Bogota (AFP)
Colombian Rigoberto Uran said on Monday that he was recovering from the violent fall that forced him to retire at the 6th stage of the Tour of Spain at the end of August, and to which he said he survived "miraculously".
"Thank you all for your prayers, because according to the doctor it's 'miraculously' that I'm alive," wrote the 32-year-old cyclist in a message posted on his Instagram account, accompanying two photos where we see him lying on the bed of a Barcelona hospital, alongside his wife.
The rider of the American Education First said he had already, throughout his career and his life, suffered "hard knocks" but "never" like that of August 29, which forced him to leave the Vuelta.
Taken in a massive fall within the pack, Uran, then 6th overall and one of the contenders for final victory, broke his left collarbone, fractured the scapula "in many places" and punched the left lung after breaking two ribs, according to the Medical Education First team.
Adored by the Colombians for his audacity and charisma, Uran has already finished second in the Tour de France 2017 - he took 7th place this year - and in the Giro d'Italia (2013, 2014).
© 2019 AFP