"You can also imagine that Remco would immediately be scared" - Patrick Lefevere reacts to brutal Criterium du Dauphine crash and Evenepoel

Soudal - Quick-Step were enjoying their day in the yellow jersey at the Criterium du Dauphiné, trying to save as much energy as possible before entering the mountains but things didn't go as planned. Remco Evenepoel, race leader, was one of the three riders of the team that has crashed and Patrick Lefevere reacts to the news of the day.

“I got an update from our team doctor, and it looks like it will remain bumps and bruises. From our team, only Antoine Huby needs some stitches, but that is not super urgent," Lefevere said in an interview with Sporza. “But it is not fun. You can also imagine that Remco would immediately be scared and reach for his shoulder after a crash like that, after what he experienced in the Basque Country. But it looks like it will be okay.”

Whilst it is not yet confirmed, Evenepoel should be able to start stage 6, although he took a hit on the head and on the very same shoulder which he fractured almost exactly two months ago at Itzulia Basque Country. Mikel Landa and Antoine Huby of the Belgian outfit also hit the deck, part of a long list of riders who found themselves affected by a very wet and slippery patch of road into Saint-Priest - on the outskirts of Lyon.

“Nobody is to blame here, not the organizers and not the riders," Lefevere believes. "The jury had even taken a measure to record the times 4 kilometers from the finish instead of 3, because it was dangerous there. Everything was well indicated, the riders were not riding super fast and had the breakaway within range."

"Five kilometres before, the streets were still dry, but look, one rain shower was enough to take down the peloton. They fall at the front, they get scared at the back and go over the top. Then you get a chain reaction.”