Former Tour de France winner Egan Bernal has broken his collarbone during the closing stages of a race in Spain.
Ineos Grenadiers said their 28-year-old rider fractured his clavicle in a crash while competing in the Clasica Jaen-Paraiso Interior, which was won by Poland’s Michal Kwiatkowski.
“I was feeling really strong and obviously I’m sad to have crashed, but at the same time the way I felt during the race gave me a lot of confidence and motivation to keep working hard – the season [ahead] is very long,” Bernal said after being released from hospital.
“I’ve felt very good in the three races that I have done, so I just have to keep working and I hope to be back soon.”
The crash comes 11 days after Bernal won the national individual time-trial championships in his native Colombia, his first event win since a life-threatening crash three years ago.
Bernal, who won Le Tour in 2019, was left fighting for this life following a training crash on a time-trial bike near Colombia’s capital Bogota in January 2022. He needed spinal surgery and other procedures after he sustained back, leg, knee and chest injuries.
Ineos Grenadiers have not put a timeframe on Bernal’s return.