The cyclist Remco Evenepoel says that after his accident last December he had considered ending his career as a professional cyclist. However, the double Olympic gold medalist added that his faith helped him through what was a very trying time. Remco Evenepoel is a convert to Islam. The comments he made first on social media and later during an online press conference ahead of the Brabantse Pijl race earlier this week were the first he has ever made in public about his Islamic faith.
Faith helped Olympic Cycling Champion Remco Evenepoel through recent period of injury
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Remco Evenepoel said “During the past year I have got to know it more and more. It is something that Oumi (his wife) and I share. We are very proud of it. For me it is a bolthole to get through life. It is something beautiful.”
The 25-year-old cyclist from Schepdaal, near Dilbeek in Flemish Brabant spoke about his recovery from injuries he sustained when he crashed into the door of a post office van while he was out training in the Pajottenland area of Flemish Brabant last December.
“It was the toughest battle of my life so far. It was not the first crash that I had been involved in. The fact that this time it didn’t happen during a race didn’t make it easier. Everyone started training, but I had to wait 6 weeks and wasn’t able to do anything at all. That was difficult to accept. The weather was bad and I had to say inside for days on end. This was different than during previous periods of injury.”
“It was a combination of everything. The injuries were pretty bad in themselves, but then an additional problem emerged with a nerve and this affected my shoulder. That was hard to accept. Yes, I really thought about quitting. What I wrote in that post on social media was not a lie”.