Less than two weeks after taking his first victories in nearly four years, Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) suffered a broken collarbone in a crash in the closing kilometers of the Clásica Jáen.
The former Tour de France winner had been active throughout the day he and was riding with a chase group behind his teammate and eventual winner Michal Kwiatkowski when he slid out in a righthand bend on a descent. Bernal did not finish the race and was transported to a nearby hospital.
A few hours after the incident, the Ineos Grenadiers provided an update on social media confirming the collarbone fracture.
"He will remain under the expert care of our medical team, and a comprehensive recovery plan will be implemented to support his return to training and racing," the team said in a post on X.
🇨🇴 Queremos mandar muchos ánimos a @Eganbernal tras su caída hoy cuando se lanzaba a por el podio. 💚 ¡Pronta recuperación campeón!
— Clásica Jaén Paraíso Interior (@ClasicaJaen) February 17, 2025
🙏 We want to send our best wishes for @Eganbernal after his crash today when he was going for the podium. 💚 Get well champ! #ClásicaJaén pic.twitter.com/Q2BlV8kexM
Clásica Jaén, which runs on gravel roads and has been likened to a Spanish Strade Bianche, was intended to be part of a spring campaign culminating in a run at the GC at the Giro d'Italia. Collarbone breaks tend to result in about two weeks mostly off the bike (though some riders manage a bit of indoor training), which puts his return in time for Tirreno-Adriatico in some doubt. Missing Tirreno would be less than ideal for the Giro.
Bernal's injury is an especially bitter turn of events so soon after his encouraging showing at the Colombian national championships, where he took both the road and time trial titles in a promising show of form. Prior to those results, Bernal had been winless since before his life-threatening crash in 2022, when he broke numerous bones colliding with a parked bus on a training ride in Colombia.
At the time, it was unclear whether he could continue as a professional cyclist, but he recovered from his injuries and, gradually, worked his way back into form. He landed multiple top 10s in WorldTour events in 2024, and he kicked 2025 off with his dominant showing at Colombian nationals.
Monday's race in Jaén was his first opportunity to show off the Colombian national champion's jersey. It remains to be seen how long of a recovery he can expect from this latest setback before he dons the jersey again, but Bernal seemed upbeat nonetheless in a statement.
"The way we raced was great and it was really nice to be part of a strong team. I was feeling really strong and obviously I’m sad to have crashed, but at the same time the way I felt during the race gave me a lot of confidence and motivation to keep working hard, the season (ahead) is very long," he said.
"I’ve felt very good in the three races that I have done, so I just have to keep working and I hope to be back soon."
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