Evenepoel reveals: 'With this injury, I would have had to retire in other sports.'

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 kept him out of racing for seven months, following his last appearance at the Giro di Lombardia.

Neurological damage and doubts about the future

" After a few weeks, we discovered neurological damage that hasn't healed yet. Part of the shoulder muscle isn't working at all right now ," Evenepoel explained. " Fortunately, it's 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 he had gone through moments of deep crisis : " The injuries were very serious, all the ligaments in my shoulder were destroyed. It was difficult to accept, especially since it was the second injury to the same shoulder in six months ."

Objective Pogačar

Despite the difficulties, Evenepoel says he's 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 starting. I have to try to beat him, even if it's very difficult. When I watch him race, I try to learn something from him; I observe his typical strategies ."

Looking to the future

I've made significant 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 few races to grow in view of the big goals: the Tour de France and the World Championships at the end of the year .