A ride with some extra bite
Two-time Junior DH world champ Thibaut Dapréla had an amazing 2021 season, leading the World Cup rankings for most of the series, until crashes at the inal rounds in the USA left him with two DNFs and saw him drop to second place. The 20-year-old Frenchman is a tough rider with serious mental fortitude and a positive mindset – exactly what’s needed to endure something like this...
“I had a pretty scary moment at the French DH Cup in Les Arcs last June, just a week before the second round of the World Cup. Basically, I tried something I didn’t want to. It was a really easy line, but I ended up making a shitty mistake and hit the deck hard. The resulting injuries amounted to a broken nose and a severe tongue laceration, which required a whopping 30 stitches to close up!
“I was in the helicopter afterwards, and it was the first time I ever had to be airlifted away from a crash. Scary is definitely the right word! They told me I might have broken part of my neck, or something equally as serious and potentially life-changing. But, luckily, after having my tongue stitched up, I felt much better. When they said, after the scan, “Oh, it’s OK!” I was just incredibly relieved. Everything was good. Well, not good, but things felt alright, apart from a bit of pain in my knee.
“From the moment I got up and I was walking around,
I knew I was going to pull through – albeit with a really sore tongue – and I wasn’t scared. In fact, I was already in the mood to ride the World Cup. I was too focused on the race and too keen to get back on the bike. Sometimes that helps! Just a week later I was in Les Gets, although I was drinking chicken-and-rice milkshakes because of the state my tongue was in! And then I suffered another big crash [on the first day of training], landing on my head again. Because when you get back on the bike after such a serious injury, it can be hard sometimes, you know?
“It was crazy. I’d put so much energy in during the week in order to be ready and in good shape for the World Cup, and now this. I was so emotional. I walked out of the hospital on the Saturday morning, and that evening I was back at home. Then, on Sunday, the day of the track-walk, I didn’t do any recon at all – I was at home with the doctors preparing myself for race day. I had so much energy during my run, but afterwards I couldn’t even enjoy my win, because I was so completely exhausted. And I was absolutely out of it for a full two weeks after that – just totally knackered.”
“A WEEK LATER WAS LES GET S, ALTHOUGH I WAS DRINKING CHICKENAND-RICE MILKSHAKES BECAUSE OF THE STAT E MY TONGUE WAS IN!”