Egan Bernal says his form is on par with previous years

Remco Evenepoel and Peter Sagan both celebrate their birthdays during the Vuelta a San Juan, but those occasions seem mere statistical details compared to the landmark Egan Bernal reaches on stage 3 of this year’s race. 

January 24 marks the first anniversary of the training crash that could have ended Bernal’s career and perhaps even his life.

To say the past 12 months have changed Bernal would be an understatement, and yet the Colombian has always been a thoughtful kind of a champion. A young man who confessed to an existential crisis of sorts after scaling the mountaintop of Tour de France victory in 2019 was always likely to ask himself some profound questions when he entered the depths of the valley this time last year. 

"I think it was harder psychologically than physically," Bernal told reporters in San Juan on Friday evening. 

"There were some very complicated moments in the process, moments where you say to yourself, is it worth it to continue riding a bike? Will I be able to get back to the best level? Do I want to take these risks with girlfriend, my mother and my father all waiting for me? I thought about it many times."

During those fretful days Bernal lay in intensive care, it seemed difficult to imagine how his career could possibly continue, yet before the spring was out, he was already back on his bike. 

Come early summer, his Ineos Grenadiers team were gently applying the brakes on Bernal’s enthusiasm as he began to schedule plans for his return. By then, in any case, the fundamental question of whether he should go on or not had already been resolved.

"It was the best decision. I think I was born to be a bike rider. I can’t imagine my life without the bike," Bernal said. "You can always try to make best of bad situation. I hope this can inspire people going through hard times. I think I have won the most important race of my life."

Bernal moved swiftly through the early stages of his rehabilitation last year, consistently beating the most optimistic predictions for his physical recovery. He may have made it look almost straightforward at times, but his first training rides on the road – not to mention his return to the cut and thrust of the peloton at the Deutschland Tour – were more trying than they appeared.

"At this moment, no, I’m not scared, but when I started training, there were some moments when I was scared. Whenever I went fast, over 60kph, I was always revisiting this moment, but that’s over now. I think I overcame it,” Bernal said.

"When I competed in Germany and Denmark, the first few kilometres were kind of weird, but then it was ok after a couple of races."

Although Bernal pinned on a race number a dozen times before the end of 2022, the year was, from a sporting point of view, effectively a write-off. And yet, despite his travails, the 25-year-old insisted he could look back on the past 12 months with considerable fondness.

"It’s hard to say it, but I think it was one of the best years of my life," Bernal said. "I learned to be patient and to value my family, which is one of the most important things. That’s what I’d highlight. In spite of everything, we’re just human beings. No matter who you are, you can suffer any kind of situation." 

2023 ambitions

The anniversary of the crash also marks a turning point. Bernal is not at the Vuelta a San Juan to marvel at the distance he has travelled, but to prepare for the road ahead. 

In 2022, climbing aboard a bike again was a victory. In 2023, Bernal has made the biggest race of them all the centrepiece of his season. Why? Like any mountain, perhaps simply because it's there.

"The Tour de France is the most important race there is. I haven’t been back there since 2020, and last year I was training for that," Bernal said. "It was the race where I became known. I was a good rider before that, but 2019 is when everything exploded."

Bernal’s title defence in 2020 was ruined by a nagging back injury, but while he has unfinished business with the Tour, he will be aware, too, that the contours of the path to victory have tightened since he rode down the Champs Élysées in yellow. 

These past two Julys, Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard have been in a race of their own.

"My ambitions will depend on how I feel, but at the moment I’m feeling good, and I want to be there in the best way possible. I guess we will see as the races go by and we get nearer to that date," said Bernal, who was reluctant to weigh his current condition against the form that carried him to Tour and Giro victory. 

"It’s hard to compare because we’re only in January and those were the best moments of my sporting career. But we probably could compare it with the sensations I had at the same point in previous years. 

"I’m doing the same training that I used to do back then and I’m doing well. So my projection for the year ahead is pretty good."

This week in San Juan, Bernal lines out in an Ineos squad that includes his loyal lieutenant Daniel Martinez, Filippo Ganna and Elia Viviani, and against a field that features world champion Remco Evenepoel, Miguel Angel Lopez and Sergio Higuita. 

Stage 5 to Alto Colorado should provide the first firm indications of Bernal’s form but, however it plays out, the race brings him past another milestone on the long road back. 

"There aren’t so many mountains but with the heat, it’s still going to be a tough race," Bernal said. "The most important thing is to enjoy it."