Former French ski champion Luc Alphand has spinal surgery after accident in motorcycle race

Ex-French ski champ Luc Alphand has spinal surgery

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.