BARDET’S STATEMENT AFTER HELPING INJURED ALAPHILIPPE, ‘ANYONE WOULD DO THE SAME’.
Julian Alaphilippe is in hospital after he suffered two broken ribs, a fractured shoulder blade and a collapsed lung in a huge Liege-Bastogne-Liege crash. French compatriot Romain Bardet was widely praised for his actions, opting to check on Alaphilippe as opposed to carrying on with the race, and the Team DSM has since addressed the incident in a Twitter statement.
Romain Bardet stressed any cyclist in his position would have done the same after the Frenchman was widely praised for sacrificing his own Liege-Bastogne-Liege chances to help the injured Julian Alaphilippe.
A huge crash on Sunday saw Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) among the injured riders, suffering two broken ribs, a fractured shoulder blade and a collapsed lung after hitting a tree and ending up in a ditch.
Alaphilippe remained in hospital overnight for further checks, and reflecting on the incident, Bardet (Team DSM) said he was “touched” by messages he received after he was seen heading down the steep verge to check on his compatriot.
“Still struggling to put words to yesterday’s events, the distress of these faces and these bruised bodies following this fall,” Bardet, the recent Tour of the Alps winner, said in a statement.
“I think of Julian, but also of all these guys heavily affected who had to see their lives slip by, when at more than 70km/h the whistle of the peloton gave way to the chaos, to the sound of exploding equipment and human cries that arise.
“I am very touched by your messages, but I honestly think that anyone in this situation absolutely would have done the same – there is no competition in the face of the danger of physical integrity.”
Speaking at the finish, an emotional Bardet told VeloNews: “It was just a nightmare.
“When I looked around I saw Julian maybe five or six meters down, and it was an emotional shock because he was in a bad situation. No one was coming and he really needed help. It was an emergency situation. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t breathe.
“He felt conscious but he couldn’t really talk. I really hope that he’s OK. The mechanic came, then the doctor. The road was completely blocked.
“A lot of guys were involved in a very bad situation. No one saw him, you couldn’t really see him from the road. It was a really bad situation. After that, I was in shock. The race was gone. I was lucky to escape with no injuries.”
Alaphilippe’s co-leader Remco Evenepoel secured victory after a brilliant attack and 29km time trial.
Alaphilippe was conscious when he went to hospital, while team-mate Ilan Van Wilder was also injured, breaking his jaw in the same incident.
“During the incident, Ilan has unfortunately suffered a broken jaw, in a crash that saw a mass pile-up in the middle of the peloton, 62 kilometres from the finish,” read a statement from Quick-Step.
“In the same incident, world champion Julian Alaphilippe suffered two broken ribs, a broken scapula and a hemopneumothorax [collapsed lung with complications]. His condition his stable, but will need to be hospitalised for observation.
“Both will travel by ambulance to Herentals [in Antwerp, Belgium] for further examination and treatment.”
