Egan Bernal has indicated that he will travel to Europe in 10 days to resume his season, but has yet to decide where he will wear the number next.

The Colombian rider rode an encouraging race in the mountains of the Vuelta a San Juan, but was forced to retire suddenly on the final stage due to pain in his left knee.

After skipping the Colombian championships the following week, Bernal missed the Vuelta a Andalucía.

Bernal provided a bright spot in an interview with the Just Cycling Channel (opens in new tab) in Colombia this week, revealing that he had resumed training after his injury.

"My knee is getting better every day," he said. 'I'm already training hard. I really needed it."

"After 10 days in Colombia, I will travel to Europe and see what races are there depending on the form I lost. There I can gauge my strength and regain my confidence."

According to Ineos, Bernal was injured in a crash during the opening stage of the Vuelta a San Juan. A day after finishing fourth at the summit of Alto Colorado, he dismounted from his bike after 10 miles of the sixth stage.

Bernal told Just Cycling that a series of scans showed no lasting injury to his left knee. Bernal fractured his right femur and patella in a life-threatening training crash in January 2022, and the doctor who performed the surgery at that time evaluated the injury.

"Obviously I trust him. He thought it was tendonitis from a fall in Argentina." In any case, it was the other knee that was hurt. The knee I hurt in the accident [last year] is better."

When Bernal first resumed riding on the turbo trainer, he was still suffering from knee pain. Within half an hour, however, the pain was gone. It was as if I needed to loosen up or warm up the knee," Bernal said, and he has since resumed training on the road.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Bernal is aiming to return to competition at the Catalunya Volta or Settimana Coppi e Bartali at the end of March.

At the start of the season, Bernal had also expressed a desire to return to the Tour de France, but Ineos deputy manager Rod Ellingworth told Cycling News last month that the team does not have "any expectations" for the Colombian.

"Rod told me, 'If you have to stop for a week or two, relax, the season is long. I still need to train for the Tour, the Vuelta, and Il Lombardia, and the team is confident in my professionalism."