Egan Bernal has had several mishaps but his persistence continues to pay off. The Colombian has just completed the Tour de Romandie and is featured within the Top10. Three months after once again getting injured due to a crash at the Vuelta a San Juan, he shows promising signs.
"I think it's another good test for me. As I've been saying, for me this is just days of accumulated training and trying to get back to the best version of me possible," Bernal told Eurosport. "So, we are taking it step by step and I think there's a lot of work ahead of us."
The INEOS Grenadiers rider had to take time off after another injury due to a fall in Argentina, and returned in time only for the Volta a Catalunya. His spring block was effectively interrupted, but he has managed to get back to good form in time for the Tour de Romandie, where he finished eighth in the queen stage and without losing unnecessary time in the rest of the days, also finishing the race in that position.
"I've tried to do my best in the race and I'm working really hard. I like what I'm doing, and I think we're on the right track, but we know that there's still a long way to go. I don't know how far my body can go but I just want to do my best so that when I retire from cycling, I can be happy with what I've done and not have any regrets," he explains.
The Colombian was originally targeting the Tour de France on his comeback but that plan is likely to have been scraped following the last few months. "I'm responding to all the help and good energy the team has given me, and the process they've done with me. That obviously motivates me to give my best in races and day to day in training at home. I think I'll do the Tour of Hungary, Tour of Norway and then I don't know if I'll do the Dauphiné or Tour de Suisse," he concluded.
His presence in at the Tour de Hongrie and Tour of Norway, where he will test himself against more modest competition and possibly fight for a first win since his return, sees him very active in a period where most of the riders planning to race the Tour are resting or preparing for the Tour, as well as taking on altitude camps. With the Dauphiné or Suisse also in his calendar, it's likely that he will instead now be racing the Vuelta a Espana if the recovery continues to head in the right path. "Let's see how the legs go," he concluded.
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