Egan Bernal, the most important Colombian cyclist of the moment, the only one in the country who has been able to win the Tour de France, suffered a serious accident this Monday while training on the roads of Cundinamarca.
(You may be interested: Egan Bernal: these are the multiple injuries, after the accident).
The Ineos team rider collided with a bus, which stopped to drop off a passenger, and suffered a blow that left him with significant injuries to his body and that, quite possibly, will prevent him from competing in the Tour, in the absence of the official medical report.
EL TIEMPO confirmed that the runner has a diaphyseal fracture of the right femur and patella, an injury that occurred in the middle of the bone; He was operated on and an intramedullary nail was placed in order to fix the bone.
In addition, due to the strong blow, Egan punctured a lung and presented an air leak, which forced the doctors to treat him for pneumothorax, to stop the bleeding from the chest cavity.
Bernal, champion of the 2019 Tour de France and the 2021 Giro d’Italia, underwent a head CT whose result was “normal, but with mild trauma”, it was confirmed.
(Also read: Egan Bernal: the accident, step by step).
The cyclist presented a fracture of the 5th and 6th thoracic vertebrae, and a non-displaced cervical spine, important injuries when talking about a high-performance athlete.
In the evening, Egan underwent another operation to fix his spine, in order to stabilize the fracture of the T2 to T7 thoracic vertebrae. “5 vertebrae are fixed,” said a source.
EL TIEMPO learned that the athlete responded to electrical stimuli.
Step by step of the accident
A normal day of training turned, from one moment to another, into a difficult moment for Colombian cyclist Egan Bernal, who crashed into the back of the bus.
Bernal adjusted everything for this year, in which his main goal was to win back the Tour de France, a race he won in 2019, but what happened at kilometer 33 and 800 meters of the Bogotá-Tunja road forces him to say goodbye to great part of the season.
The Colombian rider went out to train with the other Ineos teammates, who have been in Colombia since last week.
The group was made up of Brandon Rivera (Colombia), Andrey Amador (Costa Rica), Ríchard Carapaz (Ecuador), Omar Fraile (Spain) and Daniel Martínez. Practice was going very smoothly.
(Also read: Egan Bernal will be operated on for fractures of the thoracic vertebrae).
Bernal was doing work on the time trial bike in search of improving his level, but he found himself face to face with the inter-municipal bus of the Alianza company.
Egan did not notice the moment, he did not realize what was happening and crashed into the car, when the clock showed 10:01 in the morning. He was rushed in an ambulance to the Sabana de Chía Clinic.
The Police reported that the cyclist did not “observe the maneuver made by the bus-type vehicle colliding from the back of it.”
what’s coming
Francisco Camacho, an orthopedic surgeon, stated that although initially the cyclist could support his right leg, his disability could last between three and six months, depending on the evolution.
Now that he has come out of the surgery, which was successful according to the Clínica Universidad de La Sabana, Camacho says that Bernal must be managed in a comprehensive manner with an interdisciplinary program that includes rehabilitation with specific goals to return to his sports activity soon.
Fractures of the femur in young people are usually caused by some kind of very powerful impact. The most common cause of femoral shaft fractures is a motorcycle, car, or bicycle accident.
“Care for the fracture after the accident and good treatment is essential. Physiotherapy during recovery will help regain strength and mobility in the leg,” the doctor said.
The planned schedule
The above indicates that Egan Bernal will miss the start of the season, which was scheduled for the Tour de la Provence, a French race that will be held from February 11 to 14. Ineos had reported that its star runner would be in the squad that will compete in the UAE Tour, the first World Tour competition of the year, the highest category of cycling in the world, from February 20 to 26.
(Also read: Attention: new medical part of Egan Bernal’s health).
Then, Bernal was going to take part in the Paris-Nice, a test that he won in 2019 and that will be held in France from March 6 to 13. The British squad had not confirmed the Colombian’s calendar from then on, but it was known that his main objective was the Tour, in which he would face his two strong rivals, the Slovenians Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic.
Although he is the current champion of the Giro d’Italia, defending the title was not in the plans.
Once the information was known, several athletes sent him messages of support, including Miguel ‘Supermán’ López, Nairo Quintana and Falcao García.
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Lisandro Rengifo
Editor of THE TIME
@LisandroAbel
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