Egan Bernal sustained injuries after being involved in a late-race crash at Clásica Jaén Paraíso Interior on Monday. The Colombian Champion and former Tour de France winner was forced to abandon the race and taken to a nearby hospital to assess and treat his injuries.
Bernal was part of a 10-rider chase group behind his solo teammate Michal Kwiatkowski when he crashed with 12km to go in the 169km race in Úbeda, Spain. Also in the chase group were his teammates Connor Swift and Ben Turner, who dropped back to support him after the crash.
Ineos Grenadiers released a statement on social media:
"Our team doctor is currently with him and an update will be provided in due course"
It has been reported that he has been taken to hospital to treat a possible fractured collarbone.
Bernal had shown a return to form in early 2025 after he secured double wins in the road race and time trial at the Colombian Championships on February 6 and 9, Bucaramanga. They were his first victories since suffering a life-threatening accident in 2022.
Bernal had considered giving up his professional cycling career following the accident in which he rode head-first into a stopped city bus while training on his time trial bike. However, he has slowly worked his way back into race fitness over the past two seasons.
Bernal won the Tour de France in 2019 and the Giro d'Italia in 2021. Last year, he secured third overall at the Volta a Catalunya, fourth at the Tour de Suisse, fifth at Tour Colombia, seventh at Paris-Nice, and tenth at the Tour de Romandie, showing signs of his previous form.
Clásica Jaén was Bernal's first European race of the season with Ineos Grenadiers and he was also expected to race at Vuelta Ciclista Andalucía-Ruta del Sol, Strade Bianche and Tirreno-Adriatico.
The extent of Bernal's injuries, recovery time or return to competition are not yet known.
No comments:
Post a Comment