1354 days later: Egan Bernal’s journey back to the top of a podium
Cycling
On 24 May 2021, Egan Bernal crossed the finish line first on Stage 16 of the Giro d’Italia, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, securing his second Grand Tour stage victory and extending his lead in the general classification. That day, he rode through rain and bitter cold, dropping his rivals in the Dolomites and stamping his authority on the race. A few days later, he would go on to win the Giro d’Italia, securing his second Grand Tour triumph at just 24 years old. He was supposed to be the next great stage racing champion, the man who would battle Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard for cycling’s biggest prizes.
Little did he know, that win in Cortina d’Ampezzo would be his last for a long time.
For the next 1354 days, Bernal endured pain, injuries, heartbreak, and the reality of seeing the cycling world move on without him. The Colombian, once a Tour de France champion and one of the most naturally gifted climbers of his generation, found himself struggling to finish inside the top 30 of Grand Tours. The road back was long, brutal, and often seemed impossible.
But yesterday, Bernal finally became a winner again. No, it was not a Tour de France stage or another Giro d’Italia triumph, but for him, it was just as important. After years in the darkness, Bernal has proven that he still belongs at the top level.
1354 days is an eternity. But for Bernal, there is now light at the end of the tunnel.
The Bernal story
Bernal’s story begins in Zipaquirá, Colombia, where he was raised by a working-class family. His father, Germán, was an amateur cyclist, while his mother, Flor, worked in a flower factory. His first bike was a second-hand machine, but from an early age, his talent was undeniable. At nine years old, he entered his first and won even though his father had not wanted him to participate. The prize? A training scholarship, which would set him on the path to becoming one of the greatest Colombian riders of all time.
After making a name for himself as a junior mountain biker, Bernal was recruited by Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec in 2016. His VO2 max was reported to be an astonishing 88.8 ml/kg/min, one of the highest ever recorded, marking him as a future Grand Tour champion. His early results were so impressive that Team Sky, the dominant team in world cycling, signed him for the 2018 season. He was signed to Sky at the peak of their powers, with Froome the four time world champion head and shoulders above the peloton at that point.
But had the British team just signed the next legend in the making?
At Team Sky (which later became INEOS Grenadiers), Bernal wasted no time proving his worth. In his first Tour de France, he rode as a domestique for Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas, but still managed to drop some of the best climbers in the world during the toughest stages. He finished 15th overall in the GC, an incredible achievement for a rider so young who was not even riding for himself. It was clear that his time would come.
2019 Tour de France
Bernal entered the 2019 Tour de France as a co-leader alongside Geraint Thomas, but by the time the race reached the Alps, he had become the strongest rider in the peloton. In a chaotic Stage 19, halted by a hailstorm and landslides, Bernal launched a fearless attack on the Col de l’Iseran, dropping his rivals and taking the yellow jersey. The following day, with the final Alpine stage shortened due to bad weather, he defended his lead with ease.
To many people, the 2019 Tour de France will be remembered as the closest the French have come to yellow jersey glory in a lifetime. Julian Alaphilippe was the star of the show for the best part of three weeks, whilst Thibau Pinot put in a performance whilst injured that gave even the most hardened fans goosebumps. Yes, Bernal spoiled the French party, but perhaps he was never given the credit he deserved for his Tour victory in 2019.
At just 22 years old, Bernal became the youngest Tour de France winner in 110 years and the first Colombian to ever win cycling’s greatest prize. He had achieved the dream of a nation and looked like he was destined to dominate for years to come.
2021 Giro d’Italia
Injuries and struggles followed Bernal’s Tour de France victory, but by 2021, he had rediscovered his best form. At the Giro d’Italia, he was dominant once again. His first Grand Tour stage win came on Stage 9, when he attacked on the gravel roads of Campo Felice, dropping a certain Remco Evenepoel and taking the pink jersey.
The decisive moment came on Stage 16 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, where Bernal rode away from Romain Bardet and Damiano Caruso, winning solo in the cold and rain. He would go on to seal overall victory in Milan, becoming just the fourth rider to win both the Tour and Giro before turning 25, joining legends Eddy Merckx, Fausto Coppi, and Bernard Hinault.
Whilst his Tour de France victory is more famous, it was possibly this Giro win that was more impressive. He attacked like never before when he smelt the chance of victory, and clung on for dear life in his moments of weakness to battle through.
Bernal was supposed to be the next dominant stage racer, the man who would battle Pogacar and Vingegaard for Grand Tours over the next decade. But then, everything changed.
The crash
On January 24, 2022, while training in Colombia, Bernal crashed into the back of a parked bus at high speed. He suffered life-threatening injuries, including fractures to his spine, femur, patella, ribs, and hand, as well as a punctured lung. He later revealed that doctors gave him a 95% chance of becoming paraplegic, and it was touch and go whether he would survive for some time.
His recovery was nothing short of miraculous, but when he returned to racing, he was no longer the same rider. The explosiveness, the ability to attack at altitude, the relentless climbing, all of it seemed to be gone.
In his first Tour de France since the crash (2023), he finished 36th. At the Vuelta a Espana later that year, he could only manage 55th. Even in the 2024 Tour, he finished a modest 29th, solid performances, but nowhere near the Bernal of old.
Whilst at the grand tours Bernal appeared to have lost his touch, there were signs of promise at some of the smaller stage races in 2024. 7th at Paris-Nice (a race he won in 2019) and fourth at the Tour de Suisse were by no means career defining performances for Bernal’s standards, but showed that he was slowly clawing his way back.
A win 1354 days in the making
For nearly four years, Bernal fought an uphill battle. He watched as Pogacar, Vingegaard, and Evenepoel became the new superstars of cycling, winning the races he had once been the King of.
Then, on a day that might not have meant much to the wider cycling world, he finally won again.
Yesterday, Bernal won a stage for the first time in 1354 days, "For us, it is like our little Tour de France," Bernal said, his emotions clear.
It wasn’t a Grand Tour stage or a Monument or even a stage race. But it was a victory. A reminder that he is still capable of winning, still worthy of competing at the highest level.
While Bernal may never reach the same heights again, his comeback is one of the greatest in modern cycling. After nearly losing everything, he has fought his way back. And you never know, maybe one day, he could compete for the podium at a grand tour once again.
What’s next?
It would be foolish to suggest that Bernal is suddenly a Grand Tour contender again, or even that his comeback is now complete. The years of injury and setbacks have taken their toll, and the current crop of Pogacar, Vingegaard, and Evenepoel are at a different level. But for Bernal, 2025 has started in the best way possible.
A win may not mean he is back to his very best, but it proves he still belongs at the top level of professional cycling. It proves that despite 1354 days of suffering, he never stopped believing.
Late last year, Bernal announced that he would target a Vuelta a Espana victory in 2025. Should he be successful, it would mean that he would have completed his hat trick of grand tour wins. Whilst it is no guarantee that Bernal will be able to compete for the red jersey, I am sure that a win for him there would be one of the most universally popular victories in cycling history.
The road back to Grand Tour podiums will be difficult. But if anyone has proven they can defy the odds, it’s Egan Bernal.
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