Egan Bernal: Knee injury following stage one crash forces Ineos Grenadiers rider to pull out of Vuelta a San Juan

Egan Bernal has pulled out of the Vuelta a San Juan with a knee injury, his team Ineos Grenadiers have confirmed.

The Colombian was forced to abandon the race in Argentina due to knee pain in the opening kilometres of Saturday’s sixth stage.

“Egan Bernal has reluctantly withdrawn from the Vuelta a San Juan due to pain in his left knee sustained in the crash he was involved in on stage one of the race,” Ineos’ statement read.

The news will come as a real blow given Bernal was lying fourth overall in the classification after a strong performance in Friday’s mountain stage to Alto Colorado.

It hasn’t been determined if the injury will affect his participation in next week’s Colombian Championships.

Following Friday’s positive showing, Bernal had said: “The numbers were there when I was training at home, but it’s one thing to do it in training and another to do it in a race.

“That gives me a lot of morale and confidence, as well as the motivation to want more.”

Bernal suffered 20 different fractures – including in his spine, femur and kneecap – after smashing into a stationary bus at 40mph on his time trial bike, leaving him requiring multiple surgeries and significant medical treatment.

He said he felt “like being born again” after being discharged from hospital last February, revealing that doctors had told him he had a 95% chance of becoming paraplegic.

Instead, Bernal made an incredible return to the peloton at the Tour of Denmark in August – less than seven months after the crash he says nearly killed him.

– – –