Updated: Egan Bernal breaks leg, prepares to undergo surgery
Medical officials confirm surgery for trauma injuries that will cast doubt on 2022 racing season.
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Egan Bernal will undergo surgery in a Colombian hospital for various fractures following a training crash Monday, medical officials confirmed.
Doctors from the Clínica Universidad de La Sabana said the 25-year-old Colombian will be admitted for surgery after he slammed into a bus stopped on a roadway.
Medical officials said Bernal suffered several injuries, including trauma to his neck, thorax, and leg. An X-ray released to the Colombian media revealed a fractured femur for the 2020 Giro d’Italia winner.
The 2019 Tour de France champion was “conscious upon arrival,” Ineos Grenadiers officials said without revealing more details about what happened.
Colombian media reported that the incident happened in Cundinamarca, and police said Bernal struck a bus that was parked in the roadway. Officials said Bernal was in stable condition, according to media reports.
A close friend of Bernal’s, Hector Palau Saldarriaga, indicated that the 2021 Giro champion suffered a broken femur as a result of the collision.
“In the case of Egan Bernal, he suffered a fractured patella and femur. They are going to admit him to surgery,” he wrote on social media. “Painful news.”
A broken femur and patella, however, would mean months of recovery.
The 25-year-old recently signed a contract extension to stay with Ineos Grenadiers through the 2026 season, and was putting the Tour de France back at the center of his 2022 calendar.
Bernal was training at home in Colombia with several of his Ineos Grenadiers teammates.
rótula y fémur fracturado en caso Egan Bernal,,,,,lo van a ingresar a cirugía en clínica de la sabana, nos confirma fuente cercana al ciclista..dolorosa noticia
— Hector Palau Saldarriaga (@hpalau) January 24, 2022
Colombian radio BluRadio cited a police report, saying that a bus traveling on a roadway from Tunja to Bogotá stopped to let out a passenger, and [Bernal] who was going in the same direction, “did not notice the stop, and struck the back of the bus.”
#ATENCION | 🚴♂️🇨🇴🙏🏻🙏🏻 Egan Bernal acaba de sufrir un fuerte accidente con un bus en la vía a Gachancipá. Las primeras informaciones indican que no está herido de gravedad…
Información en desarrollo…#URGENTE #EganBernal #Ciclismo #Colombia pic.twitter.com/rv9emozUYl
— Mundo Ciclístico (@mundociclistico) January 24, 2022
Here is a team media note:
“INEOS Grenadiers can confirm Egan Bernal has been taken to hospital following a training accident in Colombia this morning.
“Bernal, who is at a team training camp near his hometown, was accompanied to the hospital by team medical staff and was conscious upon arrival. He is stable and undergoing further assessment.”
Also read: Close call for Egan Bernal and teammates in training ride
The incident comes just days after Bernal and a handful of his Ineos Grenadiers teammates missed a close call while training in Colombia. A car crossed the white lines and sped toward the oncoming riders in an incident that was caught on video by a trailing fan.
Reportan accidente de @Eganbernal en Gachancipá esperamos que no sea grave. Fue contra un bus de servicio público. @bielasypedales #bielasypedales #soyciclista #soyvida #respetamivía #respetamivida pic.twitter.com/TnH2sGwhcf
— Bielasypedales (@bielasypedales) January 24, 2022
Bernal’s teammates quickly responded with sympathy and well-wishes.
Es horrible leer de la caida de Egan. Todo equipo @INEOSGrenadiers y el deporte esperanzas noticias buenas. Otra recuerda de el peligrosos de los caminos.
We are all hoping you are ok @Eganbernal. So scary to read this news. A sad reminder how dangerous our training can be.
— Tao Geoghegan Hart (@taogeoghegan) January 24, 2022