2023-04-26 22:46:24
A long straight line bordered by green and hilly fields. A guardrail on the left of the road but above all a huge hole in the middle of the road. There is still no image of the fall of Tadej Pogacar at km 85 of Liège-Bastogne-Liège this Sunday April 23. A fall which caused the abandonment of the double winner (2020, 2021) of the Tour de France and above all cast a veil over his preparation for the next Big Loop (July 1 to 23), the Slovenian having to observe six weeks of convalescence after having had wrist surgery. His UAE Emirates team simply posted a video on Tuesday where we see Pogacar getting into the car after his retirement, his wrist immobile and his suit with holes in several places revealing scratches.
There is no image of the fall but we know where and why the Slovenian fell. Because of a large, deep hole in the middle of the road, a pothole that could have served as a landmark for an eagle. Mikkel Honoré (EF Education), the rider just in front of Pogacar exploded his two tires in this hole and the winner of the Flèche Wallonne just behind him could not avoid the fall. The accident occurred at the exit of the village of Bertogne north of Bastogne in Belgium on the RN 826, a regional road administered by the province of Luxembourg where the village is located. Since the fall of Pogacar which deprived the race of the expected duel with the future winner Remco Evenepoel, the state of the roads in Wallonia has been the target of all criticism. In the flat country, the case makes a little noise.
Before the start, the Bourgmestre (mayor) of Bertogne had however spotted the fatal hole for Pogacar and warned the authorities: “I had asked the SPW (technical services of the region) to fill the hole, explains Jean-Marc Franco to our Belgian colleagues from “l’Avenir”. I reissued my request the Friday before the race. I went to the scene on Sunday morning but nothing had been done. I put a colored band at the place of the hole to warn of the danger. I contacted the police who notified the race marshals. And then I watched the race like many people and I learned of the fall of a Dane and Pogacar. »
The hole already filled
Called into question, the Public Service of Wallonia responds to criticism through the voice of its spokesperson, Sarah Pierre in the columns of “Sud Info”: “When the Tour de France passes through Belgium, special public contracts are awarded to carry out repairs before the event, she said. As it is July, there is time to do the work. Here we are at the end of winter. The coating suffered and the weather was not good in April. »
The services in question have no explanation for the existence of this famous hole, just at this place. “According to the information available to us, the organizer for whom it is the exclusive responsibility had indeed carried out the reconnaissance of the route for the benefit of the teams in competition and the administration of the roads had carried out the necessary repairs, on its network, after the winter period”, replies, still with our Belgian colleagues, the regional minister Philippe Henry through the voice of his spokesperson.
Asked about the state of the road at the place of the fall of Pogacar and the presence of potholes, ASO, the organizer of the race, indicates that he has “nothing special to add”. It seems that since the fall, the pothole has been filled in a hurry. “Sud Info” publishes photos of the hole in question. But the mayor of Bertogne warns: “If there are no works for next year, I will no longer allow the race to cross our town. It’s really too dangerous. What would have happened if there was a drama? »
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