Romain Bardet (Team DSM) was presented with an award by the International Committee for Fair Play for sacrificing his result in Liège-Bastogne-Liège to give aid to World Champion Julian Alaphilippe, who had crashed down an embankment out of view of team staff and medics.
The president of the CIFP, Hungarian fencer Dr. Jenö Kamuti, presented the certificate for a "Special Fair Play Act Diploma" to Bardet on the opening stage of the Grande Partenza of the Giro d'Italia in Budapest on Friday.
Bardet was caught up in the mass-crash that took place on a fast descent during the closing kilometres of Liège-Bastogne-Liège and saw that his compatriot Alaphilippe was off the road, having crashed into a tree.
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The QuickStep-AlphaVinyl rider had trouble breathing because he had suffered broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a broken shoulder blade in the fall.
"I was very scared for Julian," Bardet said on the French radio station RMC after the race. "I fell on the same side and I saw him three metres below me. He told me: 'I can't move, I can't move.' No one was coming.
"These are really scenes you don't want in cycling. I tried to call people, the cars were blocked, it took forever. It was only 4-5 minutes, but it was a really shocking scene. You don't ride a bike to see guys on the ground like that."
He later added, "I am very moved by all the reports, but I actually think anyone in that situation would have done the same – there is no rivalry when there is the danger of injury."
The CIFP was formed in 1963 after the death of Danish cyclist, Knud Jensen, who perished during the 1960 Olympic Games after becoming dizzy, crashing and fracturing his skull. The Danish team trainer admitted to giving the rider a performance enhancing drug that may have contributed to his death.
