"There was a small blockage in my back and neck" - Remco Evenepoel expresses concern over how Dauphiné crash may have affected his climbing

Remco Evenepoel showed up at the Criterium du Dauphiné with brilliant form and in the first days of the race he managed to jump into the race lead. However, the Belgian crashed on stage 5 and was left not knowing if he could've performed better now that the race is into the mountains.

“In cycling you have to take it day by day. Good and bad days can alternate, so today is a new day, a completely different stage. We are going to try again," Evenepoel said in a pre-stage interview this morning. Now fourth in the overall classification, he looks back at yesterday's finale, where he wasn't all too happy with his power numbers.

“It was clearly not my best final climb ever. Looking at the power over twenty minutes, I delivered more in the time trial than yesterday. That was not good. But the feeling on the penultimate climb was very good. I still had something left there. The difference between the steep six-kilometre climb and the final climb was a bit too big. We have to look at what caused that.”

Evenepoel explains how the crash on stage 5 may have affected him: “That is always a possibility. I know that I always retain some fluid the day after a fall. That is normal, because the body is in a state of shock. But I was not much heavier than the day before. Maybe something was not working optimally. There was a small blockage in my back and neck, but that applies to everyone who has had a small fall. Maybe it all played a part, but in the end it is the legs that do the talking. Hopefully it will be different today.”

“I am still fourth in the classification and the podium is still in sight. We do not know what will happen today. We also have more good climbers with us, with Max [Schachmann] and Valentin [Paret-Peintre], so we have some backup plans to go for some things," he anticipated. "But I myself have to see how the legs are first and stay with it as long as possible.”

Evenepoel will however hope for better legs, and to be able to better match Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard on the long Alpine ascents. “Of course you have to perform, but after this week there is still some time to analyze a few things. For me personally, but also as a team.”