Just hours after making his season debut for De Brabantse Pijl , Remco Evenepoel revealed shocking details of the injury he suffered last December, admitting that if he had been a ball sports athlete, his career would already be over.

The Soudal-QuickStep rider suffered serious injuries after colliding with the door of a postal van during one of his first winter training sessions. Fractures to his right shoulder blade, ribs and right hand have kept him out of racing for seven months, since his last appearance at the Giro di Lombardia.

Neurological damage and doubts about the future

' After a few weeks, we discovered a neurological damage that has not yet healed. A part of the shoulder muscle does not work at all at the moment ,' Evenepoel explained. ' Fortunately, it is not the most important muscle for a cyclist. If I had been a tennis player or a basketball or volleyball player, my career would have been over .'

The Belgian champion admitted to having gone through moments of deep crisis : ' The injuries were very serious, in the shoulder all the ligaments were destroyed. It was difficult to accept, especially because it is the second injury in six months to the same shoulder .'

Objective Pogačar

Despite the difficulties, Evenepoel says he is ready to challenge Tadej Pogačar in the Ardennes classics, with the first showdown scheduled for Sunday at the Amstel Gold Race. ' If I didn't believe I could beat him, I wouldn't be at the start. I have to try to beat him, even if it's very difficult. When I see him run I try to learn something, I observe his typical strategies .'

Looking to the future

' I've made some important progress in the last few weeks and I'm ready to race. I don't know if it will be enough to beat Pogačar or Pidcock who are in top form, we'll see after Sunday. I'm just happy to be back racing. I'll use the next races to grow in view of the big goals: the Tour de France and the World Championships at the end of the year .'