Egan Bernal has completed his first sprint on the bike in over five months, in the latest step in his remarkable recovery from injuries sustained in a training crash in January, which required seven surgeries.
Sharing footage of his sprint on Twitter, Bernal emphasised that this is the first time he has completed a sprint with maximum effort since the January crash.
The Colombian got out of the saddle for a brief period to obtain more purchase on his sprint up the mountain, highlighting the fact that he is slowly, but surely, returning to full fitness.
"First sprint," Bernal wrote, with a tick emoji accompanying the words.
"Difficult does not mean impossible. It means that you are going to have to work hard."
Completing the ride in Monaco and southeast France, Bernal also posted his full effort to his Strava account. Stats reveal he completed 86km in three hours and 34 minutes, with 1,854 metres of climbing in total.
The 25-year-old achieved a maximum speed of 66kph during the ride, too, suggesting he didn't take it easy on the descents or on his sprint up the mountain.
Since being involved in a severe training crash at the end of January - which left him requiring seven separate surgeries to treat the 20 broken bones and two collapsed lungs - Bernal's speedy recovery has positively shocked fans.
The Ineos Grenadiers rider has shared the progress of his recovery on his social media in the intervening months, documenting every milestone as he managed to walk unaided, get back on a stationary bike trainer, before finally completing a ride on the roads.
However, at the end of April, Bernal urged his fans to remain patient, suggesting he will return to competition when he is fully fit. Despite the potential for Bernal to race in 2022, he remains realistic with his ambitions as he instead focuses on 2023.
"I want to ride all the races next year that I haven't been able to do this year," Bernal told reporters at the end of May.
