Ineos Grenadiers have suffered a huge blow on the eve of the season with 2019 Tour de France winner Egan Bernal reportedly suffering a broken femur and kneecap after colliding with a bus on a training ride in his native Colombia.
Bernal, 25, has had terrible luck with injuries since becoming the Tour’s youngest winner for 110 years back in 2019. He was forced to abandon the defence of his maillot jaune the following season with a back injury which was later diagnosed as the spinal condition scoliosis.
He came back to win last year’s Giro d’Italia and the cycling world was looking forward to seeing whether a fully-fit Bernal could challenge Slovenian Tadej Pogacar at this year’s Tour. Pogacar, who is even younger than Bernal at 23, has won the last two Tours, with the UAE Team Emirates rider utterly dominant last year.
Bernal’s participation this summer is almost certainly over after local reports on Monday that he was injured in a collision with a public transport bus in Gachancipá, Cundinamarca.
Ineos Grenadiers have not confirmed the nature of the injuries but Colombian and Spanish media, such as Marca, were reporting that Bernal had fractured his femur and possibly his kneecap.
A photo shared on social media showed Bernal on his back on the ground behind a bus with a heavily-dented rear bumper and panel.
A team spokesperson said the rider was “stable” and “undergoing further assessment”.
“The INEOS Grenadiers can confirm Egan Bernal has been taken to hospital following a training accident in Colombia this morning,” said the spokesperson. “Bernal, who is at a Team training camp near his hometown, was accompanied to hospital by Team medical staff and was conscious upon arrival. He is stable and undergoing further assessment. The Team will provide an update on Egan’s condition in due course.”