Egan Bernal: ‘I’m super happy to be racing again’ – Ineos Grenadiers star on return to cycling

Updated 17/08/2022 at 09:55 GMT

Ineos Grenadiers star Egan Bernal made his return to cycling at the Tour of Denmark on Tuesday, seven months on from his life-threatening crash. Bernal suffered 20 fractures when he hit a bus in Colombia in January and was initially put in intensive car. The 25-year-old is the winner of the 2019 Tour de France and 2021 Giro d’Italia. He says he is “super happy to be racing again”.

‘Everything starts again’ – La Vuelta is coming…

Egan Bernal says he is “super happy to be racing again” after making his return to cycling seven months after a life-threatening accident.

Bernal suffered a big crash in January which put him in intensive car with several surgeries required as he suffered 20 fractures including a fractured vertebrae.

The Ineos Grenadiers rider made his comeback on Tuesday at the Tour of Denmark, finishing two minutes behind Stage 1 winner Olav Kooij.

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Bernal led the peloton during the early stages of the race before sitting in the bunch and being dropped towards the end.

"I'm super happy to be racing again. I'm hoping to go all the way and help the team here," said Bernal.

"I'm just getting back into the rhythm. I am regaining my confidence."

What happened to Bernal?

During a training ride in his native Colombia in January, Bernal hit a parked bus at high speed which injured his back, knee, leg and chest.

Initially, he was warned there was a 95% chance he would be paralyzed, but underwent two successful surgeries.

"I almost died but I thank God for this test,” said Bernal on his return to cycling.

"After what happened to me in January this has been the moment I've been waiting for - to race with my team-mates again."

The Tour of Denmark resumes on Wednesday where riders will tackle a 12.2km individual time trial in Assens.

Bernal will be one of the early starters, with British team-mate Geraint Thomas one of the favourites for victory in the time trial.

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Stream La Vuelta live and on-demand on discovery+. You can also watch all the action live on eurosport.co.uk.

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