Jan Ullrich is a former Tour de France winner back in the 90’s and at the time Germany was at the top of the sport with Erik Zabel also coming around to be one of the best sprinters in the world. Ullrich and Erik’s son Rick, former pro, have talked about Remco Evenepoel following his withdrawal from the Tour de France and share a concern over the Olympic Champion.
Evenepoel had a bad crash back in December on a training rider, colliding with a postal van when it opened it’s door in front of the Belgian, who suffered multiple injuries in the shoulders, wrists and ribs. It kept him off the bike completely for an entire month, and only in early February did he start training again on the road.
Whilst in the spring the lack of training didn’t feel too costy, now at the Tour de France the lack of that large base, necessary for riders to be consistent over races such as the Tour de France which consists of a constant three weeks of efforts, might have been the reason for his back-to-back-to-back bad days, ultimately resulting ibn him leaving the race at the Col du Tourmalet when he couldn’t follow the modestly-paced peloton anymore.
“Remco has to learn to deal with it. Even when things aren’t going well, people are following him. Remco needs mental help,” the former Tour winner said in the Ulle & Rick podcast. “His base wasn’t sufficient. He’s simply missing thousands of kilometers of training. His foundation wasn’t strong enough, and then you can suddenly collapse completely as a rider.”
Rick Zabel however is not quick to join the veteran’s opinion. “We shouldn’t forget that Remco is a superstar in Belgium. The whole country assumes he’ll win the Tour de France one day. Remco is the golden boy and always races with pressure.” In Belgium there is a big amount of commentary on the 25-year old also puts on the pressure, which might have affected him during the two weeks in which he contested for the overall classification.
“It happens sometimes that you suddenly fall from top form into a black hole. It’s truly awful, especially if you’re new to this. Your legs simply don’t cooperate anymore; you’re completely drained. It feels like you’re not in your own body. That’s a truly awful feeling,”