Colombian Egan Bernal, who is recovering from a serious accident at the end of January, will not run a Grand Tour this season. “The Tour of Spain might be a bit too much. Clearly, I would not be ready to run it, it would be asking a lot of my body, ”replied the winner of the Tour de France 2019 on Saturday to a journalist who probed him about his intentions.
La Vuelta, organized at the end of August at the beginning of September, is the last of the Grand Tours on the calendar of the season after the Giro d’Italia in May and the Tour de France in July. “To participate in this kind of race, you cannot improvise. If you have pain, it shows and then you can’t go all the way. It would be a dream to be able to resume competition this year but I don’t want to give a date, it would be a bit irresponsible,” added the South American, who still uses a cane to walk.
On Saturday morning, the South American runner took part in a virtual mass outing that was taking place through the Zwift platform. This is an initiative set up by his Ineos Grenadiers team and called “Ride with Egan” with the aim of thanking the many fans who have supported Bernal across the world since his accident.
“95% chance of becoming a paraplegic”
The 25-year-old racer hit the road again at his home in Colombia a week ago, two months after the crash that nearly claimed his life. On January 24, he crashed into the back of a bus stopped on a road in Colombia. Victim of multiple fractures, he had undergone five operations on the spine, right leg and right hand. He then said he had a “95% chance of becoming a paraplegic” after “almost losing his life”.
On Wednesday, his compatriot Nairo Quintana was optimistic about Egan Bernal’s recovery capabilities. “It’s amazing because he had more than 20 broken bones and after two months he started cycling on the road again. It’s crazy. If he does that right now, he will go shopping at the end of the season, ”he said during a signing session.
