Former Tour de France winner Egan Bernal has regained consciousness after a serious training accident in his native Colombia and multiple surgeries.
“The patient survived the removal of the ventilator without complications,” said the fifth statement from the La Sabana University Hospital near Bogotá. He can move his arms and legs.
“Egan Bernal has already woken up,” wrote the Colombian newspaper “El Tiempo”. In his South American home country, people are not only worried that the cycling star will be able to continue his career, but that he will ever get well again. Even Colombian President Ivan Duque wished him a speedy recovery. Since becoming the first South American to win the tour in 2019, Bernal has been a national hero.
According to media reports, 25-year-old Bernal crashed into a stationary bus on his time trial bike on Monday. 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.