Former Tour de France winner Egan Bernal has had spinal surgery after a serious training accident in his native Colombia and multiple operations.
“The goals of biomechanical stability of the cervical spine were achieved with excellent clinical results and no complications during the operation,” said the 13th statement from the La Sabana University Hospital near Bogotá. Bernal has been treated there since January 24th.
According to consistent media reports, the 25-year-old crashed into a stationary bus on his time trial bike. His team Ineos-Grenadiers initially only confirmed the accident and that Bernal was responsive and stable in the hospital. As it turned out later, he had suffered a femoral fracture, an open fracture of the kneecap and injuries to the thoracic spine. Bernal underwent multiple surgeries and was scheduled to stay in intensive care for at least three days.
In a dramatic tweet he made his statement on Friday for the first time after the accident. “Having a 95 percent chance of becoming a quadriplegic and nearly losing my life doing what I love most, I want to thank God, the clinic, all of their specialists who accomplished the impossible, my family and all of you,” Bernal wrote on Twitter. A publication on Instagram also featured his first photo from the clinic with a neck brace and tubes.