This video is going viral, and we all must ask: was it because of the jab? According to this article, any athlete who competes in France must comply with the procedure.
Here's the complete translation of the interview. Thanks, Dr. Simon Goddek, for providing 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.
So sorry for your struggles, Victor. We hope for a speedy recovery and pray this 'weird feeling' doesn't last long term. But sadly, this 'sickness' phenomenon has only surged over the past year.
Listen to this stat: there were 1024 collapses and about 780 deaths in young, healthy footballers worldwide in 2021.
The average number of cases of sudden death in athletes each year across the world prior? 29.
We're getting closer to the tipping point, but society needs to wake up instead of throwing its hands up in the air, saying, "I have no idea why this is happening." This is no longer 'mysterious.' We know what's causing this.
Enjoyed this article? Listen to Pierre Kory passionately speak out against the death of the young.
Victor Lafay, 26, Retires from Tour de France Stage After 'Mysterious' Sickness