Sunday’s fall, in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, made an impression. More in France than in Belgium, moreover, since the three main protagonists of this fall come from France. First there is Jérémy Cabot, the first to fall, who will have to have collarbone surgery and who stepped up to the plate on Monday to defend himself from having been reckless following his name was cited by Romain Bardet, who then assured that he did not want to accuse anyone.
Then there is Julian Alaphilippe, the main victim of this fall. The world champion suffers from a pneumothorax, a fractured shoulder blade and two broken ribs. This medical report has not changed since Sunday evening despite additional examinations passed on Monday, according to explanations from his cousin and trainer Franck Alaphilippe provided to L’Equipe. “We talked to each other in video. He is still in pain but he was not defeated. He released one or two nonsense as usual. From what I saw talking to him, this episode will make him stronger, more determined. We can’t give a recovery date yet, but I’m optimistic for the future.”
Finally, there is Romain Bardet, the runner most affected… morally by what he saw. And the one who rescued Alaphilippe … before sharing with the media all his dismay at the scene he witnessed. This Tuesday, he returns to L’Equipe on this episode that marked him. According to him, some unspoken rules have disappeared in the peloton. “A few years ago, you never came to take the place of a guy when he was taken by his team. It was a gentleman agreement. Now everyone is sneaking in, some are ready to do anything to pass.” Another explanation for this nervousness in the peloton, according to Bardet: the disc brakes. “With them, you can brake at the last moment. Except that human reaction time has not kept pace with technological evolution.”
“I felt like he was going to stay there, all alone, forever”
The leader of DSM was so shocked by this fall that he explains that he had a black hole of a few seconds between the moment of the accident and the moment he joined Alaphilippe in the ditch. To the point of no longer knowing if he himself fell. The state of his compatriot really worried him: “I saw Julian who was really bad. He might barely breathe, was unable to speak. And there, I have a flash that gives me the impression of being the only one to see it, while the race continues without paying attention to it. The motorcycles and the cars leave and I am there, screaming in the void. It is an immense distress, I had the impression that it was going to stay there, all alone, forever” also explains the one who feared that Alaphilippe had “an affected vertebra, paraplegia”.
Julian Alaphilippe took the time to contact Romain Bardet, on the night of Sunday to Monday, when he recovered his phone. With, one imagines, thanks and emotions at the key.