Cycling news - 'It was painful' - Bernal crashes out in Colombian National Championships

It was a tough day for Team Ineos on the whole in Tunja on Sunday, as both their star riders - Bernal and Ivan Sosa - suffered crashes.

EF Pro Cycling's Sergio Higuita took a solo win and was crowned the new Colombian national road race champion.

Bernal was the first of Team Ineos to go down after he slid out on a descent during the last 45km of the race. He sustained visible wounds to his right hip and arm, but he managed to get back on his bike and re-join the chase group to finish second behind solo winner Higuita. EF Pro Cycling's Daniel Martinez finished on the podium in third, just days after he won the time trial title.

"It was painful," Bernal said. "It was a big crash but I should be happy because it was only some skin – I’ve no fractures or anything like this. I could continue racing – but after the crash I told Sosa that he should be the new leader in the race. Initially after the crash I didn’t know if I could finish the race.

Sosa was involved in the winning breakaway with Higuita with 20km to go, and the pair had roughly 30 seconds on a chase group. However, Team Ineos confirmed that Sosa had crashed through a right-hand corner which ended his chances of contesting the final for the national champion's jersey.

Bernal rebounded from his earlier crash and was the first from the chase group to cross the line in second, while Martinez took third and Quintana fourth.

"I’m happy because I got a silver medal after a crash," Bernal added. "I think the team did a really good job, so I would have liked us to be able to fight more for the win. But we did a good job and I was able to continue fighting and get on the podium. It’s a good thing for me and I did it for the Colombian fans and my teammates. Two races, two podiums – we are ready for the Tour of Colombia.”