The 25-year-old required multiple surgeries after sustaining a fractured vertebra, a fractured right femur, a fractured right patella, chest trauma, a punctured lung, and several fractured ribs when he collided with a parked bus at high speed on a training ride in Colombia.
Bernal, who won the won the 2019 Tour de France and the 2021 Giro d'Italia, was originally told by doctors that there was a "95 per cent chance" of him being left paralysed by the crash.
Just days after being pictured on the road for the first time in two months, an emotional Bernal opened up on his recovery.
"I actually received an important lesson from this accident, so absurdly I'm actually thankful for having lived through this experience," Bernal said, speaking at a 'Ride With Egan' event held on the virtual cycling platform Zwift.
"I'm happy to be alive and little by little I'm starting to feel like a cyclist again.
"I want to say thanks to all the people who wrote to me and sent me positive energy, they really helped me.
"Having the energy and support of an entire country, of so many people in cycling from around the world and especially of my loved ones, has allowed me to move forward and contradict the first terrible diagnoses of the doctors."
Bernal explained the accident had allowed him to view life in a different way, acknowledging his aim of being "the best rider in the world" had faded into irrelevance when he was faced with the life-threatening consequences of the collision.
"The accident allowed me to see things from a different perspective," Bernal added. "Before, I was only focused on cycling and being the best rider in the world. But the real priority in life is to feel good and be able to be with those who love us.
"When you are attached to a ventilator you feel fragile and vulnerable, only then do you really value what you previously underestimated or took for granted.
"Now, I send my strength to those who are suffering. We must have patience and give the right consideration to what happens to us in life.
"Being forced to miss races can be traumatic, but it is more important to still be in this world, surrounded by the affection of family and friends. Sometimes we forget what really matters."
The INEOS Grenadiers rider was, however, reluctant to set a date for his competitive return.
"I don't know what the recovery time will be. I don't want to rush or set a date for my return, it wouldn't be ideal given everything that has happened," he added.
"Clearly I hope to recover as soon as possible, but I have to listen to my body. Before thinking about getting back to winning, I have to get back to full health and finish a race. That would already be an important success.
"I hope I'm not afraid to do what I love.
"I don't know if when I go back to going fast I'll be scared or not. For now, I've only done a few rides. Fear was certainly not the first sensation I felt when I got back in the saddle. Instead, it was pure happiness."
The 25-year-old, who won the 2019 Tour de France and the 2021 Giro d'Italia, was treated in intensive care after hitting a parked bus at high speed while on a training ride in Colombia in January.
Bernal required multiple surgeries after sustaining a fractured vertebra, a fractured right femur, a fractured right patella, chest trauma, a punctured lung and several fractured ribs.
The Colombian revealed in a social media post later that month that there was a "95 per cent chance" of him being paralysed or killed during the incident, but has now been pictured on the road in a tweet from the official INEOS Grenadiers account.
"The best Monday motivation we could ever hope for, Egan Bernal is back on the bike," INEOS tweeted.
"The happiest day of my life," he wrote on Twitter.
"After 2 months and 20 broken bones, here I am, and I want more! See you on the road!"
Former cyclist Chris Hoy, one of Great Britain's most successful Olympians, told Stats Perform earlier this month that he expects Bernal to recover, though knows it will be a long way back.
"I guess it's always hard to tell just how bad an injury or how bad mentally a big crash can affect athletes and with social media, you're always trying to portray the best possible side and the positive side all the time," said Hoy.
"But there is no doubt that no matter how well he's doing now, it will have been a huge struggle to get past the physical injuries and the psychological scars as well from such a horrible accident.
"He is a fierce competitor, all the other team-mates who know him say that if anyone can, he can, and I think the cycling community is hoping that he will get back to his very best and be able to compete on the biggest stage. But, you know, it's not a small challenge that he's facing, but we'll have to wait and see."
Bernal claimed a long-overdue maiden Grand Tour stage triumph following a gruelling 157-kilometre ride from Castel di Sangro to Campo Felice that concluded with an uphill finish on a gravel track.
Geoffrey Bouchard and Koen Bouwman were involved in a breakaway group but were unable to remain clear, the duo overtaken within 500 metres of the line.
A determined Bernal pushed hard to claim potentially crucial time in the battle for the maglia rosa, finishing seven seconds clear of Giulio Ciccone and Alexandr Vlasov, who were second and third respectively.
The 2019 Tour de France winner now has a 15-second cushion over nearest rival Remco Evenepoel in the overall standings.
"I cannot believe what just happened, I just won my first stage in a Grand Tour," Bernal said in his post-race interview.
"I made a lot of sacrifices to get where I am now. I was thinking I would do well today but I was not sure whether I could have won the stage.
"My team-mates had a lot of confidence in me, they told me I could do it: this victory is for them, they really believe in me."
Attila Valter had held the pink jersey heading into the stage, yet he found the going tough on the final climb and finished almost a minute behind the stage winner.
Meanwhile, Matej Mohoric was taken to hospital following a dramatic crash during proceedings. Team Bahrain Victorious confirmed the Slovenian would undergo tests and was to be kept under observation, as per the UCI's concussion protocol.
Mohoric somersaulted over his handlebars after coming off during a descent, with his bike splitting apart after making contact with a crash barrier.
