Mammoth duo attack with Higuita gives Bernal a 'nostalgic' feeling: "I felt like the old Egan again"

Bernal attacked with over seventy kilometers to go, alongside Sergio Higuita of BORA-hansgrohe. They chased together until the finish line but ultimately fell a few seconds short of catching winner Alejandro Osorio. The early breakaway rider, competing for a continental team, pulled off the day's big surprise, but Bernal was also happy after the race.

In a reaction to RCI Noticias, the climber shared that after two years of struggling, he finally felt good on the bike again. Following a serious crash with a bus in January 2022, which left him heavily injured, Bernal spent two years rehabilitating, rebuilding, and making a comeback. His goal is to compete for real results again in 2024.

The podium finish in his home country was thus a significant boost. "At one point in the race, I felt nostalgic because I felt like the old Egan again. I thought: Damn, I'm going to give it my all. It didn't matter to me if I got dropped, we went full throttle on every climb. That's how I used to race, fearlessly, and I think I felt that again for the first time today."

"That was cool," Bernal says with a sense of understatement. Although participating in the 2023 Tour de France and the Vuelta a España was great, he was somewhat in the background. The still young 27-year-old former Tour and Giro winner wants more. "We understood each other in the chase and encouraged each other. It was a great collaboration where no one held back or played games. That makes racing even more enjoyable. It was all-in and super fast, and I enjoyed that."