This is the year of Egan Bernal

Egan Bernal, the 24-year-old Colombian cyclist from the municipality of Zipaquirá, has as his ultimate goal this year to win the Giro d'Italia.

Although there is still some time for this competition, which will take place from 8th of May, Bernal is having a spectacular 2021 that, in our opinion, if it does not lead him to win the Giro, it could at least leave him in a position on the podium.

A start with promising results

This year, the Colombian has participated in four competitions: the Star of Besseges, the Tour de la Provence, the Laigueglia Trophy and the Strade Bianche . In three of these four competitions, Egan has been successful, positioning himself as one of the young competitors to fear globally.

At the Tour de la Provence, Bernal finished third overall, 19 seconds behind the winner . In this competition, he also came in second place in the youth ranking.

In the Laigueglia Trophy, he was second, 39 seconds behind the winner. Finally, he was third in the Strade Bianche, 20 seconds behind the leader, achieving the best result that a Colombian has obtained in the history of this competition.

Also read: These Colombian scorers are breaking it abroad

The injury that worries us

However, there is a factor that could complicate Bernal in 2021: his back injury. It is a disc in the spine that punctures a nerve that supplies the gluteus and runs down the leg. The Colombian, for now, has had no problems with this, as he has made a thorough and diligent recovery and has not participated in such long races. The same cyclist acknowledged that he must wait to see how his body reacts in a two or three week race, such as the Giro d'Italia. If the injury plays a trick on him, as it did in the Tour de France last year, he would have to retire in the middle of the competition.

"It's going to be quite a long process. I'm still feeling a bit of pain in some parts of the race. So far, I've run one-day tests or four-day races, which is different than a big competition. We have to wait. Let's see how the back will react in the Giro d'Italia. Hopefully well, "he clarified in an interview with RTVE.

If his injury is not a problem and Bernal continues this streak of dominance, we could see him on the podium at the Giro on May 30.