An excited Egan Bernal on his feelings at the Colombian Nationals: "I felt like the Egan of before, I passed each relay at full speed, without fear, like I used to race before"

Egan Bernal finished third in the Colombian national championships, arriving at the finish line behind Sergio Higuita and 4 seconds behind the surprising Alejandro Osorio.

The Colombian, former winner of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, acknowledged to Deportes RCN after the race that for the first time after recovering from the accident that almost cost him his life, he felt again that he was pedaling as before that serious injury, to the point that he confessed to have felt emotional during the race:

"To a certain extent I even felt nostalgic in the race, I felt like the Egan of before, I'm going to give everything, I don't care if I'm going to stay on a hill, each relay was going flat out and that's how I used to race, without fear and I felt that again," he shared. "In the group we understood each other very well, it was a great collaboration because nobody held anything back. We all went flat out because the race was very fast".

We will have to see if Egan Bernal is able to return to his former self. It is not easy after such a serious injury that leaves you out for so long to come back and return to a top world level. Others like Chris Froome have not been able to do it, but the INEOS rider has the age factor in his favor, as he has just turned 27, so with patience and hard training he will surely try. The INEOS Grenadiers rider will be present at the upcoming Tour Colombia where he will lead the national team.