Teams & Riders The official Egan Bernal is the new Egan Bernal thread

[Lequack]

Was just re-reading some news from the last two weeks and it's just a rollecoaster.

First the contract extension:

Egan Bernal extends with Ineos Grenadiers through 2026

Colombian confirms he's targeting Tour de France this year as he commits his future to British team

www.cyclingnews.com

Getting ready for a showdown with Pog

Tadej Pogacar and Egan Bernal to clash at UAE Tour

First WorldTour race of 2022 confirmed despite COVID-19 concerns

www.cyclingnews.com

The premonition

Bernal and Carapaz narrowly avoid collision with car while training

A series of close calls for select Ineos group training in Colombia

www.cyclingnews.com

 

[DaLong]

Sounds like it's not as bad as some of us are fearing. The spinal surgery was a success. I do think it's a compound fracture - if you look at that photo with the van you can actually see the bib outline doesn't follow a normal path. So yes, he will have an uphill battle to cycle again. Having said that, appears to be no cranial injury (thank goodness) and everything else is bones. I think the biggest risk from here on out seems to be infection from his surgeries.

Wishful thinking anyways.

 

[Escarabajo]

Does anybody know what is the difference between the compound and the crack fracture? I can google it but I want to do more related to consequences.

 

[CyclistAbi]

If it is a compound fracture then the bone did rupture muscle or skin. Now regarding his femur i read they used pins. Hence the fracture likely was rather severe. In regards to his patella. Here i read that compound fracture was at play. Not knowing the details personally i worry a bit more about his patella then femur.

Rehabilitation and getting back to his former levels will likely take a lot of patience and mental and physical strength. I hope for the best but realistically it will likely take at minimum two seasons. From GT point of view. Hopefully he will be ready to do some shorter stage races in 2023.

 

[geisterhome]

If it is a compound fracture then the bone did rupture muscle or skin. Now regarding his femur i read they used pins. Hence the fracture likely was rather severe. In regards to his patella. Here i read that compound fracture was at play. Not knowing the details personally i worry a bit more about his patella then femur.

Rehabilitation and getting back to his former levels will likely take a lot of patience and mental and physical strength. I hope for the best but realistically it will likely take at minimum two seasons. From GT point of view. Hopefully he will be ready to do some shorter stage races in 2023.

Orthopedics and Traumatology isnt really my thing but I believe femur fractures arent treated consveratively in most cases, meaning patients will be operated and get some metal implanted to stabilise the bone. Proper bone alinement ist crucial since you got the rotating hip joint on one and end the kneejoint on the other.

 

[noob]

I hate cars So very sad news. I really hope ha can heal. This is the scariest sport really

 

[Escarabajo]

Reading and watching some local new from La Universidad de la Sabana, they said that these accident has become very frequent in Colombia. It happens too often around the Bogota area. There are so many cars, motorcycles, bicycles and people walking that these type of accidents happen a lot. A positive about the story is that they have doctors who are very use to these type of accidents in the everyday life and have a high practice in the subject FWIW. Maybe I am trying to calm myself and see the positive.

Uran said that he has been in critical situations twice in his life and the best thing for him was reading the emails and messages in the social media giving him support and love. So there you have it.

 

[Bonimenier]

Reading and watching some local new from La Universidad de la Sabana, they said that these accident has become very popular in Colombia. It happens too often around the Bogota area. There are so many cars, motorcycles, bicycles and people walking that these type of accidents happen a lot. A positive about the story is that they have doctors who are very use to these type of accidents in the everyday life and have a high practice in the subject FWIW. Maybe I am trying to calm myself and see the positive.

Uran said that he has been in critical situations twice in his life and the best thing for him was reading the emails and messages in the social media giving him support and love. So there you have it.

Not sure 'popular' is the right word choice there.

 

[Escarabajo]

Not sure 'popupar' is the right word choice there.

Fixed it. Thanks.

 

[gregrowlerson]

Horrible news.

