According to his stable Ineos Grenadiers, this involves a number of injuries to the spine, chest, neck and soft tissue injuries all over the body.

After the accident, 25-year-old Bernal, who was at a camp in Gachancipa 50 km outside the capital Bogota, was taken to Sabana University Hospital.

"He was conscious on arrival at the hospital," said Ineos Grenadiers.

"At the moment he is being examined by specialists and he will undergo operations in the next few hours," the hospital wrote in a comment, mentioning five damaged body parts.

According to Colombian police, Bernal must have run into the back of a bus that stopped on the road, something he did not understand.