Tom Evans says the knee and shin injuries he suffered at the Diagonale des Fous are less serious than he first feared, and he hopes to start building up his running again before long.
Evans fell around 70km into the Diagonale des Fous last month, cutting himself near the eye and injuring the top of his shin. The 180km race across Réunion packed in around 10,200m of climbing, and he still had roughly 110km of technical trails to cover when he got back up.
The Briton went on to finish seventh in 26:21:33. He later said he’d wanted to finish out of respect for the race, the people behind it and the island that hosts it.
Rehab and time on the bike
Evans initially said follow-up scans had shown the injury was more complicated than he’d hoped. His latest Instagram update was more encouraging.
“A bit of good news: my knee and shin aren’t as bad as we first feared,” he wrote. “With a little more time away from running, I’m hopeful I’ll be back building up again before long.”
“For now, it’s rehab, plenty of time on the bike, and taking things one step at a time. Follow along as I work my way back – highs, lows and everything in between.”
Evans had already put his cycling to the test in September, finishing an impressive 21st on his Three Peaks Cyclo-Cross debut in the Yorkshire Dales. He’d won the Three Peaks running fell race on his debut in April.
August 2027 and a possible UTMB return
Evans had already ruled out racing again this year, saying his “full focus” was on August 2027. That points towards a return to UTMB, where he won in 2025 after finishing third in 2022.
He had been poised to defend his title this summer before ruling himself out of the 2026 race in August. He said at the time he would still go to Chamonix to support the runners taking on the route around Mont Blanc and was good to his word.
