Colombia's Egan Bernal on his accident: "I won this stage of life and that's most important"
The former Tour de France and Giro d'Italia winner speaks to Olympics.com about the serious accident he suffered crashing into a bus and how it has changed his life.
Cycling Road
Egan Bernal understands what it means to smile widely, with true sincerity and gratefulness.
He wore that smile at the same time as the yellow jersey in 2019, when he became the first cyclist from Latin American to win the Tour de France, and the youngest man to do so in 110 years.
Two years later, that smile returned atop another Grand Tour podium at the Giro d'Italia.
It was the smile of a cyclist who had conquered two of his sport's biggest tests, of someone who had constructed his life on two wheels and had climbed to the very top at a young age. He was dubbed 'The future of road cycling' in the world, not just Colombia.
But just months later, everything changed. His future took on a test of a different kind - simply surviving day-to-day and clinging to life.
On 24 January 2022, Bernal left his house in Colombia for a training ride on his bike, like he always did in the off-season. He ended up riding into the back of a bus, a crash that nearly cost him his life.
The initial prognoses were not good: 20 fractures and the possibility of permanent paralysis.
Barely a year after the crash, Bernal returned to competition to with his INEOS Grenadiers team at the 2023 Vuelta a San Juan in Argentina. But what he really returned to was his life.
Now a bit less of a cyclist and more of a person, he believes the most important thing is life itself and not necessarily on two wheels.
During March's Volta a Catalunya, he signed autographs, took hundreds of selfies with fans and, after retiring from the race following a crash on Stage Six, sat down with Olympics.com to talk about his accident and how it has changed him.
And he did so with a wink and a smile. The same wide smile – as a person, not a cyclist – he showed before. The smile of someone happy to be alive.
The interview has been translated from Spanish and is reproduced below.
Olympics.com (OC): How did the accident change you as a cyclist?
Egan Bernal: I think I'm still the same as a cyclist. I have a lot of ambition and I still prepare in the same way, maybe even more so, because in these situations you have to double your effort. I wake up every day with the same enthusiasm.
OC: And as a person?
Bernal: I think as a person, clearly there are things that have changed. Let's say obviously for me cycling is important, but when something like this happens, you realise that in the end cycling is just a part of life and that beyond that, there's family, friends, and real life. Sometimes as a cyclist, you think that life is all about cycling, but when things like these happen, you realise that life is more than that. Now I try to enjoy every moment and look at the positive side of every question.
OC: Is Egan Bernal a stronger person now?
Bernal: I don't know if I would call it being stronger; I would say more conscious. More aware of things, of what cycling and life are, of how lucky I am to be alive, to have my family and be able to walk, to breathe, to be here in this environment which is what I like. I'm happy doing this – cycling is what I'm most passionate about in life.
Egan Bernal's second 'first day' on the bike
OC: What do you remember of the moment you climbed on a bike the first time after your accident?
Bernal: The entire process has been quite long. The first time we went out (on my bike), I did so with my mother and with my girlfriend. I had to tell them to wait for me because they were going really quickly and I couldn't. [laughs]
OC: And how has it been since that moment? You returned to racing eight months later, and this season you're aiming to be competitive.
Bernal: Bit by bit, I've been gaining a bit of form and the fact that I'm already at this level right now… in Argentina (at the Vuelta a San Juan) I saw myself up there with the favourites. Now being able to be at World Tour level is something that fills me with satisfaction and a lot of personal pride.
People think that I should be with the favourites but the truth is they have no idea about everything that has happened. For me, the fact I'm here is already a victory. I think I won this stage of life and that's the most important thing for me.
Egan Bernal: "I want to inspire many people"
OC: Do you feel the pressure of having the weight of the future of Colombian cycling on your shoulders?
Bernal: Not at all. After having lived through what I've lived, I don't think there's pressure. The people who know me, the people who were there throughout this process I've gone through, know for real what this was like and what happened, and this is what is important to me – what they think. And I'm calm and very happy and very thankful to God and to life for giving me a second chance. Right now I'm not going to waste this opportunity on thinking what other people think.
OC: But of course, you've said before that you would like to be an inspiration.
Bernal: I really do, I also want to inspire many people who may be going through something like I did, and maybe – I don't know whether or not to say it – be an example to follow, be an example that you can overcome and, afterwards, go back to having a normal life if you really set your mind to it.
How Egan Bernal stopped thinking about retiring
OC: What does the word "resilience" mean to you?
Bernal: I think it's something we've been building and it's really not easy. It's not easy to just say "get up after you fall because you have to". That's not it. It's a very complicated process, and you see that people who've been through difficult moments understand what the process is. What you have to do is find motivation to do so.
OC: And what was your motivation?
Bernal: Mine was my family, and thanks to them I'm here. Without them, I would have retired, for real. I have nothing left to prove. I won the Tour de France, won the Giro d'Italia… I won important things. Now I'm enjoying and demonstrating to my brother, to my family, and to many people in Colombia that you have to draw out your drive and will and come here to enjoy, do your best, do your job, respond to the team, and that's it. That's what it is for me.
Olympic dreams for Egan Bernal?
OC: After the 2023 season we have ahead, will Egan Bernal dream of the Olympic Games Paris 2024?
Bernal: That depends. Right now I'm focussed on this season and thinking so long term is not worth it at this moment. I now have the space to return to the best version of myself and to see how far I can do.
From here, I will start looking at what I can achieve. But I think if I go to the Olympic Games, it would be to attempt to win. I would not like to go just to take part. That would be my objective, and it will depend on how I'm feeling.