‘A day of reflection’ – Egan Bernal marks anniversary of career-altering crash at Vuelta a San Juan

SAN JUAN ARGENTINA JANUARY 24 Egan Arley Bernal Gomez of Colombia and INEOS Grenadiers after the 39th Vuelta a San Juan International 2023 Stage 3 a 1709km stage from Circuito San Juan Villicum to Circuito San Juan Villicum VueltaSJ2023 on January 24 2023 in San Juan Argentina Photo by Maximiliano BlancoGetty Images
Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) in the paddock of the Villicum motorsports park after stage 3 of the 2023 Vuelta a San Juan International (Image credit: Maximiliano Blanco/Getty Images)

Half an hour or so before stage 3 of the Vuelta a San Juan, Egan Bernal took his bike and slipped quietly out of the shed that was sheltering his Ineos Grenadiers team from the dazzling afternoon sunshine beating down upon the Villicum motor racing circuit.

It was neither a warm-up nor a bike test. Instead, Bernal pedalled with languid strokes through the team paddocks, surveying the gentle bustle of cyclists preparing themselves for another day in the saddle before circling back slowly once again. Just an ordinary day at a bike race, but it’s still extraordinary that Bernal is here to be a part of it at all.

Barry Ryan
Head of Features

Barry Ryan was Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.