Egan Bernal admits that he considered retirement during the long process of recovering from a life-threatening training accident in early 2022.

But the Colombian cycling star said he was persuaded to continue in the sport after seeing others get through similarly difficult circumstances and rebuild their lives afterward.

"I thought about retiring," Bernal said in a lengthy interview with the sports newspaper AS before the season opens this weekend at the Vuelta a San Juan in Argentina.

Bernal also reaffirmed that the Tour de France, which he won in 2019, is his "number one goal for the season" and said he may add the Vuelta a España to his program "depending on the results of the Tour."

Asked by AS what the best thing about his recovery process after the terrible training accident on January 24, 2022, Bernal said flatly, "It may sound strange, but at this point I think the accident itself is the best thing that happened to me. It was very tough." [If I could turn back the hands of the clock, I would wish the accident had never happened. [I could have been closer to my family, to God, and to some very nice people. [When I have children and grandchildren, I will tell them that my father almost died when he was 25 years old when he was hit by a bus.

During the off-season, Bernal has posted several photos on social media during long training rides and in very harsh weather conditions, and says that the winter program is generally going well.

He said that his right leg, from which he fell, was in terrible shape, but that it was slowly recovering and that his training "numbers" were very good. However, he noted that it is the races where he can really see how well he is doing.

"I'm surprised and very happy with how much I've been able to do [this year]," Bernal said. 'It hasn't even been a year yet, and now I'm thinking about the Tour de France. I don't just want to finish or participate, I want to win the overall and do as well as I possibly can.

"A year ago, just after my accident, when I had just regained consciousness, if you had told me I was thinking about the Tour de France, I wouldn't have believed you. My family and my team have made it all possible."

However, he denied that his experience and accident gave him any special or unique perspective. Rather, he said, "We are all the same. Anything can happen to anyone." [What I want to show is that if you want to do something, you have to fight for it and push forward no matter what the difficulties are." [27] [28] "It was a very complicated process, working behind the scenes for months, getting up and starting from scratch. You have to clean your teeth, you have to learn to eat, you have to take those little steps, and it was very difficult at first, but thanks to passion and determination, you can do it.

He participated in races in Germany, Denmark, and Italy at the end of the 2022 season, but did not achieve great results. He also thanked top riders such as Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates) and Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo Visma) for their concern for his recovery.

"It is true that I received many messages when I crashed, and many of the riders you named kept writing to me during the season. They showed me respect," Bernal told AS.

"I would be very concerned if this happened to one of the riders you listed. I would be very worried if this happened to one of the riders you mentioned. Some people think there are a lot of rivals, but on the contrary we live in Europe and if we pass each other we have a beer together."

Bernal also took time to talk about Colombian cycling, expressing deep regret that his country's signature stage race, the six-day Tour Colombia, has nearly disappeared, recalling that "in [his hometowns of] Zipaquila and Boyaca, people lined the route for miles and There were people lining the route," he recalled. Colombia is a cycling country, so it was more for the fans than for the bike riders."

Regarding the absence of Nairo Quintana and Miguel Angel Lopez (Medellín-EPM) from the World Tour, Bernal said, "It's a shame. They are very talented. Imagine how much the public appreciates Nairo's history and how much the public appreciates him as a cyclist who gave Colombia new hope. He won the Giro and the Vuelta, it's a shame he's not there." [At least Lopez got a good team. Medellín is his best option and I would call it the best team in Colombia. He raced in San Juan and has already won in Villeta.