The image of the hard fall of Remco Evenepoel after falling down an embankment on the descent of the Muro de Sormano during the Tour of Lombardy shocked the platoon. Despite the shocking images, the young Belgian cyclist suffered a contusion to a lung and a broken pelvis in the fall.
This injury to Evenepoel has once again encouraged the parallels between the young Belgian talent and his compatriot Eddy Merckx, the best cyclist in history, who also suffered a similar injury when he was in one of the best moments of his career.
Eddy Merckx’s accident took place while he was competing in the velodrome in Blois (France) on September 9, 1969. The Belgian was competing in a test after motorcycle with Ferdinand Wambst when he collided with another motorist who went to the ground and both Wambst and Merckx suffered a heavy fall that hit the ground head first. Wambst died from his injuries, while Merckx was unconscious for about an hour from a concussion. However, the injury that would have the most impact throughout his career would be a pelvis fracture, which did not prevent him from competing after his recovery and continuing to add successes to his great record after recovering although he did show a sensation of pain in several races.
From his time as a junior, when he swept the Innsbruck World Cups two years ago, to Evenepoel has been tagged ‘the new Merckx’, although the young cyclist has already made it clear that These comparisons are a compliment, but they also tire you. Evenepoel ya has started his rehabilitation work this Thursday and he has promised that he will come back stronger, just like Eddy Merckx did after his hard fall from Blois.
Porte, Yates and Van der Breggen, other successful comebacks after a pelvic fracture
In addition to the example of Eddy Merckx, Remco Evenepoel also has other corridors like mirrors to look at that have returned to shine after suffering a broken pelvis.
One of the most notorious cases is that of the Australian Richie Porte. The cyclist crashed during the descent of the dangerous Mont du Chat in the 2017 Tour and suffered a pelvic fracture after hitting the ground and bouncing off a stone wall. Porte missed the rest of the season but He returned with new vigor in the 2018 season, where in addition to winning at his fetish peak of Willunga Hill in the Tour Down Under he took the overall position in the Tour of Switzerland that year.
Another example for Evenepoel is Adam Yates, who also suffered a pelvic fracture during the 2018 Volta a Catalunya, and that he put on a bib again for just two months then in the Vuelta a California, where he finished fourth overall, before racing in the Dauphiné, where he won the last stage and was second overall.
The Dutch woman also suffered a pelvic fracture Anna Van der Breggen, who crashed during the team time trial at the Ponferrada World Cups in 2014. Van der Breggen successfully recovered from that fall and began the following season with the 2015 women’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad conquest.
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