The 25-year-old collided with a public transport bus in Gachancipá, Cundinamarca and was immediately taken to a hospital near Bogota, with INEOS Grenadiers later confirming he suffered multiple injuries as a result.
A photo circulated on social media showing him lying on the ground with a sizeable dent in the bus portraying the extent of the crash.
Bernal has since undergone emergency surgery on a range of his injuries, a statement issued by the hospital said.
“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.”
Bernal was scheduled to start his season at the Tour of Provence in early February before heading to the UAE Tour a few days after, but will now face a lengthy stint on the sidelines followed by rehab which could put his participation in Grand Tour races in doubt for 2022.
