"My time may come when the forces are a bit more equal" - Egan Bernal completes biggest step of recovery with podium finish at Volta a Catalunya

Egan Bernal continues to impress everyone through his sheer grit and determination to return to competing amongst the elite of cycling after his life-threatening crash a few years ago.

In probably the biggest step yet on his road to recovery, Bernal completed a finish of third overall at the 2024 Volta a Catalunya this Sunday afternoon, his first World Tour podium since 2021. “I’m very calm and above all happy with the progression I’ve made,” Bernal told Cadena Ser radio station after the finish. 

To be back competing with the likes of Tadej Pogacar and Mikel Landa after all he's been through is a great source of pride for Bernal. “It’s not easy on a physical or a mental level, after being at the height of world cycling, to go to not even being able to finish races," he explains. “That was very hard, but with support from everybody, my family and friends and my team, I could get back to being on a good road, and I hope one day to get the level of before, too.”

Always optimistic and with a smile on his face, is Bernal now showing signs that a return to Tour de France winning form could transpire, against all odds? "I know I’m not at my best level. So my idea was not even to try to follow Pogacar. I’m happy with the podium and my time may come when the forces are more maybe a bit more equal," he assesses. “There’s going to be a big battle at the Tour, lots of people will be at a very high level, and there things will be a bit clearer.”