Victor Lafay, 26, Retires from Tour de France Stage After 'Mysterious' Sickness - READ DES
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"I'm having a very hard time breathing. I feel like I don't have enough oxygen, pain everywhere..."
Reporter: It wasn't possible to continue?
Victor Lafay: I hung on and kept going like I do every day, and the mountain stages were always "easier" for me to get to the end because once it gets hard and you're on it, you just make an effort and go until the end. But today, I just couldn't follow [the peloton] and found myself all alone, and going up on a mountain alone is impossible.
And it wasn't just Lafay; another rider complained of similar symptoms.
Reporter: Are you sick or injured? Do you have any explanations for this unusual situation? You've done very well in previous races; how do you explain that?
Lafay: Yea, I'm sick. I'm not the only one in the peloton; I was talking to Castro [another rider] at the beginning, and he told me he was feeling the same. He came to speak to me and asked, 'are you sick? Can't you breathe either?', and I said 'no.', and he told me 'me too' and I've been feeling like this since stage 6. I'm having a very hard time breathing. I feel like I don't have enough oxygen, pain everywhere, legs, etc., no strength, and it's only getting worse after each stage. I thought there would be a moment it would get better, but it hasn't happened. Then today, I just tried to hang on as much as possible, but I think there's nothing to do.
Reporter: Have you had covid before? Maybe it could be that [he's suggesting long covid]? How do you explain that?
Lafay: All covid tests came negative, they were antigenic though, not PCR, but there are tones of people in the peloton that are all feeling the same, all negative as well. Maybe it could be something else! But I don't know. I'm not a doctor, I don't know anything, but we are many to have the same symptoms and struggle on the bike. It's not cool, and it's a peculiar Tour de France. I hoped for better for my first Tour de France, and I hope I can come back in better shape.
Reporter: Thank you, Victor, have a good recovery.
Thanks to https://t.me/goddek for the transcript
Reporter: It wasn't possible to continue?
Victor Lafay: I hung on and kept going like I do every day, and the mountain stages were always "easier" for me to get to the end because once it gets hard and you're on it, you just make an effort and go until the end. But today, I just couldn't follow [the peloton] and found myself all alone, and going up on a mountain alone is impossible.
And it wasn't just Lafay; another rider complained of similar symptoms.
Reporter: Are you sick or injured? Do you have any explanations for this unusual situation? You've done very well in previous races; how do you explain that?
Lafay: Yea, I'm sick. I'm not the only one in the peloton; I was talking to Castro [another rider] at the beginning, and he told me he was feeling the same. He came to speak to me and asked, 'are you sick? Can't you breathe either?', and I said 'no.', and he told me 'me too' and I've been feeling like this since stage 6. I'm having a very hard time breathing. I feel like I don't have enough oxygen, pain everywhere, legs, etc., no strength, and it's only getting worse after each stage. I thought there would be a moment it would get better, but it hasn't happened. Then today, I just tried to hang on as much as possible, but I think there's nothing to do.
Reporter: Have you had covid before? Maybe it could be that [he's suggesting long covid]? How do you explain that?
Lafay: All covid tests came negative, they were antigenic though, not PCR, but there are tones of people in the peloton that are all feeling the same, all negative as well. Maybe it could be something else! But I don't know. I'm not a doctor, I don't know anything, but we are many to have the same symptoms and struggle on the bike. It's not cool, and it's a peculiar Tour de France. I hoped for better for my first Tour de France, and I hope I can come back in better shape.
Reporter: Thank you, Victor, have a good recovery.
Thanks to https://t.me/goddek for the transcript