Egan Bernal sustained injuries after being involved in a late-race crash at Clásica Jaén Paraíso Interior on Monday. The Colombian Champion and former Tour de France winner was forced to abandon the race and taken to a nearby hospital to assess and treat his injuries.
Bernal was part of a 10-rider chase group behind his solo teammate Michal Kwiatkowski when he crashed with 12km to go in the 169km race in Úbeda, Spain. Also in the chase group were his teammates Connor Swift and Ben Turner, who dropped back to support him after the crash.
Ineos Grenadiers released a statement on social media:
“Following a crash in the final stages of #ClasicaJaen, @Eganbernal was transported to a local hospital.
“Our team doctor is currently with him and an update will be provided in due course”
It has been reported that he has been taken to hospital to treat a possible fractured collarbone.
Bernal had shown a return to form in early 2025 after he secured double wins in the road race and time trial at the Colombian Championships on February 6 and 9, Bucaramanga. They were his first victories since suffering a life-threatening accident in 2022.
Bernal had considered giving up his professional cycling career following the accident in which he rode head-first into a stopped city bus while training on his time trial bike. However, he has slowly worked his way back into race fitness over the past two seasons.
Bernal won the Tour de France in 2019 and the Giro d’Italia in 2021. Last year, he secured third overall at the Volta a Catalunya, fourth at the Tour de Suisse, fifth at Tour Colombia, seventh at Paris-Nice, and tenth at the Tour de Romandie, showing signs of his previous form.
Clásica Jaén was Bernal’s first European race of the season with Ineos Grenadiers and he was also expected to race at Vuelta Ciclista Andalucía-Ruta del Sol, Strade Bianche and Tirreno-Adriatico.
The extent of Bernal’s injuries, recovery time or return to competition are not yet known.
Bernal had been in bouyant mood at the start of the Clásica Jaén, discussing how happy he was to have won again after 1,347 days in the Colombian National Championships.
“It was stunning to be able to do that again, and even more to do so in a race which I always wanted to win,” Bernal had said. “I’m going to be able to celebrate that all year thanks to the [national champion’s] jersey I can wear now.”
At the Clásica start Bernal had singled out Cristian Alonso, the Ineos team helper who has been an integral part of his support network ever since he joined the team, for special thanks in the long recovery process. He also highlighted the contributions of former team doctor Xabier Artetxe, as well as his family.
The series of searing attacks by Bernal late on in the Clásica Jaén added to the general sense of how good his current condition was, and how, if his teammate Kwiatkowski had begun to flag, late on, Bernal could have tried for a third victory in 2024. However, his late crash and exit from the race obviously put paid to any chance of that.
It is not known yet how the accident actually happened, but initial images on social media suggest that Bernal apparently skidded heavily and at speed on a sweeping righthand downhill with around 12 kilometres to go, going offroad as a result. No other riders appear to have been caught up in the crash.
As Ineos riders crossed the finishing line in the long cobbled avenue of Cristo Rey in central Ubeda, their delight at Michal Kwiatkowski’s success at winning was obvious. But the celebrations were notably tempered too, by the sadness and concern for Bernal and the extent of his injuries after the late crash.
“I don’t have any updates on him, I just saw that he was flying today,” Kwiatkowski told reporters.
“From sector two onwards he was trying to explode the race, so I just went one time but he was keen and ready to go as well. Now – I just hope he is all right.”