Sounds like his life is no longer in immediate danger, and that he may be able to live a relatively normal life soon enough, but as far as his career goes it seems 75% that he can't reach his previous levels again. So sad.

 

[CyclistAbi]

It's a shame when life takes such a setback. Said that he will return as he is a fighter.

P.S. Lets target Vuelta 2023 for now and build on that.

 

[Oldermanish]

I don't know all the details involved. Based on all the info provided so far i would say this was a training (T)TT ride.

If that was indeed the case then in my opinion the team is more responsible in this case then Egan. For the outcome and especially as they already got a reminder a week back.

The team basically removed the safety protocols. It was not like Egan was on a solo ride. Being an amateur or pro cyclist you are aware and taught of the fact that taking a TT bike and riding it in high traffic areas is dangerous and should not be attempted.

P.S. Feel free to believe otherwise.

Actually that the team scheduled a TT session in this circumstance makes it a hard choice for a rider to make another choice. Bernal is in a tougher choice still with a season lost and a big salary. His team's depth only adds to the pressure. My earlier statement would be tempered a bit and definitely through the load back to the team.
It looks like everyone agrees it was not a good idea.

 

[Oldermanish]

It's a shame when life takes such a setback. Said that he will return as he is a fighter.

P.S. Lets target Vuelta 2023 for now and build on that.

Very unfortunate that Egan loses another year. His talent may return but the time lost will not. Cruel sport in many ways.

 

[Nirvana]

Horrible news.

Sounds like his life is no longer in immediate danger, and that he may be able to live a relatively normal life soon enough, but as far as his career goes it seems 75% that he can't reach his previous levels again. So sad.

The broken femur alone is enough to make him a shadow of his former self even if he can totally recover and return to racing next year, then we have the exposed kneecap fracture that probably is even worse and on the top of that all the other injuries. The amount of injuries he sustained make his situation worse than Froome's one, just to take a measuring stick.

 

[Zoef-Lightning]

I hate cars So very sad news. I really hope ha can heal. This is the scariest sport really

And I hate sporty cyclists riding at a high speed in traffic without regard for other road users and the traffic rules. Bernal was not hit by the bus. But he hit a stationary bus at high speed. It's a sad accident, but the responsibility rests entirely with Bernal. It's a shame that some people want to blame others.

 

[DoYouEvenRideBruh]

Just heard about the incident. Absolutely gutted.

 

[Boes]

I'm really looking forward to him winning the queen mountain stage in the TdF 2023.
That would make me just as happy as I was when Fabio Jakobson won his sprints in Vuelta 2021.

 

[greyclouds]

I hope that he recovers, first that he can go back to a normal quality of life, and then perhaps be on the bike again winning races.

 

[Bolder]

The photos I've seen seem to show that some riders were on TT bikes, others not. I don't think there's much use in assigning blame at this point. Most of us who ride a lot know that while motorists etc. should yield to cyclists, you also have to assume that every moving car doesn't see you and any parked car could pull out/door you at any second.

I recall driving near Nice a few years ago and saw one of the Sunweb riders on a TT bike along the beach road, and not slowly. That's crazy -- most drivers on that road are NOT paying attention to much except the scenery, plus traffic furniture, speed bumps etc.

Horrible luck for Ineos, losing their two best GT riders in the past few years to training accidents. Maybe teams need to be extra careful about training on the roads. Maybe they should just go to Mallorca or Tenerife in winter where there isn't much traffic and drivers are used to pro cyclists.

 

[Extinction]

And I hate sporty cyclists riding at a high speed in traffic without regard for other road users and the traffic rules. Bernal was not hit by the bus. But he hit a stationary bus at high speed. It's a sad accident, but the responsibility rests entirely with Bernal. It's a shame that some people want to blame others.

