A normal training day It turned into a nightmare for Egan Bernal, who crashed into the back of an Alianza bus.
The Colombian was working on the time trial bike, but he found himself face to face with the inter-municipal bus, who had stopped to let a passenger off.
It was 10,01am yesterday, on the road from Bogotá to Tunja, in the Cundinamarca region. Egan, who the first images show on the ground, was rushed by ambulance to the Sabana de Chia ClinicThe police who intervened on the scene reported that the rider did not “observe the maneuver performed by the bus-type vehicle and collided with the rear of it”.
Bernal had gone out for train with teammates Ineos Grenadiers, who have been in Colombia since last weekThe group included Brandon Rivera, Andrei Amador, Richard Carapaz, Omar Fraile and Daniel Martinez.
Around the world
News of the accident spread around the world via social media, before the British team itself issued the first bulletin. According to the various bulletins from the clinic, the picture is rather complicated.The rider reported a diaphyseal fracture of the right femur and patella, injury occurred in the middle of the boneHe underwent surgery and had an intramedullary pin placed to fix the bone.
Furthermore, due to the strong blow, Egan He has a punctured lung with air leakage, which forced doctors to treat him for pneumothorax and to stop bleeding from the chest cavity.
As if that were not enough, the winner of the last Giro d'Italia showed a fracture of the fifth and sixth thoracic vertebrae and a non-displaced fracture of the cervical spine, significant injuries when talking about a high-performance athlete.
For this reason, according to the news collected by the newspaper El Tiempo of Bogota, In the evening Egan underwent another spinal repair operation, in order to stabilize the fracture of the thoracic vertebrae from T3 to T8, maintaining intact neurological integrity and preserving the functionality of the involved segments. Following all this, it appears that the athlete responded to electrical stimuli.
Interdisciplinary team
The medical report explains that Egan was taken into surgery by an interdisciplinary team of general surgery, trauma and neurosurgery..
Francisco Camacho, orthopedic surgeon, said that although the cyclist could put his right leg down soon, his disability could last three to six months, depending on the evolution.
After the surgery, Camacho said that Bernal will have to be managed in a global manner with an interdisciplinary program that include rehabilitation with specific goals to quickly return to your sporting activity.
«Post-accident care of the fracture – he said – and good treatment are essential. Physiotherapy during recovery will help regain strength and mobility in your leg».
No program
Egan's program included the debut at the Tour de la Provence, French race which will take place from 11 to 14 February. Then he would have taken part in the UAE Tour, first WorldTour race of the year, from 20th to 26th. From here he would have competed in the Paris-Nice which he won in 2019. The rest of the calendar was to be defined, saw the Tour at the center of the yearoe did not foresee the defense of the pink jersey. Now everything is suspended, like in a bad dream.
«We will wait his progressive evolution over the next 72 hours in Intensive Care – says Juan Guillermo, General Director of the University Clinic – and that it responds to the management that has been established for this high-energy trauma. Likewise, We immediately begin the rehabilitation process to obtain the best possible results with our patientWe join his family in expressing our concern and that of all the Colombian people."
