Updated: June 29, 2009, 11:17 AM ET
Alphand has surgery following accident
GRENOBLE, France -- Former French ski champion Luc Alphand has undergone spinal surgery following a weekend accident in a motorcycle race.
Alphand's managers, GPS Performance, said Monday that Alphand damaged his spinal column and was operated on in the southern French city of Clermont-Ferrand.
He was flown by helicopter to a hospital after the accident Sunday during the Rand'Auvergne all-terrain motorcycle race.
Alphand was a World Cup downhill champion for three consecutive years starting in 1995 before turning to auto racing. He won the Dakar Rally in 2006.
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
