“That gives me hope” - Evenepoel’s key domestique on track for Tour de France despite Dauphiné crash

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.”

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.”