The number 41 of the Tour of Denmark hooked the two numbers on his jersey with several safety pins and hung it on the nets before starting the first stage. It was not be for lowerly. The protagonist has not competed in a race since September 5, 2021. 345 days have passed. Don't stop me now , by Queen, was played in his last video on Instagram. "Weed never dies," he jokingly wrote as a postscript.
Egan Bernal was born again on January 24, a few days after his 25th birthday. While training in his country, the Colombian crashed into the back of a bus. He fractured 11 ribs, two vertebrae, the femur, the patella and a metacarpal in his right hand, in addition to having his lungs punctured.
On August 16, yesterday, he became a cyclist again. 222.6 km (not bad) to start between Allerod and Køge, where he was won by Olav Kooij (Jumbo) after five operations, ten days in the ICU and an incredible, almost miraculous recovery. The winner of the 2019 Tour and the 2021 Giro, who approached Copenhagen in June at the start of the Tour, had been training hard and at altitude for some time. He was in Andorra. He even sacrificed a trip to Colombia to see his mother, Flor, who is suffering from cancer to keep improving his form. There were those who saw him in Burgos and at the start of the Vuelta a España.
But Ineos, with whom he has a contract until 2026, decided that his return would be in a small race, without pressure or large mountain passes. The highest point of the Tour of Denmark is 100 meters. Perhaps that is why only one other beetle disputes the test: Arroyave (EF).
Bernal, as if he were just another domestique, even pulled the peloton for a good while with 74 km to go. When seven were missing, number 41 was taken off the hook. He entered the 109th at 2m06s but he was as happy or happier than the winner. The Colombian seeks to be the champion that he was.
