Double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel said on Monday he had doubted if he would ever be able to recover from injuries sustained in a horror crash in December, while confirming his comeback at this week's Brabantse Pijl race in Flanders.
The 25-year-old Belgian suffered multiple injuries in the accident, including fractures to his rib, shoulder blade and hand, contusions to his lungs, and a dislocation of his right clavicle that left the surrounding ligaments torn.
He crashed into a postal vehicle's open door while he was on a training ride in Oetingen, Belgian media reported.
"After days, weeks, months of waiting and waiting, I can finally look towards my first races. The way to where I am now has been very hard and challenging," Evenepoel, who had surgery on the day of the crash, wrote in a post on Instagram.
"Definitely the hardest battle of my life so far. Mentally and physically, I can honestly say that I have been under the ground and really doubted a lot of my future. Loads of tears and frustration were present in our life."