A few days have passed since Egan Bernal returned to winning: the success came in the national time trial championship, exactly 1347 days after his previous title, and the Colombian champion looks to the future with a different awareness, because he knows that nothing will ever be the same as before his accident. Egan risked his life on January 24, 2022, and he still remembers it today: "I risked dying and no one knew what would happen to me. I had a 95 percent chance of remaining paralyzed. But now I know I've been given a second chance".

On February 6, Bernal became the national time trial champion, a specialty that has never seen him among the top performers: on January 24, the Colombian was training specifically in time trial to prepare himself best for the Tour de France.

"I've never been a time trial specialist, but it was nice to win, especially since I hadn't raced since the Tour de France. This success means a lot to me, perhaps a sign of destiny". The Ineos champion is extremely religious, and his spirituality has increased after the accident. "In these 1347 days, many things have happened. I often thought about giving up and retiring, but I also promised myself that if I won again, I would dedicate my first victory to God. He gave me a second chance in life".

With this victory, Bernal has liberated himself and also his team, Ineos Grenadiers, from a long period of drought, as the British team had to wait 216 days to return to success. An unprecedented timespan for a team that until recently was among the most victorious in cycling. The last Ineos victory, before Bernal's time trial title, was with Filippo Ganna at the Tour of Austria last July.

"The message I want to convey today is that, despite all the bad things that can happen to us, we can always do better, and this race is for all of you and for all those people who have been close to me".

The boy from Zipaquira and his team have made a radical choice in both training program and races since last year. Before the Tour, he had raced sixty-three days, including Paris-Nice (7th), Catalonia (3rd), and Switzerland (4th). After the Tour, he no longer raced, and two days ago he returned to winning. "In agreement with my coach, we decided to break with the constant training scheme because it only led to suffering in races. I feel it has done me good, now my body reacts differently to training. Before it was different, and I had to accept that I will never be the same again".