Cycling - UCI World Championships 2024 - Men's Elite Road Race - Zurich, Switzerland - September 29, 2024 Belgium's Remco Evenepoel in action with Netherlands' Mathieu van der Poel REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/ File Photo
(Reuters) -Double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel suffered fractures to his rib, shoulder blade and hand, along with a dislocated collarbone and lung contusions, his team Soudal-QuickStep said on Tuesday, following reports of a collision with a vehicle in Belgium.
According to Belgian media reports, the 24-year-old crashed into an open door of a postal vehicle while he was on a training ride in Oetingen.
"Following an incident while training today, Remco Evenepoel was taken to hospital where it was revealed that he has sustained fractures to his rib, right shoulder blade and his right hand," a Soudal-QuickStep statement said.
"Examinations have also revealed contusions on both lungs and a luxation of the clavicle," a later statement said.
"The clavicle will be operated on this evening, which if successful, should allow Remco to leave hospital tomorrow."
Evenepoel, who claimed gold in the men's road race and time trial at the Paris Olympics this year, was conscious after the incident with the impact breaking the Belgian's bike, reports said.
"Remco has pain in his shoulder and his hand. Our doctor is working on it," Soudal-QuickStep's manager Patrick Lefevere told Belgium's state-funded sports website Sporza.
"His bike broke in two in that incident. But it's better to split his bike in two than his arm."
In an update to Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, Evenepoel's father Patrick said: "He has already sent us a message, so we hope everything is okay."
Evenepoel was taken to the Erasmus Hospital in Anderlecht after the incident and was then moved to a hospital in Herentals, where his injuries were assessed further and where the rider will undergo the collarbone operation.
The Belgian will then require a two-week immobilisation period.
(Reporting by Suramya Kaushik in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Trevor Stynes; Editing by Christian Radnedge, Ken Ferris and Toby Davis)
