A day later, the scene still remains in many minds. The day after the terrible fall of Julian Alaphilippe and many other runners in Liège-Bastogne-Liège this Sunday, Romain Bardet returned in a tweet to his attitude – he stopped to help the runners on the ground – but also to the dangers inherent in his profession and the “responsibility” of each cyclist in the peloton.
“I am very touched by your messages, but I honestly think that anyone in this situation would absolutely have done the same – there is no competition in the face of the risk of physical integrity”, first commented the DSM team rider widely praised for his behavior after the accident. Yesterday, he appeared shocked after the race by recounting the scene he had just experienced. In his post, the cyclist added: “Beyond the direct consequences, it leads me to reflect on our common responsibilities to avoid this kind of accident which could have been tragic, to the respect that we must grant each other as runners” .
The recent winner of the Tour of the Alps then described the scene he experienced and sounded the alarm on these situations which can be reproduced within a peloton. “I saw it all, I was just behind Tom Pidcock and Jérémy Cabot when they collided. The responsibility we have when we take risks to get a place at the front of the peloton can have serious consequences for the 100 guys behind us. I don’t blame anyone, let alone hold the truth. Simply, we give ourselves body and soul for a sport, a passion for running which can in a flash turn tragic and hinder the beauty of the sport”.
The reigning double world champion Julian Alaphilippe was quickly taken to hospital. He suffers from two broken ribs, a fractured shoulder blade and a pneumothorax. After the retirement of more than fifty riders, including Tom Pidcock and Jérémy Cabot, the Belgian Remco Evenepoel won alone, ahead of two other Belgian riders, Quinten Hermans and Wout Van Aert.