Cycling: after his serious accident, Bernal is "conscious, with mobility in his four limbs"

An accident even before his first race compromises the season of Egan Bernal, the Colombian climber of the Ineos team, who intended to return to the Tour de France next summer to win it, three years after his first success.

An impact in training on Monday against the back of a bus which had stopped suddenly changed the year of the only Colombian winner of the Tour.

In his country, he had to be operated on for several fractures.

Several vertebrae were affected, as well as the right femur and the patella;

injuries severe enough to pose a question mark over his next few months.

Bernal "is conscious, with mobility in all four of his limbs" and shows signs of "a new advance in his postoperative evolution", said the Universidad de la Sabana clinic, where the cyclist was taken by ambulance.

In the afternoon, he was removed from intubation "without any complications" and he showed "an excellent response to treatment", the clinic added in its latest statement.

“Neurological integrity maintained”

"After the intervention on six vertebrae, the neurological integrity was maintained and the functionality of the segments concerned was preserved," the Colombian doctors had previously announced, stating that his mobility and nervous system were not affected.

His team, Ineos, for its part let it be known on Twitter on Tuesday that the cyclist “remains in intensive care but in stable condition after undergoing two successful operations” to “fix his right leg and stabilize his fractured vertebra” .

“We remain focused on ensuring that Egan receives the best care possible as he begins the journey of his recovery,” adds Ineos.

How will Bernal recover from this stop two weeks before his resumption of competition, which was scheduled for February 10 at the Tour de La Provence?

The nature of his injuries is still cause for concern.

For his second season at the highest level, he won the Tour de France in 2019, a feat that no rider from his country had accomplished before him, no more the illustrious Lucho Herrera in the 1980s than Nairo Quintana, 2nd in 2013 and 2015.

This year, the British formation was determined to build its team for the Tour around him, surrounding him with top-level riders and climbers.

With the conviction that Bernal, highly respected by his opponents, remains a first-rate rider, his first asset despite the qualities of other members of his squad who have already made the podium in grand tours (Richard Carapaz, Geraint Thomas, Tao Geoghegan Hart , Richie Porte).