”After having marked with a fluorescent spray certain holes still present on the road the very morning of this incident, I nevertheless took the trouble to alert the authorities before the passage of the peloton, breathes Jean-Marc Franco, the mayor (Engaged tendency) of the commune of Bertogne which this regional road crosses. A year later, it is regrettable to see that this section is still in a problematic state. Fortunately, it was not planned for the pro race to pass through there this year, but the hopeful and junior variations were, however, to take this place for which I issued my right of veto regarding the authorization of passage. The excellent collaboration that we maintained with the organizers of the Pesant Club Liégeois fortunately allowed us to find an excellent alternative and to adapt the route in good understanding. It was, in view of the context, the best solution but it alone sums up the state of our road network: we find ourselves forced to get around a problem that has become endemic…”
A year later the section where Pogacar fell is still problematic.
Within the peloton, the state of the Walloon roads has become a sort of running gag. “It is sometimes said ironically that our race route resembles a state visit to North Korea, slips the member of the pro race organizing committee. The window is more or less presentable, but you should definitely not go a kilometer further to the left or more to the right of the route…” A repeat comedy that no longer makes anyone laugh. “Our team's program does not include a lot of events in the southern part of our country and that's a good thing, says the mechanic of a Belgian team. Beyond the mechanical damage that the state of the roads causes, it is above all the safety of the runners which sometimes becomes problematic. At the start of the season, one of the brake levers of one of our riders ended up at the bottom of his handlebars after he went through a huge hole. For the same price, his hand unscrews his handlebars and he passes over his bike!”
Axel Merckx's column: “Pogacar is even more favorite for Liège-Bastogne-Liège”
A designed course… to try to avoid holes
From now on, the condition of the roads has become a determining criterion in the development of routes designed to… try to avoid holes. “The state of the road network is one of our real concerns, explains Jean-Michel Monin, the architect of the Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège routes at ASO and sports manager for these two events.. During our reconnaissance carried out, for the first time, very long months before the race, we always choose the best option linking two strategic and sportingly important crossing points. And if none of the solutions satisfy us, then we change our plans. Our decision-making criteria relate to the quality of the surface but also to the presence of certain urban developments which could be dangerous when a peloton passes. On the Flèche Wallonne, for example, I had first imagined an exit from Charleroi via an axis that I know well, but I then switched to another alternative because several cracks created different danger zones at one point in the race. where it often battles to take the breakaway. We certainly sometimes have to deal with certain constraints but I must emphasize that I can almost always connect the key places on a route with a few adaptations. And this, thanks to the remarkable availability and goodwill of many participants.”
While they obviously depend on the budgets allocated to them, the 42 Walloon road districts often bend over backwards to allow the peloton to crisscross the south of the country. “They make do with what they have at hand, as they say, which often means laying a cold tarmac intended to fill in the most important holes, judges the mayor of Bertogne, Jean-Marc Franco. On the route of this 2024 edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, we intervened on nearly 200 potholes and cracks present on a four-kilometer section of the N834, upstream of crossing the village of Longchamps (Editor’s note: kilometer 87.8). It's obviously better than nothing, but it's a plaster on a wooden leg that falls off too quickly in frost. I know that the authorities respond that it is not possible to carry out another type of repair at the end of winter, but as far as I know, there are indeed twelve months and four seasons in the “year which separates two editions of the Doyenne…”
An organizer turned insomniac
If the lack of maintenance is often put forward as the main reason for the deterioration of the Walloon network, the argument is brushed aside within the office of the Minister of Mobility and Infrastructure, Philippe Henry. “It is not possible, in a few years, to return to a normal situation due to the underinvestment of these last legislatures, he indicates. As part of the organization of cycling races, we have now put in place a working methodology which aims to avoid problematic situations like the one encountered last year on Liège-Bastogne-Liège, an important showcase for our territory. The road manager, in this case the SPW Mobilité Infrastructure, grants the green light or not depending on the state of the road to the passage authorization submitted by the organizer. Meetings are subsequently organized with the various stakeholders to identify the interventions that can be carried out. But it seems important to me not to try to reverse the roles. It is indeed the organizer who is responsible for choosing his route…”
A hole 15 centimeters in diameter and 5 centimeters deep can be fatal for a cyclist.
A burden that weighs heavy on the shoulders of some. “I won't hide from you that I was insomniac for almost six weeks, breathes Francis Steifer, the president of the Chevigny cyclo club which pilots the Arden Challenge (U23-Elites event) and the Famenne Ardenne Classic. We experienced a terrible fall on one of our events a few years ago. The quality of the roadway was not directly involved, but I don't want to relive such a nightmare! Having to go visit a 20 year old whose face has been ruined, I wouldn't wish that on any race organizer! We carry out several surveys of the course before the race in order to identify the holes that the SPW services try to fill as best as possible. Every year, I use a good dozen fluorescent bombs, but all it takes is one oversight… And a hole 15 centimeters in diameter and 5 centimeters deep can be fatal for a cyclist. I really want to emphasize the goodwill of the various road authorities, but they need so much more resources!”
Because if since 2017, 400 million euros have now been injected annually into improving the state of Walloon roads, this envelope remains far too meager according to some to make up for a worrying delay. “Before allocating subsidies to the development of slow lanes like the RAVeL, it seems to me that the good condition of the network for daily use should be a priorityconcludes Jean-Marc Franco. I am going beyond the strict framework of organizing cycle races here, but bending a rim of your car because you took a hole on your way to work, I cannot consider that normal. But that’s what I read again in a police report from this Wednesday…”
