"I was panicking" - Valentin Ferron describes Etoile de Bessèges crash that left him hanging from a bridge

Stage 2 of the Etoile de Bessèges had an unfortunate and bad ending, as a mass crash with just over 20 kilometers to go caused the race to be neutralized. Valentin Ferron was one of the riders involved in the crash and was hanging from a bridge, and he details the experience.

"I still don't really know how it all happened. There wasn't much time to really take in what was going on," Ferron told Cyclingnews. "There was a big crash as we went onto the bridge, and I was obviously caught up, but then riders came in from behind, and somehow I'm bumped out to the right onto the wall of the bridge. I'm not really sure how, but I found myself suspended off the side of it. It was a very odd situation."

The TotalEnergies was riding in the peloton when it reached a narrow section over a small bridge. The road tightening led to a crash, and immediately several riders went down and the road was completely clogged. With no convoy or medical staff following the leading group, the race was stopped.

"I was panicking a bit. It was a pretty worrying situation. Even if I'd fallen, it wasn't that much of a drop, but I could have hurt my ankle or a knee," Ferron, who was left hanging just above the creek said. "I guess I was aware, from looking over my shoulder, that it wasn't much of a drop, but it's difficult to process that at the time, and stay calm."

He was lightly injured, having been helped by Alpecin-Deceuninck's Axel Laurance to emerge from the position. "It's true, it's quite funny seeing myself in all the media. There's been a lot of focus on me, but in the end I've come off pretty well. There were riders who were a lot less fortunate than me with much worse injuries than mine," he details.

"After every crash there are lot of things going on in your head. It's a rush, you're a bit dazed, adrenaline is up, it takes a bit of time to understand where you are, how you are, and find your marks. And that's just on a normal road. All that when you're hanging from a bridge is something else," Ferron concluded.