"It was the best decision to move on, I was born to be a cyclist" - Egan Bernal on successfully overcoming adversity

Egan Bernal will start his 2023 season tomorrow. Almost on the birthday of his life-threatening accident, the INEOS Grenadiers rider talks of his recovery and his ambitions for the Vuelta a San Juan

“That was more difficult psychologically than physically,” the Colombian said in a press release this Friday regarding his crash last year. “There were very difficult moments in the process. At those moments you wonder if it's worth it to keep cycling. However, it was the best decision to move on, I was born to be a cyclist.”

If there was any doubt, his outstanding recovery saw him return to the peloton in August. Several races later he returned to Colombia and over the winter he underwent some more procedures to further complete his recovery.

“At the moment I'm not scared, but when I started training again, I did have some moments when I was anxious. Whenever I cycled hard and went above 60 km/h, I always thought back to the crash," he admits. "That is no longer the case, I think I have overcome it."

As he had done recently, Bernal is incredibly positive over the situation taking into account the injuries he's sustained. He says that "I think it was one of the best years of my life. I have learned to be patient and to appreciate my family.”

Now, he aims big in 2023, the Tour de France being his main quest. That quest starts in Argentina this week. “There are not that many mountains in the Vuelta a San Juan, but with the heat it will be a tough race. The most important thing is to enjoy it," he continued. 

He will team up with several big names at INEOS this week, facing off the likes of Remco Evenepoel and Miguel Ángel López in what should be a good test. He will team up with Daniel Martínez and Filippo Ganna who will also be contenders for the overall classification.

“It's hard to compare to my form a few years ago. But the feeling I have now is similar to the one I had back then. I'm doing the same workouts and it's going well. In other words, my prognosis for the coming year is quite good," he concluded.