Egan Bernal: Former Tour de France winner posts video showing 'first steps' since training accident

Colombian cyclist Egan Bernal posted a video on social media on Thursday of what he said were his first steps less than three weeks after injuring his spine, legs and chest in a training accident that left him needing neurosurgery.

Bernal, who became the first South American to win the Tour de France in 2019 and added the Giro d'Italia to his list of achievements last year, crashed on January 24 near Colombia's capital Bogota.

The 25-year-old said he had a 95 per cent chance of becoming a paraplegic following the accident. He left the hospital last week.

"Surprise!! My first steps," Bernal said in the post on Twitter, which accompanied a video of himself wearing a spine and neck brace as he opens a door and walks through it into the sunshine, gesturing that he is okay to the camera.

Bernal was the youngest rider to win the Tour in more than a century and recently extended his contract with the Ineos Grenadiers team to 2026.

Cavendish wins stage on return in Oman

Britain's Mark Cavendish took his first win of the season with victory on stage two of the Tour of Oman on Friday.

A day after finishing second to Fernando Gaviria, Cavendish had the speed to hold off his rivals and take the win ahead of Australian Kaden Groves at the end of the 167.5km stage from Naseem Park to Suhar Corniche.

Amaury Capiot pipped Gaviria to the final podium spot so, with bonus seconds applied, the win also moves Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl's Cavendish into the overall lead of the race.

It represents a hugely encouraging start to the campaign for the 36-year-old, who suffered a punctured lung in broken ribs in a crash at the Gent Six-Day in November before a traumatic assault when burglars broke into his home in early December.

The Manxman claimed 10 wins in 2021, including four stages of the Tour de France, to end a three-year drought.