Police officers at the main entrance of the 'Clinica Universitaria La Sabana,' where former Tour de France winner Egan Bernal is hospitalized, in Chia, north of Bogota, on Jan. 24.DANIEL MUNOZ/AFP/Getty Images
Former Tour de France champion Egan Bernal remained in intensive care on Tuesday after undergoing what his team described as “two successful surgeries.”
The 2019 Tour champion from Colombia collided with a bus parked on a road outside Bogota on Monday morning while training with his team Ineos Grenadiers.
Bernal was transferred to the University of La Sabana Hospital near the capital. His team said he fractured his right femur, right kneecap, several ribs and a vertebrae and suffered a punctured lung and chest trauma.
“Doctors were able to medically pin his right leg and stabilize the vertebrae fracture in two separate surgeries last night,” Ineos said. “He is now in an intensive care unit where other potential secondary injuries are being managed, as well as his body’s response to the trauma.”
Bernal had trained with several members of his team recently near his hometown of Zipaquira, which is 2,650 meters (8,600 feet) above sea level. Experts say he may not recover in time for the Tour de France in July.
He is a beloved celebrity in Colombia and President Ivan Duque went on social media to wish Bernal a speedy recovery. Local news channels reported extensively on the accident, with some showing pictures of him lying next to his bike below a red bus.
Bernal was victorious in the Tour at the age of 21, becoming one of the youngest riders to win the prestigious race. He also claimed the Giro d’Italia title last year.