Soudal – Quick-Step’s Tour de
France preparations received a much-needed boost this week as
Louis Vervaeke,
Remco Evenepoel’s trusted domestique, confirmed he’s back on the indoor trainer
following his heavy crash at the Critérium du Dauphiné last week. Despite
initial fears he would miss the Tour entirely, Vervaeke now looks set to
recover in time to support Evenepoel in France.
The Belgian climber crashed
during a descent in last week’s Dauphiné, sustaining a broken shoulder that
required surgery the next day in Herentals. At first, the damage seemed too
severe to allow for a July 5 return, but Vervaeke’s rapid recovery has changed
the outlook. “I hope I can do half an hour on the indoor trainer today,” he told
Het Nieuwsblad. “Maybe even an hour tomorrow. It’s honestly amazing how quickly
a shoulder can heal.”
He described the bizarre nature
of the crash: “It’s strange that in a right-hand turn, I flew over the
handlebars to the left. But (a motorcyclist) gave a plausible explanation: I
must’ve hit something, maybe a pothole or a rock, that made my rear wheel slip.
Then it suddenly regained grip and launched me violently into the air.”
Vervaeke endured a brutal first
night, with the team doctor using a figure-eight brace to keep the bone from
pressing through the skin. “I nearly passed out from the pain,” he said. “The
day after my surgery, I thought: ‘There’s no way I’ll make the Tour.’ I was in
so much pain and couldn’t move my shoulder at all. But now, it can actually
handle everything again. I can put power on it, I have control.”
Landa will not be able to support Evenepoel come July
Vervaeke’s absence at the
Dauphiné was felt sharply. Evenepoel finished fourth overall and suffered his
own crash, but it was his isolation in key race moments that drew attention.
While Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard had multiple teammates around them,
Evenepoel was often left to fend for himself.
“Let’s not sugarcoat it: Remco
sitting alone in a group of forty riders is not okay,” Vervaeke admitted.
“Having to fetch bottles and ice himself, having to fight for position on his
own, that all costs energy, and it’s just not sustainable if you’re going into
the Tour with a podium contender.”
With
Mikel Landa ruled out after
his own crash at the Giro d’Italia, and Valentin Paret-Peintre only recently
returning from a broken tailbone, Vervaeke’s comeback has become critical. “I
didn’t have any guarantees, but I trusted I would have been selected. I think
I’ve been a valuable asset for Remco in every grand tour so far. Right after
the crash, I thought: ‘Everything’s ruined,’ but within the team they’re still
optimistic that they might be able to get me ready in time. That’s a huge
motivation.”
The Belgian drew inspiration from
past recoveries in the sport, noting, “Apparently, Tom Pidcock won Olympic gold
four weeks after breaking his collarbone. That gives me hope.”