Ambulances that have become the guardian angels of the Étoile de Bessèges

Eloïne Navarro, troisième génération de la famille, sera présente sur l'Etoile de Bessèges Midi Libre – Romain Fiore

28 ans après, les ambulances Navarro continuent de faire l'assistance médicale de l'Étoile de Bessèges à titre bénévole. 

It all started between the Navarro ambulances and the Étoile de Bessèges in 1996. Robert Navarro, manager of the Alesian company, friend of the Peyreron ambulances in Bessèges, had been questioned about the possibility to resume the service of the latter on the race, after the sale of the Bessege company. « I agreed to come but for free», proclaims the dean of the company. Twenty-eight years later, the Alès company continues to provide support and medical support to the cycling event.

In addition to the partnership with Étoile de Bessèges, the company regularly provides more than 200 blouses to the organization's volunteers. « We mobilized, during the five days of the test, two full-time ambulances, three light medical vehicles, three doctors and two nurses. In total, five people from the company are dedicated to this 54th edition. We do it for pure pleasure», smiles Robert Navarro.

Doctors have the last word

The doctors, also volunteers, are regulars at sports races. Associated with the Amaury Sport Organization group, at the helm of the Tour de France, they arrive from the university hospital center of Reims, like Doctor Xavier Schwartz, or from the Foix hospital for Doctor Alain Chansou.

In a sport where injuries and falls are numerous, it is rare to see them take a step without providing assistance. So when it's a hit, the first car with the doctor stops, he takes a look at the seriousness of the injuries and assesses before the second car arrives doctor, before leaving. « During very serious falls, we sort, admits Robert Navarro. Some of them are put on a stretcher, or in an ambulance. But, in the end, the referee is the doctor who makes the decision and chooses whether or not to send the runners back. »

On the occasion of the last stage of the race which will be an individual time trial in the streets of Alès, the ambulance team will be placed in three strategic locations: at the start runners, on Place Henri-Barbusse, in the middle of the race, towards the Pont-Vieux, and at the finish, at the top of the Ermitage.

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