We were expecting Mattias Skjelmose at the forefront of this Walloon Arrow. But the leader of the Lidl-Trek, second last year behind Tadej Pogacar, suffered like many runners the cataclysmic weather conditions of this Wednesday afternoon. Rain, sometimes even sleet and freezing cold forced nearly three-quarters of the peloton to abandon. Of the 175 runners starting in sunny Charleroi, only 44 crossed the finish line at the top of the Mur de Huy.
64 km from the finish, when approaching the second ascent of the wall, the 23-year-old runner appeared in great difficulty under his black jacket. Victim of hypothermia, he retired a few moments later, just like his teammates Andrea Bagioli, Sam Oomen and Frenchman Julien Bernard. On the side of the road, a spectator filmed the moment Skjelmose leaves the race. The images are impressive.
We see the rider in spasms, unable to get off his bike alone. Frozen, the Dane cannot even walk and must be carried by a member of staff to be evacuated from the road and brought back to warmth. Since then, the Lidl-Trek has given reassuring news from its runner, who was able to warm up.
Skjelmose was not the only one to give up this Wednesday, far from it. Alexis Vuillermoz (TotalEnergies), who will retire at the end of the season, also suffered. After a nice hot shower, he returned to his hectic afternoon. “Rain mixed with hail and snow hardens the muscles and takes the joints. Especially knees and ankles. You can see when you shower that they are swollen,” explains the man who put his bike down when starting the second lap of the circuit.
Temperatures close to 0 degrees
“There had already been a big skimming at the entrance to the circuit. Almost half of the runners gave up. In any case, on the Flèche, if you are dropped behind the leading group, it is very hard to finish within the time limit,” continues the 35-year-old runner. “We suspected that there would be rain, even storms and that the water would be cold given the temperatures which were only a few degrees. But it fluctuated between 0 and 1°C, which favored snow. »
His compatriot Benoît Cosnefroy, winner of the Brabant Flèche, finished the race in fourth place, but not without difficulty. “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 wanted to manage my climb so as not to regret anything, but here I am at the end. I'm really, really cold. Groupama-FDJ even refueled me at the car because everyone was freezing. These are really not easy races to do,” testified the Decathlon-AG2R runner.
This Sunday, the riders will return to the Walloon roads for the oldest Classic, Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Without the rain and winter temperatures? “It’s a bad start!” They don't predict great weather. But we couldn't be more disappointed than today,” smiles Alexis Vuillermoz.