An emotional Egan Bernal revealed that he was a late selection for the Tour de France but he is determined to seize the opportunity in his first Grand Tour since his life-threatening crash 18 months ago.
"My plan before the Dauphiné was to be on holiday now," Bernal admitted in a video call after arriving in Bilbao to join his Ineos Grenadiers teammates.
"There were a lot of doubts about coming here during the Dauphiné but then in the race, I wasn't too bad and they (the team) took the decision the week after the race.
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"During the Dauphiné, they told me to stay focused in case I came to the Tour. For me it's a big honour to come to the Tour, so it's not difficult to be focused. Here I am.
"I'm very happy, it's very emotional to be back at the Tour de France. It's a race where everyone wants to race, it's the best race in the world. I feel very lucky to be here, and I am motivated to give everything."
Bernal finished 12th overall at the Dauphiné suffering moments of good and bad form but he has continued to train hard at his Europe home in Monaco.
"It's been a very long road to get here but I believe I've arrived in good condition for the Tour. I feel good, content, with a lot of motivation. The last two weeks after the Dauphiné, I've done good training, and improved my condition, better than I was in Dauphine. That's my starting point for the next three weeks," he said.
Ineos Grenadiers do not have a true overall contender for the Tour de France but will target stages and hope Tom Pidcock and Carlos Rodriguez can show their future Grand Tour talents.
Bernal will have a free role but remains ambitious, despite his long recovery from his multiple fractures and a series of setbacks and injuries in the first half of 2023.
"We have a deep team, with a lot of riders with different qualities, and I believe we can do a very good race," Bernal suggested.
"We have a team that can be competitive, everyone knows the quality of the team and Tom comes in very motivated. The first few stages are very well suited for him."
Bernal played down his personal ambitions, but they emerged as he spoke.
"To be honest, I'm not sure what I can do," he said.
"I need to take things, honestly, day by day. It's my first three-week race for a long, long time. I wasn't preparing 100% for this race but I'll do my best.
"The first big objective is not to lose time in the first few stages. Then we can decide what to do. It depends on how I feel. The good thing is that I have a free role and we'll decide what I do based on how I feel and on my legs."
Bernal won the 2019 Tour de France, confirming his Grand Tour potential when he was just 22. He struggled with a back injury in 2020 but then won the 2021 Giro d'Italia and was sixth in the Vuelta a España after skipping the Tour.
He suffered a life-threatening collision with a bus during training in January 2022 in Colombia. He sustained injuries to his chest and spine as well as fractures to a vertebra, femur, patella, and several ribs, and didn't race again until August.
It changed his perspective on life but made him determined to make a comeback. Riding the 2023 Tour de France is a massive step in his journey back to competing for victory in Grand Tours.
"It's been a hard few years, honestly. I think I should be thankful to be alive and to be at the start of the Tour after everything. I just try to see the good things at this point," he said.
"I'd love to be back at my level and I'd love to race again in a Grand Tour and see how I can do against the big names that are winning now. I'd like to compare myself with them. That's why I'm still cycling. I wake up and work for that every day, to return to my best level. I'm working full gas for it."
"It'd be amazing to reach Paris again and finish my first Grand Tour since my crash. It'll be a big, big step for me and useful for the future. Not only for this Tour de France but also for the Vuelta and the Tour next year. Knowing I can complete this race would be a good thing for me."
Bernal has little fear and hesitation about returning and racing at the Tour de France despite his collision and his injuries.
"I've been pushing since the moment I crashed," he suggested.
"I've put all my time into making a comeback and to fight again. I think I'm ready to be back, it's what I want to do."
