Egan Bernal facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Egan Bernal

Bernal in 2019
Personal information
Full name	Egan Arley Bernal Gómez
Born	(1997-01-13) 13 January 1997 (age 28) Bogotá, Colombia
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	60 kg (132 lb; 9 st 6 lb)
Team information
Current team	Ineos Grenadiers
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	Climbing specialist
Major wins
Grand Tours Tour de France General classification (2019) Young rider classification (2019) Giro d'Italia General classification (2021) Young rider classification (2021) 2 individual stages (2021) Stage races Paris–Nice (2019) Tour de Suisse (2019) Tour of California (2018) One-day races and Classics National Road Race Championships (2025) National Time Trial Championships (2018, 2025) Gran Piemonte (2019)

Egan Arley Bernal Gómez (born on January 13, 1997) is a professional cyclist from Colombia. He rides for a top cycling team called Ineos Grenadiers. In 2019, Egan made history by winning the Tour de France. He was the first rider from Latin America to win this famous race. He was also the youngest winner since 1909. In 2021, Egan won another major race, the Giro d'Italia. These two wins are called "Grand Tours" in cycling.

Egan Bernal's Early Life

Egan Bernal was born in Bogotá, Colombia. He grew up in a town called Zipaquirá. His dad, Germán, worked at the Salt Cathedral. His mom, Flor, worked in a flower factory. Egan's father loved cycling as a hobby. Egan started riding a bike when he was just five years old.

When he was nine, Egan entered a race in his hometown. He won easily, even though his dad didn't want him to race. His prize was a special training scholarship. Before becoming a full-time cyclist, he studied for a short time at a university in Colombia.

Mountain Biking Success

Egan first became very good at mountain bike racing. He won races in places like Brazil, Costa Rica, and the United States. He also won medals at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships. He earned a silver medal in 2014 and a bronze medal in 2015 in the junior cross-country events.

Becoming a Professional Road Cyclist

While mountain biking, Egan also started doing well in junior road races. He won races in Colombia and Italy in 2015.

Starting His Pro Career (2016–2017)

In 2016, Egan signed a four-year contract with the Androni Giocattoli–Sidermec team. He started racing against older, more experienced cyclists right away. He didn't go through the usual path of racing only with riders under 23 years old.

In 2016, he finished in the top 20 in several races. He also won the Tour of Bihor and came in fourth in the Tour de Slovenie and the Tour de l'Avenir.

In 2017, Egan continued to impress. He finished in the top ten in races like the Vuelta a San Juan. He also won his first professional races at the Sibiu Cycling Tour, winning two stages and the overall title. He then won two more stages and the overall title at the Tour de l'Avenir.

Even though he was still with his old team, Egan signed a five-year deal with Team Sky for the 2018 season. This was a big step up for him.

Big Wins in 2018

Bernal wearing the leader's jersey at the 2018 Tour of California

Egan started with his new team, Team Sky, at the 2018 Tour Down Under. He won the best young rider award and finished sixth overall. In February 2018, Egan won the Colombian National Time Trial Championships. He then won the first-ever Tour Colombia race. He won by attacking on the final climb of the last day.

Later, Egan raced in the 2018 Volta a Catalunya. He was in second place overall when he fell and broke his collarbone and shoulder blade.

After recovering, Egan raced in the 2018 Tour de Romandie. He won a stage and finished second overall. In May, he got his first big win in a UCI World Tour race, the 2018 Tour of California. He finished more than a minute ahead of the second-place rider and won two stages.

In July, Egan rode in his first Tour de France. He was a "domestique," which means he helped his team leaders, Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas. Egan was the youngest rider in the race. He showed how strong he was by keeping up with many top riders in the mountains.

Tour de France Champion (2019)

Bernal at the 2019 Tour de France

Egan started 2019 racing in Colombia. He then went to Europe and won Paris–Nice. He showed his strength in different parts of the race, including time trials and mountain stages.

He finished third in the 2019 Volta a Catalunya. He was supposed to lead his team at the 2019 Giro d'Italia, but he broke his collarbone in a training accident. He came back to race in the 2019 Tour de Suisse, where he won the overall race and a tough mountain stage.

Winning the Tour de France

Because his teammate Chris Froome was injured, Egan became a co-leader for the Tour de France with Geraint Thomas. He stayed in the top ten for most of the race. On stage 18, he attacked on the last climb and moved into second place overall.

