Egan Bernal about the terrible accident and the recovery process

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Egan Bernal spoke about the terrible accident in January 2022. Although there were high chances that he would end up in a wheelchair, Bernal showed strength and performed in Denmark in August of last year. “I think today is exactly one year ago [since the crash], but to tell you the truth when I came out of surgery it was really the last thing on my mind,” he said, as quoted by eurosport.com
“I spent many hours in the operating theatre.

I was even told that some people thought I was dead, and there was also a good chance that I would be in a wheelchair, so I really didn't think I would be able to get back on a bike.
The only thing I thought about was just living and being with my family”.

The recovery process was not easy at all. It was as if he had to be reborn and learn everything from the beginning. “The first days you have to learn to walk again, it's super complicated,” he said.
“To be able to eat, just to wash my mouth, to be able to shower.

Those were the first things I had to learn. And just to do that, it took me two months.
So imagine if just to walk, to wash your mouth, it takes you two months, then how long it's going to take me to get back to a competitive level in a peloton...

it was hours of work. But I had the support of my family, of the whole team and it was a big team effort”.

Cycling and his life

Cycling is a very important thing in his life, but he does not burden himself too much with other competitors and favorites of the next tournaments.

“No, no. Sometimes you shut yourself up in cycling, and think that cycling is everything. For me it's not like this.
After the 2019 Tour de France I was obsessed with the Tour. If I didn’t win the Tour it would be the end of the world and the reality is not like this.
After cycling I have a life, a normal life like you or any other people.

Cycling is obviously a very important part of our lives, we are professionals and we love cycling but we all have a mum, a dad or someone who’s waiting at home and that’s much more important than the Tour de France.
When you´re in this situation, it’s more precious to be alive.

When I saw Vingegaard winning the Tour I felt happy for him.
I have my own life, and everyone is living his own situation. There was no room for frustration, I’m just grateful with life for being here and being able to do what I love the most which is riding my bike, telling my story and inspiring people with it”.