Egan Bernal abandons Vuelta a San Juan with knee pain

Egan Bernal abandoned the Vuelta a San Juan in the opening kilometres of stage 6 due to a knee injury. The Colombian had been lying fourth overall after a strong display on Friday’s decisive mountain stage to Alto Colorado.

"Egan Bernal has reluctantly withdrawn from the Vuelta a San Juan due to pain in his left knee sustained in the crash he was involved in on stage one of the race," read a statement from Ineos Grenadiers following his unexpected withdrawal.

Cyclingnews understands that Bernal’s knee pain flared up following his fourth-place finish atop Alto Colorado on Friday, but he was initially hopeful of making it through stage 6. When the pain recurred during the fast opening to the stage, he opted to withdraw as a precaution. It is unclear if the injury will affect his participation in next week’s Colombian Championships.

Bernal reportedly injured his left knee when he was caught up in a crash in the finale of stage 1. In January of last year, Bernal suffered injuries that included fractures to his right kneecap and femur in a training crash.

That performance on Alto Colorado on Friday was Bernal’s best since that incident, and it had appeared to augur well for his prospects at the Colombian national championships next week. Bernal climbed off 18km into Satuday's penultimate stage.

“The numbers were there when I was training at home, but it’s one thing to do it in training and another to do it in a race,” Bernal had told reporters at the finish of stage 5, where was fourth, 40 seconds behind winner Miguel Ángel López (Medellín-EPM). “That gives me a lot of morale and confidence, as well as the motivation to want more.”