A long road back for BernalBernal’s words carry extra weight given how far he has had to fight his way back. His career was nearly ended by a horrific training crash in early 2022 that left him with multiple fractures and a punctured lung. Now 28, the Colombian enjoyed his strongest campaign in years in 2025 — winning both Colombian national titles, finishing seventh at the Giro d’Italia and taking a stage at the Vuelta a Espana.
“This year, I felt like I started to be myself again; I felt stronger,” he said. “I feel different. I went to the Giro, finished seventh, and I went to the Vuelta aiming for the podium. It didn’t happen, but I still believe that one day I can win again.”
Battling pain long before the crash
Bernal also revealed that his struggles began even before his near-fatal accident. He had been riding through severe back pain caused by a herniated disc as early as 2020 — a problem he says may have already jeopardised his career.
“It’s hard to say, I was dealing with back pain,” Bernal explained. “I had a herniated disc, and I didn’t know whether I’d need surgery or not. We realised it was very serious — it was pinching a nerve, and that was causing the pain. Even so, in 2021 I went to the Giro with that pain and won it.”
“Cool to compete against him”
Bernal and Pogacar have shared the Tour de France peloton before, but they’ve never truly gone head-to-head for the overall. In Pogacar’s first Tour, Bernal was forced to abandon with back pain while defending his 2019 title, and by the time the Slovenian began his era of dominance, Bernal’s career had already been derailed by injury.
For a rider who once stood where Pogacar now reigns, Bernal’s comments are more than admiration — they’re the voice of a champion who knows exactly what it takes to reach the top, and just how superhuman it looks when someone else makes it seem effortless.