Egan Bernal to return to Strade Bianche for first time since 2021 podium finish

It had to be him. All of Zipaquirá seemed to line the roads for the Colombian Championships road race on Sunday and local son Egan Bernal sent the crowds home happy by winning his second successive national title. 

Bernal saw off his former Ineos teammate Ivan Sosa in the finale of a demanding race to claim the crown, bouncing back quickly from the relative disappointment of an unsuccessful defence of his time trial crown in midweek.

“It’s funny because I thought I wouldn’t feel any pressure and I didn’t really, but I still didn’t sleep very well the night before the time trial,” Bernal told Deportes RCNafterwards. 

On Sunday, in any case, the masses calling his name served to inspire rather than inhibit. “Starting the season here is beautiful and I was very motivated to do well. Winning the championships in front of my people is something very special.”

The victory comes a little over four years on from the training crash that changed the tenor of Bernal’s career, and he will hope it augurs well for the season ahead. In 2025, Bernal’s Colombian title was the prologue to his best season since the crash, as he took seventh overall at the Giro d’Italia and won a stage of the Vuelta a España.

Bernal was circumspect, however, about drawing too many conclusions from his latest national title. While he believes he has returned to the condition that carried him to Tour de France victory in 2019 and the Giro d’Italia in 2021, he is aware that the level has risen across the sport since then.

“We know the most important races are in Europe and I’ll do the best I can,” Bernal said. “But winning is winning, because the level is so high now. Nobody gifts you anything, there is no such thing as a preparation race anymore and everybody is going flat out. 

“For the moment, everything is going well. I have to keep enjoying things and keep working with my feet on the ground, because to win in Europe, you’ll be up against a Roglic or a Remco or a Pogacar or an Almeida or a Vingegaard – there are so many really strong riders.

“But for the moment I’m still working and believing in myself. I’m trying to get to the best level I can, not just for my team but for the people in Colombia and Latin America who follow us.”

Bernal has previously signalled his desire to return to the Giro in 2026, but his Ineos team has yet to confirm his Grand Tour schedule for the new season. On Sunday, he confirmed that his first races in Europe would be the Drôme Classic (February 28) and Ardêche Classic (March 1), and he is also set to return to Strade Bianche for the first time since he placed third on an assured debut in 2021. He was also among the chief aggressors on the gravel on stage 9 of the 2025 Giro to Siena.

“I’ll start with two one-day races in France and then normally I’ll do Strade Bianche and Tirreno-Adriatico followed by Catalunya,” said Bernal. “And then the rest will depend on the team.”

It is not yet known when new signing Oscar Onley will make his debut for Ineos, and the team has declined a request from Domestique to confirm his initial race schedule. 

New director of racing Geraint Thomas indicated on a recent episode of his podcast that Onley would take part in Paris-Nice and the rebranded Critérium du Dauphiné, and is widely expected that the Scot will lead Ineos at the Tour.