Egan Bernal facing surgery for multiple injuries from bus collision

Egan Bernal will undergo surgery on Monday after a collision with a bus left him with multiple upper and lower-body injuries.

The 25-year-old was training with his Ineos Grenadiers teammates outside Bogotá, Colombia when the crash occurred on Monday morning and was conscious and stable when he arrived at hospital, according to the team.

The Ineos Grenadiers rider was admitted to the Clinica Universidad de La Sabana where doctors diagnosed traumas to his chest, spine, and lower limbs.

A source has told Cyclingnews that Bernal suffered a bone fracture, with various Colombian media outlets reporting that he has broken his femur and kneecap.

Ineos Grenadiers issued a statement shortly after the incident to confirm that Bernal was in hospital and was in stable condition. Later, the hospital itself issued an update on the state of health of the former Tour de France and Giro d’Italia winner. 

No specific mention of broken bones was made but the medical checks revealed a wide range of injuries that needed to be addressed.  

“The Clinica Universidad de La Sabana can publicly inform that Egan Bernal was admitted to the emergency unit this morning via an ambulance,” read the statement.

“At that moment, he was examined across the board by specialists. In light of the findings, he must undergo surgery in the coming hours due to multiple injuries: vertebral and thoracic trauma, blunt trauma of the thorax, musculoskeletal trauma, and trauma to the lower limbs. For the moment he is haemodynamically stable. We hope for the best in his clinical outcome.”

According to Colombian police, Bernal crashed into the back of the bus, which he did not notice was stopped on side of the road. A photo shared on social media showed him on his back on the ground behind the bus, which was halfway in the travel lane and had a heavily-dented rear bumper and panel.

"Today, Ineos were training with our athlete Egan Bernal, and they came across a bus parked on the verge on the right-hand side. Unfortunately, our cyclist did not see it and collided with it," said colonel Juan Carlos Castro, from the department for transit and transport. 

Bernal was scheduled to start his season at the Tour de la Provence on February 10 and the UAE Tour starting on February 20. He was set to lead Ineos at the Tour de France in July but now faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines, although a fuller injury report will be needed before specific comeback timeframes can be considered.