Egan Bernal will reportedly head to Europe this week to continue his recovery from a training crash that left him with life-threatening injuries earlier this spring.

Bernal is recovering from a 60 km/h training crash in which he suffered a fractured vertebra, fractured right femur, fractured right patella, chest trauma, lung puncture, and broken ribs.

The Ineos Grenadiers riders recently attended a presentation of the trio's new Talent Squad in Colombia. The teams, collectively called the EB Project, aim to train young Colombian racers.

In an interview with Italian specialist website Bici.pro (opens in new tab), the Colombians said they will soon head to Europe "to resume training and continue their recovery program."

Bernal said, "I was waiting for this project. They gave me the green light."

Bernal said that after returning to Europe, he plans to base himself in Monaco, where he has lived in the past.

No date has been set for Bernal's return to racing, but in a recent video about the Ineos Grenadiers crash, he promised to return to racing with the peloton at some point.

"One minute I was going 62 km/h, the next I was on the ground. All I could feel was that I couldn't breathe."

"When the doctors arrived they had to straighten my femur because it was broken and they had to put me on the road right there to stop the bleeding. It was the most painful thing I have ever felt, but maybe it saved my life."

The 2021 Giro d'Italia champion also thanked Ineos Grenadiers for their support during his long road to recovery. He said, "They told me from the beginning that their priority was to help me recover as a person, and then I would worry about cycling. They are like a second family and it's great to feel that support."

At the end of the video, Bernal sent a message to his fans and the rest of the peloton, thanking them and saying, "Egan is going to be around for a while, he's going to be here for a while.

Bernal's new team project was announced last weekend in Bogota, with eight in the U-23 men's category, eight in the juniors, and eight in the pre-juniors. His brother Ronald, 17, is one of the riders, many of whom come from MTB backgrounds, just as Bernal did when he was racing.

"I love Colombia. I would give my life for this country and we need change. That's how a country can be built."

As for why Bernal chose to create the team now, he said that while in intensive care, he asked himself about his own life purpose. [If I was here and I wasn't killed, maybe it was to help other children and people. I wanted to be a catalyst for that.

"This way I can help create cyclists and control the process so that when they get to Europe, they have a chance to get ahead there."