Upset as Kevin Evans breaks collarbone in Epic crash

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Tuesday, 29 March 2011 05:45

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SA favourites exit Epic

One of the most prolific mountain bikers in the history of the sport in South Africa, Kevin Evans, is out of the race. He and teammate David George were one of the favourite teams to take top honours in this year’s event. Evans’ brakes failed on the second steep descent of the day as he was going down at top speed and he had to pick a landing spot as he couldn’t slow down.

Says Kevin Evans (of team 360LIFE). “After the second long climb of the day in Fisantboskloof, with a very steep descent, I realised my brakes weren’t working. I was going way too fast and realised I needed to pick a landing spot. I crashed really hard and knew I was unlikely to get up. We rode to the nearest marshals and they confirmed that I would not be riding again this week. My collarbone was definitely broken.

Kevin Evans just before his accident in which he broke his collar bone in

Stage 1 of the 2011 Absa Cape Epic

“I can’t tell you how disappointed I feel. Both David and I really looked forward to this year’s race and were in excellent shape. I’m so sorry for Dave and the team, as well as our sponsors. It’s the same collarbone I broke eight years ago. It was plated and screwed, and never bothered to have it removed as it didn’t bother me. I’m on my way to the same specialist I went to then and he’ll then decide whether he’s going to remove everything and start again.”

To the question of his history with the race - having had bad luck last year when his riding partner Alban Lakata broke the front wheel of his bike – Evans simply answers that he will be back. “I’ll be coming back till I get it right. It’s not the amount of times you get knocked down that matter, but the amount of times you get up again.” He will be joining David George and the team again if he is not operated on.