Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Fast-Step) described Wout van Aert’s season-ending damage on the Vuelta a España as “an enormous loss” for Belgium forward of the UCI Highway World Championships in Zurich later this month.
Van Aert crashed closely on a descent throughout stage 16 of the Spanish Grand Tour and was pressured to desert the race. Visma-Lease a Bike later confirmed that the 29-year-old wouldn’t race once more in 2024.
Though no squad announcement had been made, Van Aert and Evenepoel had been anticipated to compete of their nationwide group package in each the person time trial and the street race in Switzerland.
Talking to Cyclingnews on the Tour of Britain, Evenepoel mentioned: “It’s an enormous loss for us however that’s how biking goes. We’ll need to discover a good one to exchange him, however I feel the nationwide group coach is aware of what to do.
“We may have anticipated [him ending his season] with the form of damage he had. An damage on the knee is all the time fairly tough to cope with, particularly when you have got an damage like he has now. So I feel he’s skilled and sufficiently old to resolve for himself what’s greatest and I feel it’s the suitable determination that he has made now,” the double Olympic Champion added.
It means Evenepoel, who podiumed the Tour de France on his debut this summer time, will head to Zurich for battle in opposition to the likes of Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel with out his regular foil within the bunch for firm.
Nevertheless, the Soudal Fast-Step talisman believes his nationwide group have the energy in depth to negate Van Aert’s loss, explaining: “It’s a fairly demanding course however I feel we [Belgium] have some riders which have stepped up this yr so I feel we’ll have some choices to exchange Wout. After all, it’s troublesome to exchange him however we now have no different possibility.”
Regardless of the eye being on his World Championships ambitions, Evenepoel has been lacking from the sharp finish of the race through the Tour of Britain, describing his week as far as “struggling via.”
Accepting that his exploits over the summer time have taken their toll, he added: “For me, it’s a rebuild after the Olympics and the Tour so I’m simply struggling via, I feel two days in the past was a very good day for me however yesterday with the rain and the unhealthy climate, I felt a bit empty.”
“I’ve executed a month in 40 levels so then coming right here in 10 levels and rain wasn’t actually a pleasure for me so I’m simply struggling via and doing my greatest to assist the group as properly.”
The 24-year-old can even goal so as to add one other Monument to his palmarès earlier than the yr is out, confirming that he’ll finish his season at Il Lombardia on October 12.
“I’ll end my season with the Italian Classics and the Worlds, Il Lombardia will likely be my final one.”
