Egan Bernal (25) suffered a serious crash on Monday during training in Colombia. The winner of last year’s Tour of Italy was immediately taken to hospital. Investigations showed that the Colombian climber suffered, among other things, a broken kneecap and thigh.
Jonas Withouck
Today at 21:12
Bernal had a serious accident with a bus. The first information shows that he is not seriously injured,” it first sounded in Colombian media. The Ineos Grenadiers rider was training with his time trial bike in his home country when he crashed into a parked bus. “He was taken to hospital by medical staff and was conscious when he arrived,” his team quickly communicated. “Egan is stable and is now undergoing further investigation.”
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In the end, the damage turned out to be very extensive. “It was a hard blow to his leg,” said Xabier Zandio, sports director of Ineos Grenadiers, at the Colombian Mark. “The canister was made of fiber and not metal.” According to the hospital in Bogota, Bernal broke his kneecap and femur and he has to go under the knife. There is also damage to the neck and thoracic vertebrae. It is not yet clear for how long he will be out of action, although he will have to face a long rehabilitation.
Bernal completed an internship in Colombia with his teammates Richard Carapaz, Dani Martínez, Jonathan Narvaez, Brandon Rivera, Andrey Amador, Omar Fraile and Carlos Rodríguez. The former Tour winner (2019) and winner of last year’s Giro would normally start his season in the Tour of Provence in three weeks. He can already make a cross about that. Next summer, the Colombian climber wanted to take another shot at overall victory in the Tour de France, but that also seems unrealistic at the moment.
© REUTERS
