More so than has been the case for a few years, Egan Bernal was a feature at the front of bike races in 2024. Although, for some, a return to Grand Tour winning ways might still seem some distance, for the Colombian himself, hope is growing.
“It wasn’t bad. I have my past and I don’t want it to always sound like an excuse, but it was far from what I expected. I started the year with different expectations,” Bernal assesses of his 2024, in conversation with AS Colombia. “I wanted to win races again and, between one thing and another, things got complicated. I had good podiums alongside Jonas Vingegaard, with Tadej Pogacar, I missed the podium on the last day in Switzerland and I was third in Catalunya. I never managed to win that stage or that race that I wanted to win.”
As Bernal says there, the bright points of the season included strong performances at the Tour de Suisse, the Tour de Romandie, Volta a Catalunya, Paris-Nice, Gran Camino and the Tour Colombia. A 20th win of his professional career remains elusive though. “I got my first podium after the accident in the Nationals and I remember that well. You go to Europe and there you have to go. I got on the podium with Jonas and it was cool to feel up front; I was third in Catalunya and the whole process went well,” he recalls.
“I even have better numbers than before, but the others are at a much higher level. You have to know how to interpret what a rider says,” continues Bernal, who still, as mentioned, holds out hope of winning the Vuelta a Espana one day to complete Grand Tour set. “It was difficult to win the Tour and the Giro when I was in a good position, so it will be difficult to win that Vuelta. There is no easy race; it is never easy to win or finish a race. The hope is there. For some reason, in the history of cycling, few have won the three Grand Tours and that is not easy to do. I always think about winning the Vuelta, it is my dream.”
As for the rest of the season and the 2025 campaign, Bernal is confident that next win isn’t far away. “2024 is not over, but I would like to do the national championship; winning it has slipped away from me. It is one of the ones that I definitely want to win, it is to wear the national champion jersey for a year and I want to do that before I retire,” he concludes. “There are many options for various races, but that depends on what they tell us, on the plans and the form of the rider.”
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