Bernal's Long Journey Back Gets A Rightful Reward

Bernal's Long Journey Back Gets A Rightful Reward It has been a long time coming for 28 year old Colombian professional cyclist Egan Bernal, but he has finally got himself back on the literal No 1 spot on the race winners podium as after his long spell out of the sport, he has finally won his first race again - the first since way back in 2022.

As cycling fans will be well aware, the former Tour de France champion suffered a horrific life threatening crash all those years ago (a gap of 1347 days to be precise) but after the long road back to health, and then full fitness, his efforts have all been worthwhile as the member of the British Ineos Grenadiers team has just won the national individual time trial championships.

For those who like to place a bet on sporting events like cycling tournaments you can use sites like Bonusfinder Ireland, to see which providers have odds available. The tournament took place on his native Colombian home soil, and he took a seven second win over Walter Vargas in second place and played his part in helping to knock Ineos teammate, Brandon Smith Rivera, into third spot with a 29 second gap.

It has been a long road back for him, and he admitted that after everything that had happened in the past he was simply grateful, and thankful, to be racing again particularly for all of the people who had helped him get back to this point, but of course, taking the win was extra special and posting afterwards on his social media account he said.

"1347 days and a lot has happened since my last win, today NATIONAL TT CHAMPION. I thought about retiring several times but one day I promised that if I won again, the first one would be dedicated to God for giving me a second chance at life. A lot of people are a part of this process and today I just want to say thank you."

There is almost a sense of circular poetry at play with his win, as back in January 2022 when the crash happened as he was training on a time trial bike, he was near Colombian capital Bogota, and for those who did not know, he subsequently required spinal surgery and a number of other procedures after sustaining back, leg, knee and chest injuries after colliding with a stationary bus when he had been travelling at speeds in excess of 50km/h.

Bernal was not alone in suffering injury during training sessions that year, as a number of riders had problems on trial bikes on public roads in that period. There are many in the wider world of cycling that feel he is incredibly lucky to still be alive, but that what was an incredibly early promising career full of potential has been ripped away from him, and there were also those who felt his star was so bright that he could have helped lead the team, seven time winners formerly known as Team Sky, to yet another era of nigh on total dominance.

He was at the time one of Ineos' lead riders when it came to general classification victories, and he was also a very popular member of the pro peleton. Having won the Tour de France aged just 22 years old back in 2019, he abandoned the Tour in 2020 having sustained a back injury, which means unfortunately that his only other Grand Tour victory of any real note was the Giro d'Italia back in 2021 before he then suffered the cruellest of blows. The hype, hope and expectation surrounding what his future could hold was based on real potential and the way he had begun coping well with the challenges, and the conditions, that all riders face as they muster an almost exhausted strong finish and for those in the sport who felt that he would be the next great stage racing champion, he was expected to challenge and battle with the likes of Tadej Podacar and Jonas Vingegaard for cycling's biggest prizes.

Advertorial: The world of cycling may have moved on in the many months since he was talked about as being the next man to hit those heights and that category of consistent talent, and he has not been able to do much but sit there and watch it happen, but having spent a long time on his return struggling to even finish in the top 30 of Grand Tours, he should enjoy every single minute of his more recent success and whether or not it proves to be a one off, it is a big moment for him to savour and there will not be many in the sport who are not willing him on to enjoy a strong and successful end to his career - even if it leads to many more questions about what might have been had he not had to endure such a brutal journey - for now though, he is starting to get back to the top table and he is showing that there is still at the top level left in him.