How can you be so crass and heartlessly judgmental? How can you in this case value machines over human beings, because it was "his fault?" When you have no idea, as do none of us, how the dynamic of the incident actually took place because you weren't there. Here we have a man whose body has been shattered, whose career has been placed in jeopardy, whose season (at the least) has been ruined, who has loved ones and friends agonizing for him, who will go through weeks, if not months, of terrible pain, before hopefully he gets to go through the terrible suffering of training to get back the form he unavoidably will have lost; and yet you are placing all graveness on the supposed wrecklessness and irresponsibilty of the rider. And even if it was "his fault," which entirely remains to be seen, at the level of human empathy how can you even think, let alone state, given the horrible outcome for rider, how much you disdain cyclists "without regard for other road users and traffic rules," while implying that Bernal was guilty of this? That is just utterly crass and callously depraved. It's also paramount to outright stating that Bernal got what he deserved for his recklessness. Are you f-ing kidding?

Yours must be a brutally cold-hearted world to make callous statements about a man lying in intensive care, who damaged no one but himself and the hard steel of a behemoth inanimate vehicle. Sorry, but it's just the wrong way of looking at this. And I guarantee you the number of cyclists without concern for traffic and its rules (which insanely puts their lives at risk), pales in comparison to the number of irate motorists just because they had to momentarily slow down to safely pass law abiding cyclists without incident. These selfish and senselessly enraged motorists become potential assassins every day. Simply because their driver's world has been temporarily inconvenienced, the lives of two-wheeled pedalers becomes harrowingly at risk as a cause of their stupid rage. I've experienced it multiple times over the years in the saddle. Yet the big concern rather should be cyclists breaking the rules? Well let me tell you something, in a collision between a bicycle and an automobile the cyclist always loses, always, even when right, and often the rider unfortunately becomes dead right.

 

[Extinction]

The photos I've seen seem to show that some riders were on TT bikes, others not. I don't think there's much use in assigning blame at this point. Most of us who ride a lot know that while motorists etc. should yield to cyclists, you also have to assume that every moving car doesn't see you and any parked car could pull out/door you at any second.

I recall driving near Nice a few years ago and saw one of the Sunweb riders on a TT bike along the beach road, and not slowly. That's crazy -- most drivers on that road are NOT paying attention to much except the scenery, plus traffic furniture, speed bumps etc.

Horrible luck for Ineos, losing their two best GT riders in the past few years to training accidents. Maybe teams need to be extra careful about training on the roads. Maybe they should just go to Mallorca or Tenerife in winter where there isn't much traffic and drivers are used to pro cyclists.

While I agree that riding the Bord du Mer may not be prudent, it is sometimes unavoidable, as I know from when I lived there. But it is a driver's responsibility to look at the road not the scenery (at least not long enough to miss what's on the road). Often a cyclist gets killed while perfectly riding within the rules, because a motorist wasn't paying the hell attention. And it has become increasing evident, with more cars than ever and drivers who have lost all touch with reality, that this is the real problem.

 

[Netserk]

The broken femur alone is enough to make him a shadow of his former self even if he can totally recover and return to racing next year,

Rasmussen was at his best ever after he broke his femur, so not necessarily.

Rasmussen suffered a fracture to the top of his left femur. The winner of the polkadot jersey in the past two editions of the Tour de France will undergo surgery, and then will face several months of rehabilitation. Cyclingnews october 2006

 

[Zoef-Lightning]

How can you be so c rass and heartlessly judgmental? How can you in this case value machines over human beings, because it was "his fault?" When you have no idea, as do none of us, how the dynamic of the incident actually took place because you weren't there. Here we have a man whose body has been shattered, whose career has in jeopardy, whose season (at the least) has been ruined, who has loved ones and friends agonizing for him, who will go through weeks, if not months, of terrible pain, before hopefully he gets to go through the terrible suffering of training to get back the form he unavoidably will have lost. Even if it was "his fault," and that remains entirely to be seen, at the level of human empathy how can you even think, let alone state, how much you disdain cyclists "without regard for other road users and traffic rules," while implying that Bernal was guilty of this? It's paramount to outright stating that Bernal got what he deserved for his recklessness. Are you f-ing kidding?

