“Primoz Roglic was next to me in the hospital" - Remco Evenepoel recalls worry for rivals after scary Itzulia crash

The general classification fight at the 2024 Itzulia Basque Country was almost totally wiped out on stage 4 as Remco Evenepoel, Jonas Vingegaard, Primoz Roglic and more all crashed out spectacularly frightening circumstances.

Each of those three also holds bigger GC ambitions for later this year at the Tour de France. Despite being in some considerable pain immediately following the crash, for Evenepoel a debut in the Tour still seems like a realistic proposition. “I can't complain at the moment,” Evenepoel tells The Wolfpack Howls podcast. “I feel my body is recovering. I have less and less pain. I have really given up on that broken collarbone. I had underestimated it myself, I thought it would hurt less.”

“After the weekend I hope to be able to rebuild. So far I have been able to do some light exercises at the gym. Cycling outside was not an option. I'll try cycling on rollers soon. I hope it won't take me too long before I feel good again," the Soudal - Quick-Step leader continues. “Primoz was next to me in the hospital, so I spoke to him briefly. I also sent Jonas a message. With the other boys, I just kept an eye on social media to see how they were doing. Considering the circumstances, everyone is doing well, fortunately.”

As mentioned, for Evenepoel, the Tour de France remains the target. “My preparation starts a week earlier. I go to altitude and then, based on my form, I choose the Critérium du Dauphiné or the Tour de Suisse, including another altitude camp," he explains. "The start of the Tour is coming soon, that's for sure. After that there will be the Olympic Games. That is also a very special event for me. In recent years you can see that it has become much more popular. As a rider you actually only have the chance to win a medal there three or four times in your career. I hope for a medal in both the time and road trial. So I'm really looking forward to the summer."