The dog threatens Evenepoel’s rosy dream

No cyclist who claims the final victory of the general classification of the race like Italy spin I can’t relax even one meter, and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) checked it again this Wednesday during the fifth stage, when the dog made the peloton tremble.

Just over 150 kilometers from the finish line, the peloton marched calmly after forming a breakaway until the dog jumped onto the road. The first units of the large group managed to avoid him by swerving to the right lane of the road, but the dog, unpredictable in its movement, continued to enter the road. The cyclists braked, but one, David Ballerini (Soudal Quick-Step), couldn’t do it in time and made a sharpener using a slider from Jumbo-Visma, against which the dog brushed itself.

The Italian sprinter fell to the ground, sliding several meters on the wet asphalt. On the right side of the road, Remco Evenepoel was trying to keep his balance at low speed when a bottle that had jumped from the fallen cyclist’s bike started rolling down the road, unfortunately the Belgian ran into it and fell, unable to cross quickly enough.

ðŸš´â€ â™‚ï¸ ðŸ‡®ðŸ‡¹ | Oh no, een hond op de weg. In Remco Evenepoel is one of the biggest victims! Hij zit weer op de fiets, maar hoe groot is de schade bij de topfavoriet? 😱😱

📺 Koers kijk is an op discovery+ pic.twitter.com/6BoV0j6ZNv

— Eurosport Nederland (@Eurosport_NL) May 10, 2023

Evenepoel sat on the pavement for more than a minute, and his teammates and team members quickly learned of his condition. The Belgian, who remained calm, continued the march, tested himself and gave a thumbs up to the motorcycle camera to say that he was fine for now. It will be necessary to see what kind of injuries he has and how he lives with them in the next stages, because despite giving up the leading jersey in the fourth stage, he is still the main favorite for the pink outfit. Rome May 28.