Deceuninck-QuickStep's Remco Evenpoel has been told by doctors that he can begin training on his bike indoors once more, with his comeback from the fractured pelvis sustained in a crash at Il Lombardia last month now beginning in earnest.
The 20-year-old underwent some new scans at the hospital in Herentals, Belgium, on Friday, and has been told by doctors that he can begin riding on a home trainer while continuing rehabilitation exercises with a physiotherapist, his team reported on Saturday.
"I'm doing well," Evenepoel said in a press release. "I'm almost completely pain-free and I'm a lot more mobile. I can put my crutches to one side now, and I'm happy to be able to start working in a more targeted manner.
"My recovery process has been going well in recent weeks," the Belgian continued. "Initially, I found it hard to go from everything to nothing in terms of movement. But after a necessary period of rest, I've become more and more mobile recently."
Evenepoel crashed into a ravine after misjudging a corner on the descent of the Muro di Sormano at Il Lombardia on August 15. He had been one of the favourites for next weekend's Giro d'Italia, which would have been his first Grand Tour, but Evenepoel is only set to return to competition for the 2021 season.
"In the coming weeks, on weekdays, I'll spend several hours at the physiotherapist's doing exercises for pelvic stability and flexibility, which I'll combine with training on my bike on the rollers," Evenepoel explained. "If everything goes well and the weather is fine, I can then go outside for a bike ride.
"You could say that the real recovery has now begun for me, working towards properly exercising again," he said. "The next goal is now to complete a proper training session on the rollers and then to ride outdoors. We’ll then see how that works out.
"I'm definitely not going out in the rain and taking the unnecessary risk of slipping. As soon as the weather improves, I'll definitely enjoy a nice training ride in the open air."
