The 2019 Tour de France winner Egan Bernal has revealed he nearly died after crashing into a bus whilst cycling in Colombia last Monday.
Bernal suffered a fractured vertebrae, a fractured right femur, a fractured right patella, chest trauma, a punctured lung and several fractured ribs from the horror crash.
The cyclist was then rushed into intensive care, before undergoing two ‘successful’ operations at Clinica Universidad de La Sabana.
But the procedures are not done there for Bernal, as he is set to go into surgery for a third time to aid his recovery.
The Colombian Tour de France champ took to Twitter to confirm ‘everything would be fine’, however he came close to being paralysed and even losing his life.
Bernal said: “Having had a 95 percent chance of becoming a paraplegic and nearly losing my life doing what I love to do most.
“Today I want to thank God, the Clinica Universidad, all the specialists for doing the impossible.
“I’m still in the ICU waiting for more surgeries but trusting in God everything will be fine.”
Bernal's team Ineos also released a statement regarding his near-fatal crash, thanking the staff of Clinica Universidad de La Sabana, and the members of the public who had offered their well wishes.
The statement reads: “The Team would like to thank the medical staff at Clinica Universidad de La Sabana and everyone who has sent messages of support to Egan.
“All of our focus is on ensuring Egan is given the best possible care as he starts on his road to recovery.”
Bernal is not the only Ineos rider to endure a crash whilst in training, as teammate Brandon Rivera also suffered injuries this week.
Whilst training in Bogota, Riviera crashed just three days after the Colombian, and was subsequently taken to hospital.
Ineos confirmed the crash in a statement on Twitter, writing: “Unfortunately, @_brandon_2103 has crashed while training in Colombia today (Thursday) and has been taken to hospital.
"He's suffered a fractured and dislocated elbow, and has dislocated his AC joint.”