On stage 19, Egan took the yellow jersey, which means he became the race leader. This happened after he attacked on the Col de l'Iseran climb. The stage was cut short because of landslides and a bad hail storm. But Egan's time at the top of the Iseran put him in the lead. He was 45 seconds ahead of the previous leader and over a minute ahead of Geraint Thomas.

He kept his lead on stage 20, another mountain stage. Then, he rode the final, mostly ceremonial, stage into Paris to confirm his victory.

Egan became the first Colombian and South American rider to win the Tour de France. He also won the best young rider award. At 22 years and 196 days old, he was the youngest winner since 1909.

Egan said, "It's incredible, I don’t know what to say. I’ve won the Tour but I don’t manage to believe it. I need a couple of days to assimilate all this. It's for my family and I just want to hug them. It's a feeling of happiness that I don’t know how to describe it." He also said the win was for his home country: "This is not only my triumph. It's the triumph of a whole country."

Challenges in 2020

In early 2020, Egan finished fourth at the Tour Colombia. After a break due to the coronavirus, he won the Route d'Occitanie. He also finished second at the Tour de l'Ain. At the Colombian National Road Race Championships, he won medals in both the road race and time trial.

At the Tour de France, Egan was in the top ten for many stages. He also led the young rider classification for five stages. However, he lost a lot of time on two difficult days and had to leave the race because of back pain.

Giro d'Italia Champion (2021)

Egan Bernal wearing the Maglia rosa (pink jersey) during the final time trial of the 2021 Giro d'Italia

After some early races, Egan finished third in Strade Bianche. He also finished fourth overall in the Tirreno–Adriatico.

Egan was one of the top favorites for the 2021 Giro d'Italia. On stage six, he gained time on his rivals. On stage nine, Egan won his first-ever Grand Tour stage. He also took the pink jersey, which means he became the overall leader. He attacked on a gravel section at the end of a climb.

He increased his lead on stage 11, another stage with gravel roads. On stage 14, he gained even more time on his rivals on the tough climb up Monte Zoncolan. He won his second stage of the race on stage 16, which was shortened due to bad weather. This gave him a lead of almost two and a half minutes.

In the final week, Egan kept his lead. He secured the pink jersey on the last time trial in Milan. He won the Giro d'Italia by about one and a half minutes. He became the fourth rider to win both the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia before turning 25. He also won both the overall and youth classifications in the same Giro.

Egan also rode in the 2021 Vuelta a España. He took over the young rider classification after stage 3. He was in the top 10 for most of the race. On stage 17, he launched a long attack. He finished 6th overall in the race.

Serious Crash in 2022

Bernal at the 2023 Tour de France

On January 24, 2022, Egan was on a training ride in Colombia with his teammates. He crashed into the back of a stopped bus while riding his time-trial bike. He was going about 50 kilometers per hour (30 mph).

Egan suffered many serious injuries. These included a fractured spine, a broken right leg, a broken kneecap, chest injuries, a punctured lung, and several broken ribs. Doctors counted 20 separate fractures. They initially warned there was a very high chance he might die or be paralyzed.

He had two successful surgeries. He began to recover quickly. By early March, he was sharing his progress on social media. His coach hoped he might even return to cycling by the end of the 2022 season.

Egan did return to racing later in 2022 at the Danmark Rundt race.

Racing in 2023 and 2024

In 2023, Egan finished 8th at the 2023 Tour de Romandie. He also rode in the 2023 Tour de France and the 2023 Vuelta a España.

In 2024, Egan continued his comeback. He finished 3rd in the 2024 Volta a Catalunya and the 2024 O Gran Camiño races. He also finished 4th in the 2024 Tour de Suisse and 7th in Paris–Nice. He rode in the 2024 Tour de France as well.

Major Achievements

Road Cycling

Grand Tour Results

Grand Tour general classification
Grand Tour	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Giro d'Italia	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	—	7
Tour de France	—	15	1	DNF	—	—	36	29
Vuelta a España	—	—	—	—	6	—	55	—
Major stage race general classification
Race	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Paris–Nice	—	—	1	—	—	—	—	7	—
Tirreno–Adriatico	16	—	—	—	4	—	—	—	—
Volta a Catalunya	—	DNF	3	NH	—	—	DNF	3	7
Tour of the Basque Country	—	—	—		—	—	92	—	—
Tour de Romandie	—	2	—		—	—	8	10	—
Critérium du Dauphiné	—	—	—	DNF	—	—	12	—
Tour de Suisse	—	—	1	NH	—	—	—	4

Mountain Biking Achievements

See also

In Spanish: Egan Bernal para niños