'I wanted to win with the national jersey' - Bernal's resilience shines at Vuelta

Egan Bernal (Ineos) claimed victory on stage 16 of the Vuelta a España that was halted with 8km to go, due to protests closer to the finish line. 

For Bernal, the victory holds extra significance, bouncing back from a life-threatening training crash in his home nation of Colombia in 2022. It's the third victory for Bernal since his return to racing, adding to the national titles he claimed in the road race and time trial back in February and wearing the jersey gave the Colombian extra motivation to win at the Vuelta.

"After I dropped from the GC, I really wanted a win," Bernal said following his victory. "I wanted to win with the national jersey, which means a lot for me."

For the Colombian climber, this victory carries special significance beyond just adding another win to his palmarès. Winning while wearing his national colours fulfilled a personal goal and created what he called "a good one, good for memories."

The former Tour de France champion described the stage as "beautiful but super hard" with aggressive racing throughout the day. Bernal's last Grand Tour stage win and WorldTour success came back at the Giro d'Italia in 2021 on stage 16, en route to sealing the pink jersey, on a stage that had also been shortened due to weather conditions. 

The victory marks an important comeback moment for the Ineos Grenadiers rider, landing his first WorldTour victory since the 2021 Giro d'Italia, having faced significant challenges since the crash he suffered in 2022.

Bernal highlighted the strong cooperation with Mikel Landa (Soudal-QuickStep) in the decisive moments of the stage. The duo worked efficiently together until the finish, at the makeshift finish line, at the 8km to go mark, where the Colombian outsprinted the Spaniard.

"When we knew that it would be eight kilometres to go, we just sprinted there," explained Bernal. "The cooperation was super good."

The triumph demonstrates Bernal's resilience and determination to find success even after his general classification ambitions had faded earlier in the race.