On the 24th of January, Bernal was training with several teammates near his home in Zipaquirá, Colombia, when he hit the back of a bus whilst riding at around 60Km/h. He had been training on his time-trial bike, and was unaware of the stop, in what was a brutal collision. As a consequence, he suffered the following injuries: 11 broken ribs, broken femur, broken kneecap, fractures in the T5 and T6 vertebras, fractures odontoids, fractured metacarpar, a broken thumb, the loss of a tooth and perforation in both lungs.
"I can’t emphasise enough how hard the last eight months have been for me, both physically and mentally," he admitted. "That day, and the journey that I have been on since will be a part of me forever, it’s something you never forget. As is the support that I have received from my family, my girlfriend, the Team, INEOS as well as my fans".
Facing a chance of death or becoming paralyzed of around 95%, Bernal's recovery into a normal life has been nothing short of miraculous and outstanding. However, the Colombian remained ambitious, and has worked on a large scale to regain full function of his body, and returned to the bike eventually just over two months after his accident. Over the following months he travelled back to Europe, met up with teammates, and in June went on a training camp with the team. From that time onwards, rumours had emerged that he would return to competition at the Italian Autumn classics, the Vuelta a Espana, and most recently the Deutschland Tour.
However, he will be back at the peloton sooner than any of the races mentioned. Tomorrow, 16th of August, he will be at the start of the Tour of Denmark. "As humans we really rely on each other in our times of need, and this year has been a time of need for me - I can’t thank everyone who has been there for me enough. That support has been invaluable in motivating me every day to work hard to be able to race again. To you all, a heartfelt thank you," he concluded in an emotional message".
