Cylcing Bernal suffers broken collarbone in Clasica Jaen crash

MADRID – Former Tour de France winner Egan Bernal took his latest injury setback in his stride on Feb 17, after breaking a collarbone in a fall that followed swiftly on the heels of a return to form.

After winning the Colombian road race and time trial titles earlier in February, he was caught in a mass 10-rider crash at the Clasica Jaen late in the race on Feb 17, won by his Ineos teammate Michal Kwiatkowski.

Bernal won the Tour de France in 2019 and the Giro d’Italia in 2021 before a brush with death in a training crash in Colombia in 2022 almost ended his career.

The 28-year-old specialist climber had not won a single race since his high-speed collision with a bus until the two national titles – so this latest crash could again put him back to square one.

“I was feeling really strong and obviously I’m sad to have crashed, but at the same time the way I felt during the race gave me a lot of confidence and motivation to keep working hard, the season (ahead) is very long,” he said after his release from hospital.

“I’ve felt very good in the three races that I have done, so I just have to keep working and I hope to be back soon.”

Ineos, meanwhile, wrote on its social media account with an update on its rider.

“Following a thorough assessment at the hospital this evening after his crash at Clasica Jaen, Egan has been diagnosed with a fractured clavicle,” it said.

“He will remain under the expert care of our medical team, and a comprehensive recovery plan will be implemented to support his return to training and racing.”

Bernal had been targeting an Italian campaign at the one-day Strade Bianche and the Tirreno-Adriatico stage