Ineos Grenadiers rider Egan Bernal makes remarkable return at Tour of Denmark as Olav Kooij wins opening stage

Team Jumbo-Visma rider Olav Kooij won the opening crash-marred stage of the Tour of Denmark to lead the five-stage race, but it was Ineos Grenadiers’ rider Egan Bernal who stole the headlines after he made his return seven months after a life-threatening collision.

It was announced on Monday that Bernal would make his return to the peloton after a catastrophic crash back in January left him with 20 fractures.

The Tour de France in 2019 and Giro d’Italia in 2021 winner collided with a parked bus during a practice session in a life-threatening incident just seven months ago.

His injuries included a fractured vertebrae and the Colombian required several rounds of emergency surgery in intensive care.

He made his spectacular return for the first stage at the Tour of Denmark, which set off in Allerod where riders would begin the 222.6km journey to Koge.

Bernal helped to set the tempo at the beginning of the stage when he briefly led the peloton, but quickly dropped back and after a respectable return, managed to finish the stage in 94th position.

Team Jumbo-Visma’s Kooij snatched victory after an entertaining sprint finish tussle with Alpecin-Deceuninck rider Jasper Philipsen.

Timothy Dupont (Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB) finished third as Magnus Cort (EF Education-EasyPost) and Arvid de Kleijn (Human Powered Health) finished fourth and fifth respectively.

Jasper Stuyven (Trek – Segafredo), Andrea Peron (Team Novo Nordisk), and Brit Ethan Vernon (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team) wrapped up the top eight.

Ahead of the race, Bernal’s Ineos Grenadiers teammate Geraint Thomas took to social media to welcome the 25-year-old’s return.

The Tour of Denmark resumes on Wednesday where riders will tackle a much shorter 12.6km second stage in Assens.

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