Happy birthday, Egan Bernal – Pride of Colombia

“When I’m on the bike, I feel like myself. All my energy is focused on one thing”. Only words like these can truly convey the monumental effort Egan Bernal has put in to return from his devastating 2022 crash, going on to deliver one of the strongest seasons of his career. The double Colombian champion – with his title defences still to come – poured heart and soul into a campaign where misfortune and glory once again traded blows, as they so often do in cycling.

2025 was the year the former protégé of the late Gianni Savio raised his arms again – even on a Grand Tour stage, winning in Castro de Herville at the Vuelta a España, though celebrations were muted due to pro-Palestine protests. More importantly, it marked his long-awaited return to the Giro d’Italia, perhaps his favorite race, the one he conquered in his only previous appearance back in 2021 with a truly commanding performance.

Giro d’Italia 2021: From the Passo Giau to Eternal Glory in Milan

On the snow-lined ramps of the Passo Giau, clad in the Maglia Rosa, Bernal launched a devastating attack, sealing an adventure that had begun ten days earlier with another masterclass at Campo Felice (Rocca di Cambio).
“It doesn’t happen every day that you win a Giro stage in the Maglia Rosa. I wanted to do something special, to show that I was back”.

Bernal’s career has always been a delicate balance between highs and lows. Even in 2025, fresh off the euphoria of national championship success, he was forced to restart yet again after a crash at the Clásica de Jaén left him with a fractured collarbone, disrupting his Giro build-up. Still, when the race rolled out from Albania, Bernal was there. After struggling in the TUDOR ITT in Pisa, he clawed his way up the general classification day by day, eventually finishing seventh overall. Perhaps not headline-grabbing for a rider who owns both a Trofeo Senza Fine and a Tour de France title (2019), but a result that firmly underlined his return to the sharp end of the peloton.

Italy written in his destiny: Giro 2026 Awaits

Eighth at Il Lombardia – a race where he had already stepped onto the podium before the pandemic – and Colombia’s top rider in last season’s UCI rankings, Bernal is already carefully laying the groundwork for what he hopes will be one final push toward legend status.

Rumours suggest – and we can only hope they prove true – that Egan will line up at the Grande Partenza in Bulgaria next May, possibly alongside Thymen Arensman, winner of two stages at the last Tour. With a rebuilding INEOS Grenadiers, now guided by new sporting director Geraint Thomas – another rider who knows what it means to fight for the Maglia Rosa – the “Condor of Zipaquirá” is still allowed to dream.

Happy 29th birthday, Egan – and best of luck for 2026!