Remco Evenepoel says helmet ‘saved his life’ after final kilometre crash at Tour of Norway
The young Belgian shared a picture of the damage after the opening stage
Remco Evenepoel says his helmet “saved his life” after he was caught in a high-speed pile up at the Tour of Norway.
The Belgian was caught in the crash during the closing 500 metres of the opening stage, hitting the ground with several other riders.
Deceuninck – Quick-Step rider Evenepoel was able to re-mount his bike and finish the stage, the team later confirming he hadn’t suffered any serious injuries.
In Twitter post, the 19-year-old said: “This Specialized helmet saved my life today.
“Again proof to wear a helmet on every ride.”
A picture of the helmet shows major scrapes and damage to the top and front of the helmet.
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The stage was won by Sunweb’s Cees Bol, while Quick-Step’s sprinter Álvaro Hodeg missed out on the dash for the line after being boxed in.
Colombian Hodeg said: “ It was cold out there, but the team did a great job, pulling behind the escapees and reeling them in inside the last 10km.
“With just two kilometres to go, Davide and Yves brought me in a perfect position and I safely navigated the finishing straight, but just as I was about to open my sprint, a rider closed me and I couldn’t go.
“That’s cycling, sometimes it smiles on you, sometimes it doesn’t. All we can do is try again tomorrow.”
Quick-Step said Evenepoel would be monitored by medical staff overnight and on the morning ahead of stage two.
>>> Bauke Mollema complains about motorbikes riding too close to peloton at Giro d’Italia
Evenepoel’s WorldTour career got off to a painful start when he crashed out of the UAE Tour earlier this year.
He then took to social media to criticise race motorbikes, saying riders should have “more respect for the peloton.”
The revelation is still waiting for his maiden victory, having finished third in the individual time trial at the Vuelta a San Juan and finishing fourth on the queen stage of the Tour of Turkey.
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Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers. Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.
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