open..." - Remco Evenepoel in pain; explains unexpected Catalunya crash
Cycling
Remco Evenepoel hid his cards during the hilly phase of the third day at the Volta a Catalunya but put them on full display at the end of the day, launching an attack on the flat section of the stage. He was followed by Jonas Vingegaard, but the aggressive stance ended up in a crash inside the final kilometer, to the disbelief of many.
The crash came out of absolute nowhere, with the TV broadcast nearly missing it. The two entered the final kilometer of the race with several seconds over the peloton, and when the TV director switched to the fixed camera at the finish, only Jonas Vingegaard was left in front.
Behind, Evenepoel was left on the ground, battered and bruised with several bloody areas in his body. It was a rough fall, which was not fully clear to anyone, even Jonas Vingegaard who was riding alongside him.
What really happened? In words reported by Het Laatste Nieuws, Evenepoel explains: “I wanted to go to my drops and just at that moment there was a pothole that I hadn't seen and that wasn't marked. That's when I lost control of my handlebars".
Evenepoel in pain after rough crash
It was not just a regular fall. Evenepoel crashed with speed but above all, crashed out of nowhere, and most likely lacked the time to brace himself for the fall. His equipment was torn to bits in the back area, with blood in his elbows and arms quite visible.
However, it was the Olympic Champion himself who came out of the bus a few minutes after the finish to address the media. “I have a bit of pain everywhere. My elbow, back, and hips are scraped open. We will see what the precise consequences are for the rest of this week..."
These words came not too long after the fall, but the lack of concern over potential fractures is ultimately a good sign. In all likelihood the Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe rider remains in the race, but it is very possible that the crash will hamper his performance in the upcoming key stages.
"I need to let my body recover a bit now and see how things go tonight and especially tomorrow morning," he anticipates. "The elbow is hit quite hard; we'll see what's possible.”
Whilst in the bigger picture it now matters to little, he was also asked about the attack together with Jonas Vingegaard, which was almost successful. In a brief comment, he responded: “I rode to win. That was our intention today with the crosswinds as well.”
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- Thats only cause he rides for UAE. In any other team he would be captain in many races atleast. UAE is just to crazymiguel06-11-2026
- He seems to be the rare athlete whose passion and curiosity about life beyond his sport equals his extraordinary achievements in it. It would be great for him to risk less of that life. He seems very grateful and joyful for what he has already attained.
MarkFour06-11-2026 - As much as I admire and even revere Wout, the less I know about his backside the better.MidnightRider06-11-2026
- Ok, Walt 🤣... Vingegaard would be lucky to get on the poduim. He would not beat Seixas or Del Toro, let alone TP. Then there are the Americans...BD06-11-2026
- So, for starters. Cycling is a saturated, static/dying sport in traditional lands, it will not have resurgences like eg running occasionally does because of several obstacular (yes, I know that’s not a word but don’t make me point out the obvious at your expense) factors. Obviously, like almost everything involving money, there is a desire/need/advantage to growth and that can only come from (developing or just testing) new markets. For me, the WC is the obvious and best choice for several reasons, it comes at the end of the season so is less critical season risk wise, it is not a “pro” team race but nation based which makes integration of uncommon participation more natural. It is a vehicle for redistribution (one of a very limited number of available mechanisms to develop new markers fairly) that the fixed calendar doesn’t allow and it helps make budgets fairer over the long run (moving the whole circus to everywhere evens out everyone’s budget as opposed to having everyone always come to the same location.Jumpyjohn06-11-2026
- Sad that a more refreshing article like this, which could generate discussion in a number of directions, gets completely ignored for the importance of debating the level of superiority of one rider into every single last detail, including a majority of totally hypothetical ones. People complain there is no news in the off season and it’s boring but don’t realise how boring it is to review the same old discussion over and over again, several times a day. In fact, you’d almost think this was a rider fan website. Instead of complaining about the FREE (as long as you pay attention to data use if not unlimited coz this site consumes almost as much for loading Youtube) content, the presence of cv of authors (for the missed obvious reason that it makes it easier to insert extra advertising without changing formats), the lack of quality/checking and depth of articles, why not also think about the content, quality and variety of posts that everyone can contribute to? The platform becomes irrelevant when discussion is interesting.Jumpyjohn06-11-2026
- UAE Team Emirates and Pogačar will officially unveil their objectives at the team’s media day, which will take place on December 18 in Benidorm, Spain. New information from the UAE Team: Exceptional recovery remains the cornerstone of success for the Slovenian cannibal-Pogi, whose sporting manager, Matxin, believes he will be even better in 2027 than he has been over the past three seasons.PogiSloFans06-11-2026
- Yeh, but he didn't and RE beat Pog & Del T 👍
leedorney06-11-2026 - Just my opinionleedorney06-11-2026
- Great win.However will the world champions jersey be simply a domestic for the season which will some what tarnish the jersey. I hope he is given free rein to try and win some races.paultryan200206-11-2026
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