I messed up a bit with my gears because my fingers were frozen.
Certainly, some, like the Frenchman Vauquelin, 2nd in this Flèche Wallonne, managed these conditions well. “During the sprint, I messed up a bit with my speeds because my fingers were frozenwill say the Arkéa-B&B Hotels runner. We knew what conditions to expect. I was prepared for it to be demanding. I was very cold, like the whole peloton, but I covered myself well from the start.”
Only 44 runners at the finish!
It remains that seeing their smashed faces, most of the 44 fighters who went to the end of the race were almost scary to see. Their features were drawn and their faces bore the marks of suffering. They were gray, as if the cold had had an impact on the pigmentation of their skin. Stephen Williams, the unexpected winnerwas so cold that he had difficulty raising his arms when crossing the line.
”It was so difficult! I just tried to repeat the actions I usually do by eating well and staying covered. In fact, you do your best to warm up, but sometimes you don't succeed.”will launch the Briton.
It was only half an hour later that he found a smile and a certain consistency. He certainly won't be the only one to remember this day for a long time. “It was epicBenoît Cosnefroy (4th) just had the strength to say. The last 80 kilometers I was freezing. I didn't think I would make it. It's been a long time since I've been in this state. I'm really, really cold. It was one of the worst days on a bike, the rain was very cold, with snow at times. A day that I want to quickly forget…”
Those who were there at the time will remember that in 1999, Michele Bartoli won in similar conditions. Maxim Van Gils was not yet born. His excellent result (3rd) reassured him that he rides well in the rain. But that's not why he likes it. “Today we really had to survivehe will even admit at the foot of the podium. At one point it felt like I had ice cubes in my mouth and the cold hurt my legs. Suddenly there was hail and even snow. It was terrible.”
”I’m too cold, I’m going somewhere warm, call me after the shower”, will manage to slip in the young Romain Grégoire, former winner of Liège-Bastogne-Liège hopefuls or the Flèche ardennaise. A few meters from the Frenchman, wild-eyed as his trainer tried to warm him up by giving him dry clothes, Guillaume Martin seemed to mark the occasion. “It was completely crazy, that timesaid the climber from Cofidis. I believe it was one of the hardest editions of the Flèche wallonne in history. I thought my race was going to stop at the first crossing of the Wall, because I wanted to dress warmly. I found myself far away, but I managed to get back into the game, mentally.”
Luca Van Boven had it mentally too. The young Belgian was well in the mix in the strongman group. “I was happy to be there, but, even though I usually resist the cold well, I was really in survival mode with this cold, the storm and even hailstones!”
Johan Meens, his Bingoal WB teammate, suddenly went from hot to cold. From the warmth of the applause of the escape to the cold snap that fell on the survivors. “We knew it was going to rain, but not that it would be so cold,” he whispered. The motorcycle marshals will also remember this day. “For the first time, after a race, I’m not going to have an Orval but a good hot chocolate”commented one of them…
Mattias Skjelmose carried by a mechanic
Mattias Skjelmose went through hell. The Dane had to give up quite early. His muscles paralyzed by the cold, he even had to be carried by a mechanic to a car. This image will fully illustrate the apocalyptic conditions of a Dantesque Walloon Arrow.
