Winner of the Tour de France in 2019, the Colombian Egan Bernal is making his comeback on the Tour de France.
Victim of a serious accident during a training outing in January 2022, Colombian Egan Bernal is making his comeback on the roads of the Tour de France. Miraculously, the INEOS runner could have died and become a paraplegic as he explained a few months later. “On the ground, I couldn’t breathe. I was about to pass out, when I managed to get some air. I looked up and saw the back of the bus. The mechanic escorting me immediately called the team doctor. He arrived very quickly: thanks to him, I am alive. The femur was broken, it seemed to want to come out of my skin. The neurosurgeon told me : “You could have died, with such an accident, you had a 95% chance of becoming a paraplegic”
Saturday July 1, he will therefore be back on the Tour de France, three years after his retirement (he won the Tour of Italy in 2021). A first victory for the Colombian who very quickly showed his desire to get back on the bike before accomplishing this mission in August 2022 during the Tour of Denmark. If he is no longer at his best like Christopher Froome after his very serious fall, Egan Bernal can aim for a top 10 overall and or a stage victory. “Making my return to the Tour has always been a major objective. I am very excited to be able to relive every kilometer of this race after overcoming the biggest test of my life. Being part of the Tour de this year gives me confidence that I am on the right track to return to my best level. This race is also an opportunity for me to show my gratitude and my commitment to the team who have always supported me, to thank everyone who has helped me, from nurses to doctors, friends, family, teammates, and above all, I want to take this opportunity to inspire people and show them that, even if all seems lost, we can trust God. Be strong, because life only happens to us once and we have to appreciate the second chances given to us and enjoy every second.”
Cycling in Colombia in the middle of traffic is like playing with your life every minute, said Luis Barbosa, Colombian photographer for L’Equipe in January 2022. In detail, Egan Bernal had embarked on the road leading from Bogota to Tunja for a training outing with his teammates Richard Carapaz, Andrey Amador, Brandon Rivera, Carlos Rodriguez and Omar Fraile. At the height of the town of Gachancipa, the rider was on his time trial bike launched at more than 50 km / h, his head plunged into the handlebars before violently hitting a bus in front of him which had stopped. L’Equipe, which consulted the police report, reveals even more details. “Traffic accident, Bogota-Tunja road km 33.8 Gachancipa sector, 10:05 a.m. Observation: a bus type vehicle stopped to drop off passengers. A black bicycle type vehicle, present on the same lane and in the same direction of traffic, does not see the vehicle in front stop and hits it from behind. Accident hypothesis: to be established.”
