Egan Bernal returns to racing

Colombian makes post-crash debut at the Tour of Denmark

-  Adam Becket

Eight months after the training crash which left him close to being paralysed, Egan Bernal returned to racing this week at the Tour of Denmark on Tuesday.

There had been speculation that the 2020 Tour de France and 2021 Giro d’Italia winner would line up at the Vuelta a España, which begins on Friday, for Ineos Grenadiers, but it was judged to be too early to rush the Colombian back into Grand Tour action. Instead, he started the relatively low-key Scandinavian race instead, which concludes on Saturday after five stages.

The Colombian underwent seven surgeries after the life-threatening crash, which saw him fracture his kneecap, femur, vertebrae and some of his ribs, as well as suffering a punctured lung and chest trauma. The 25-year-old collided with the back of a bus while training on his home roads in Colombia on his time trial bike; he later said that he was going at about 62 kph when it happened. For him to be back cycling at all is semi miraculous, and for him to be back racing so soon is incredible.