Bernal confirms he is weighing up future in cycling: 'For now, my intention is to start next season'

Egan Bernal has revealed that he has taken something of a sabbatical since the Tour de France as he weighs up his future as a cyclist. 

In a statement on social media on Thursday evening, Bernal confirmed that he has signed a contract with Netcompany-Ineos until 2029, and he said that his intention “for now” is to compete next season. 

However, Bernal also indicated that he is giving himself “time and space” to consider his future, saying: “I don’t know exactly what the next few years will hold for me, and I don’t think I need to know everything at this moment either.”

Bernal’s statement came a day after Daniel Benson reported that he had been considering retirement even though he had agreed terms on a three-year extension with Ineos. His carefully chosen words published on Thursday essentially confirmed that report.

“I wanted to share with you all some reflections on the moment I am currently experiencing, both personally and professionally,” Bernal wrote. “First of all, I have a contract with the team until the end of 2029 and, for now, my intention is to start next season.”

The trajectory of Bernal’s career was changed dramatically by the life-threatening injuries he suffered in a training crash near Bogotá in January 2022. Although he returned to competition in August of that year, he struggled to regain the form that had carried him to victory at the 2019 Tour de France and 2021 Giro d’Italia.

Bernal enjoyed a morale-boosting stage win on last year’s Vuelta a España, having come seventh in the Giro, and he started the 2026 season with a second successive Colombian road title.

The 29-year-old’s spring was interrupted by a knee injury, but he returned to place second at the Tour of the Alps, fifth at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and 10th at the Giro. Surprisingly, Bernal was then pressed into service at the Tour, where he took 20th overall after a sequence of stints in the break in the final week.

“This year, I decided to end my season after the Tour de France. I felt that I needed some time for myself, to rest, disconnect a bit, and recover that peace of mind that sometimes gets lost with the rhythm of competition,” Bernal wrote on Thursday.

“I have had conversations with the team and with the people who support me, and we are all on the same page: I want to give myself the time and space necessary to face what is to come with the same conviction and dedication that I have always had.”

Bernal has previously spoken of his frustration at being unable to compete for Grand Tour victory in the way that he did before his 2022 crash.

“What I am sure of is that as long as I keep competing, I want to do it with the conviction that I still have a lot to give,” he wrote on Thursday. “It is not simply about continuing for the sake of continuing, but about having the motivation, the physical and mental strength, and the desire to keep being competitive and make a difference. 

“For now, I want to enjoy the present, live this moment with peace of mind, and let time put things in their place.”