'To win another Grand Tour, all the stars must align' - Bernal on grand tour success

Former Tour de France champion Egan Bernal believes he still has what it takes to win another Grand Tour but acknowledges the challenging path ahead after his solid but unspectacular showing at this year's Vuelta a España.

Speaking to Marca, Bernal stated, "To win another Grand Tour, all the stars must align," Bernal said after maintaining his position in the general classification battle. "I've shown I can be competitive again, but winning requires everything to come together perfectly."

The 28-year-old INEOS Grenadiers rider, who won the Tour de France in 2019 and the Giro d'Italia in 2021, has been on a long road to recovery following his life-threatening training crash in 2022. His participation in this year's Vuelta general classification represents another significant milestone in his comeback journey.

Bernal has shown glimpses of his former brilliance during the Spanish Grand Tour, notably on some of the more challenging mountain stages, but has been unable to match the consistent power of race leaders throughout the three-week event.

"I feel grateful just to be here competing at this level again," Bernal explained. "After what happened, every day on the bike is a blessing, but I'm a competitor at heart and still dream of standing on the top step again."

Team INEOS Grenadiers sporting director Xabier Artetxe praised Bernal's determination, saying: "What Egan has accomplished already is remarkable considering where he was 18 months ago. His mentality has never changed - he still thinks like a champion."

Bernal himself remains pragmatic about his trajectory: "I must continue building step by step. This Vuelta has given me confidence but also shown where I need to improve if I want to challenge for victory again."

With several years potentially still ahead in his career, Bernal hasn't lost sight of his ultimate ambition to add more Grand Tour victories to his palmares, despite the increasingly competitive landscape in professional cycling.

"The level is incredibly high now," Bernal admitted. "The new generation doesn't wait for anyone, so I need to keep evolving and find that extra percentage that makes the difference between finishing respectably and winning."