Yours must be a brutally cold-hearted world to make callous statements about a man lying in intensive care, who damaged no one but himself and the hard steel of a behemoth inanimate vehicle. Sorry, but it's just the wrong way of looking at this. And I guarantee you the number of cyclists without concern for traffic and its rules (which insanely puts their lives at risk), pales in comparison to the number of irate motorists just because they had to momentarily slow to safely pass law abiding cyclists without incident. These selfish and senselessly enraged motorists become potential assassins every day. Simply because their driver's world has been temporarily inconvenienced, the lives of two-wheeled pedalers becomes harrowingly at risk as a cause of their stupid rage. I've experienced it multiple times over the years in the saddle. Yet the big concern rather should be cyclists breaking the rules? Well let me tell you something, in a collision between a bicycle and an automobile the cyclist always loses, always, even when right, and often the rider unfortunately becomes dead right.

What a one-sided and otherworldly reaction.
It was not a normal collision !!!! Bernal hit a stationary bus. As Bernal could have hit a pedestrian at the side of the road, a lamppost, a traffic sign, a wall, a traffic cop...... The truth is that he and his teammates (?) were very careless, riding at a high speed, on time trial bikes, without looking ahead, in the trafic. Totally irresponsible. In my country you see the same thing all the time. Once on a racing bike, all traffic and safety rules are violated. Not by all sports cyclists, but by many. What if instead of a bus, a child had stood there ? I am a cyclist myself, utilitarian and sporty. But I never behave like this.
You also see careless behavior among motorized drivers. But never to the same extent as cyclists.

 

[glassmoon]

i don't think the broken femur is Egan's main problem after the crash. which is pretty telling since broken femur is damn serious injury just by itself...

 

[Extinction]

What a one-sided and otherworldly reaction.
It was not a normal collision !!!! Bernal hit a stationary bus. As Bernal could have hit a pedestrian at the side of the road, a lamppost, a traffic sign, a wall, a traffic cop...... The truth is that he and his teammates (?) were very careless, riding at a high speed, on time trial bikes, without looking ahead, in the trafic. Totally irresponsible. In my country you see the same thing all the time. Once on a racing bike, all traffic and safety rules are violated. Not by all sports cyclists, but by many. What if instead of a bus, a child had stood there ? I am a cyclist myself, utilitarian and sporty. But I never behave like this.
You also see careless behavior among motorized drivers. But never to the same extent as cyclists.

To the bolded, you are absolutely out of your mind! In which world do you live? The number of wreckless cyclists is a fraction of irresponsible motorists, while the consequences for both are universally more disastrous for the riders. There are infinitely more motorists for one thing and for another generally speaking cyclists know correct behavior places their lives less at risk. The fact that some don't abide is rather beside the point. Although it certainly is not true that all cyclists on racing bikes violate traffic and safety rules. That's an absurd statement.

As to your hypothetical comment about had it been a child, which it wasn't let's not forget and thus the point is already moot; well there could only have been two reasons, both of which equally tragic. Either the child walked or stepped in front of the rider when he should not have or the rider didn't see the child when he should have. In the latter case, there is a trial in court for the guilty rider. But you are making a strawman argument.

The real problem with your affirmations, however, as I mentioned before, is the total lack of empathy for the plight of one who hurt no other than himself and the utter callousness with which you criticize him, based on no real evidence mind you, for being at fault. Nay you condemn him for being a wreckless irresponsible. In my world that's called douchebaggery.

PS. Let's suppose, for argument's sake, Egan unquestionably should have avoided hitting the bus, but failed to do so. Well, it's called a mistake (errare humanum est), a terrble error of distraction that apart from a dented bus only damaged the one who made it. Yet you placing all graveness squarely upon the mistake and none, with evident lack of empathy, on the dramatic human consequences, the broken body, the agonizing pain and suffering, is likewise called douchbaggery.