BRUSSELS (AP) — Double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel will return in the Brabantse Pijl race at home in Belgium on Friday after a serious crash last year.
Evenepoel, who swept golds in the road race and the time trial at last year’s Paris Olympics, sustained multiple fractures, a dislocated collarbone and lung contusions in December when he crashed into a vehicle while training in Belgium.
“I am counting the days until I can race with the guys again for the first time in more than six months,” Evenepoel said in a statement provided by his Soudal Quick-Step team on Tuesday. “I’ve worked hard all these months, I’ve been on a solid training camp in Spain, and I feel good and motivated for Brabantse. I’m not going there with any specific goals, as the most important thing will be to get the race rhythm back after all this time.”
The 25-year-old Evenepoel crashed into the open door of a postal van on Dec. 3. The impact was heavy enough to break the frame of his bicycle.
Evenepoel’s main goal this season is the Tour de France in July. He was third last year at cycling’s biggest race, before going on to become the first cyclist to sweep both road golds at an Olympics.
A two-time world champion, Evenepoel also won the Spanish Vuelta in 2022.
AP cycling: https://apnews.com/hub/cycling
FILE -Remco Evenepoel, of Belgium, celebrates winning the men's road cycling event, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin, File)
BOSTON (AP) — Marat Khusnutdinov and Viktor Arvidsson scored in the first 3:45 of the game, and the Boston Bruins held on to beat the Seattle Kraken 4-2 on Thursday night after raising Zdeno Chara's No. 33 to the rafters.
Mark Kastelic added a short-handed goal in the second period, and Jeremy Swayman stopped 26 shots for Boston, which swept a five-game homestand for the first time since 2019 and won for the seventh time in eight games. David Pastrnak scored an empty-netter with 15 seconds left after the Kraken picked up back-to-back penalties, then pulled the goalie to play five-on-four.
Chandler Stephenson and Eeli Tolvanen scored, and Joey Daccord made 20 saves for the Kraken, who have lost four of their last five games.
The Bruins began the night by honoring Chara, the Hall of Fame defenseman who was the captain of their 2011 Stanley Cup championship team. Hall of Famers Bobby Orr and current Bruins president Cam Neely were among those who took part in the ceremony, which ended with Chara's children raising his number to the TD Garden rafters.
Khusnutdinov took a long pass from Charlie McAvoy, skated in on Daccord and slipped in a backhand to make it 1-0 54 seconds into the game. Less than three minutes later, Arvidsson tried to center the puck to Casey Mittelstadt, but it was deflected into the net by Seattle's Jordan Eberle.
The Kraken called an early timeout, leaving them without one when they might have needed it down two players in the final minute.
After Stephenson made it a one-goal game, Kastelic poked the puck away from Kraken forward Matty Beniers and skated in on Daccord for the short-handed goal that made it 3-1.
The Kraken visit Utah on Saturday.
The Bruins visit Chicago on Saturday.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara speaks during his number retirement ceremony before an NHL hockey game between the Boston Bruins and the Seattle Kraken Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
Boston Bruins' Viktor Arvidsson is congratulated at the bench after scoring against the Seattle Kraken during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman makes a save as defenseman Nikita Zadorov and Seattle Kraken's Frederick Gaudreau look for the rebound during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
Boston Bruins' Mark Kastelic eyes a loose puck as he gets past Seattle Kraken's Matty Beniers during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
Seattle Kraken's Chandler Stephenson deflects the puck past Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman for a goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
