Romain Bardet reports Liège-Bastogne-Liège crash: “It was just a nightmare"

Romain Bardet saw his tilt at Liège-Bastogne-Liège ended by a mass crash just before the decisive section of the race, but had his race marked mainly as the cameras caught him supporting World champion Julian Alaphilippe after the two were affected by the accident.

Bardet told VeloNews after the race: “It was just a nightmare. Tom Pidcock and a rider from DirectEnergies crashed in front of me on the right, and I crashed on the right too, but I was really OK. 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... It reminded me of the crash at the Tour when William Bonnet was involved. That was similar with so many guys involved. It was a bad situation," he said. The Team DSM rider referred to the 2015 Tour de France on the third day, which saw the race neutralized.

Bardet stayed in the race despite the support he gave Alaphilippe, however he abandoned after as he was too far away from the peloton and out of contention for the race.

“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." After his win at the Tour of the Alps earlier this week it won't come as much of an issue, as the Frenchman is now eyeing the Giro d'Italia.