Egan Bernal Takes a Remarkable Third Place at Volta a Catalunya
After a particularly brutal edition of the 2024 Volta a Catalunya, Egan Bernal of Ineos Grenadiers took third place behind Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and Soudal-QuickStep’s Mikel Landa. The third-place finish marked the Ineos Grenadiers racer’s most significant result since the horrifying crash in 2022.
“Above all, I’m happy with the progression I’ve made,” Bernal said after the seven-stage Volta, where he enjoyed a pair of top-ten stage finishes.
Bernal added that, even though he finished just two spots behind the world-beating Pogačar, it was never in the cards to compete with him. Rather, the 27-year-old Colombian’s sights remained steadfastly on getting stronger as we inch toward Grand Tour season.
“My idea was to get on the podium and at this moment in time, I know I’m not at my best level,” Bernal said. “So, my idea was not even to try to follow (Pogačar).”
“I’m happy with the podium, and my time may come when the forces are maybe a bit more equal,” he added. There’s going to be a big battle (at the Tour de France), lots of people will be at a very high level, and there, things will be a bit clearer.
Bernal’s third-place finish was also his best GC result since winning the 2021 Giro d’Italia. It was also his first podium in a week-long stage race since he won the 2019 Tour de Suisse, just a few weeks before he won that year’s Tour de France.
In early 2022, Bernal was on a training ride in Gachancipá, Colombia, when he struck the back of a parked bus, riding at more than 31 miles per hour. As Bernal was on his time-trial bike, he didn’t notice the unexpectedly stopped bus.
The crash caused twenty separate fractures throughout Bernal’s body, including his femur, right patella, vertebrae, and several ribs. He also punctured a lung and suffered major chest trauma. Bernal’s doctors feared that if he did survive, Bernal would likely be paralyzed.
Within a few weeks, however, the two-time Grand Tour winner was walking. By March, he was riding his trainer. Barely a year later, Bernal returned to the peloton, racing in the 2023 Vuelta a San Juan in Argentina.
He competed in the Tour and the Vuelta later that year, finishing thirty-sixth and ninety-second, respectively.
This year, he’s been building strength in early-season stage races like O Gran Camiño, Tour Colombia, and Paris-Nice, where he finished ninth.
While his outlook for this year remained somewhat uncertain for a time, it was announced in January that he’d be riding in the Tour, supporting Ineos’ team leaders Carlos Rodriguez and Tom Pidcock.
Bernal is also expected to race in the Vuelta, where he will ride as team leader, to try to complete his Grand Tour triple.
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