Bogotá (AP) – In a dramatic tweet, former Tour de France winner Egan Bernal made his debut after his serious training accident in his native Colombia and several operations.
“After having a 95 percent chance of becoming a quadriplegic and nearly losing my life doing what I love most, today I want to thank God, the clinic, all of their specialists who made the impossible possible , my family and all of you,” Bernal wrote on Twitter. In a publication on Instagram, Bernal’s first photo from the clinic with a neck brace and tubes was also visible.
He is to be operated on again, as can be seen from the seventh notification from the La Sabana University Hospital near Bogotá on January 27: “The patient is currently in a phase of recovery or tertiary trauma,” it said in the message that had already pointed out the critical situation. “For this reason he will undergo two surgeries tomorrow, which are secondary procedures and are not life-threatening.” This is the surgical treatment of a fracture of the metacarpal bone of the right hand and fractures in the tooth and jaw area.
According to media reports, 25-year-old Bernal crashed into a stationary bus on his time trial bike on January 24th. 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.