STAGE RESULT
1. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) 4:08:23
2. Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) +07secs
3. Alexandr Vlasov (Astana-Premier Tech) "
4. Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck-Quick Step) +10s
5. Daniel Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) "
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) 35:19:22
2. Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck-Quick Step) +0.15
3. Alexandr Vlasov (Astana-Premier Tech) +0.21
Points Classification
1. Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix) 83
2. Giacomo Nizzolo (Team Qhubeka Assos) 76
3. Elia Viviani (Cofidis) 69
King of the Mountains
1. Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroen Team) 51
2. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) 48
3. Gino Mader (Bahrain Victorious) 44
INEOS last week named their Tour team but found no room for either Froome or Geraint Thomas, who have five general classification titles between them.
The hugely successful British outfit are instead again relying on Egan Bernal, the 2019 champion, as Froome and Thomas target the Vuelta and Giro d'Italia respectively.
Froome, 35, only returned to competitive racing in February after a horrific crash at the 2019 Criterium du Dauphine left him with multiple serious injuries. He will join Israel Start-Up Nation next year.
Speaking at the team's season launch, INEOS general manager Brailsford outlined exactly why Froome and Thomas had been held back.
"They're both big champions," Brailsford said of the pair.
"Chris is obviously coming back from his accident. He's won more than anybody else in this current generation. He's a legend of the sport.
"But with a cycling team, the cycling season is spread over the Grand Tours, it's not all about one race. We look at our riders and see who's the best suited to go for the big races.
"We've decided for Geraint to focus on the tour of Italy, a very important race for us. To try to double up on the back of his Tour win and try to win the tour of Italy, that would be amazing.
"For Chris, he has a little bit longer to get back from his injury and then focus on the tour of Spain. He's won it before and he's on his way back.
"You've got to admire his tenacity and his mental strength to come back to where he has. It's remarkable. I'm sure he can get back to that level and challenge for the tour of Spain."
The Tour is going ahead despite the coronavirus pandemic, yet Bernal is confident the riders' competitive spirit will not be impacted by the crisis.
"I think the race will be the same," Bernal said. "With or without COVID, we will go full gas.
"The racing will be the same, but when we arrive in the hotel or at the start or the finish, it will be different. We will miss the people. Fortunately, they can see on the TV."
The UAE Team Emirates rider won in thrilling circumstances to secure his first victory at the Giro following a three-man sprint in the final kilometre of the race.
The climax of the the 195-kilometre long Seregno-Bergamo meant McNulty edged out Ben Healy and Marco Frigo, who finished second and third respectively.
McNulty said afterwards: “I’m stoked. This was my goal coming here. I wanted a stage win but I got sick in the time trial.
“I wanted to finish solo but luckily I managed to win, even in a sprint.
“I knew the third guy was coming across. Let’s hope this win adds to the team’s motivation on GC with Joao Almeida.”
Sunday’s result means Geraint Thomas still trails Armirail in the general classification by just one minute and eight seconds.
The French Groupama rider keeps the lead going into Monday’s rest day and admitted it had been a difficult challenge to retain the jersey.
Armirail said: “It’s been difficult to retain the Maglia Rosa.
“It was a hard stage with a lot of climbing and there was Einer Rubio at the front. He was likely to take the jersey so my team-mates had to pace all along.
“Yesterday I didn’t realise what it was to take the Maglia Rosa but today with the incredible support of the crowd I’ve found out what it’s like.
“It’s huge and I’m delighted to stay in the lead on the rest day.”
Cavendish last featured in the race in 2013, topping the points classification after winning five stages.
The legendary sprinter has 15 stage wins in five previous appearances in the race, and will be hoping to replicate his successful comeback at last year's Tour de France, where he matched Eddy Merckx's career record of 34 stage victories, which had stood since 1975, after a three-year absence from the race.
As his team confirmed Cavendish's participation on Twitter, directeur sportif Davide Bramati said he is excited about the 36-year-old's chances of further success.
"We go to the Giro d’Italia with a lot of motivation. We have a good team at the start, with Mark as our man for the flat," Bramati said in a team statement.
"He has won a lot of stages at the Giro, and he can rely on many strong riders to support and guide him in the hectic bunch sprints.
"For the other stages, we'll just take it one day at a time, fight for every opportunity and see what we can do. We know that it won't be an easy three weeks, it never is, but we will try to do our best, because it's in our nature."
Cavendish's selection for the three-week race, which begins in Budapest on May 6 and finishes in Verona on May 29, does, however, make another appearance in the Tour de France appear to be unlikely this year, with Dutch sprinter Fabio Jakobsen expected to get the nod.
The 36-year-old has been in good form in 2022, becoming the first British rider to win the Milano-Torino one-day race and picking up three race victories since the turn of the year.
The Tour had initially been scheduled to start on June 27 but was postponed when the French government extended a ban on mass gatherings due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Organisers pushed the grand depart back to August 29, though sports minister Roxana Maracineanu said on Tuesday there was no guarantee it would still be able to go ahead.
Major sporting events have been banned in France until September, leading to suggestions the Tour could take place without any road-side spectators.
Dumoulin, the 2017 Giro d'Italia winner, would not be deterred by such a situation if it means the sport can return.
"I'm of course not used to doing a Tour de France without the public, so I wouldn't know how that would be," Dumoulin told Stats Perform.
"But I can imagine that it feels strange and feels different, but once you're out on the road it's just a battle between you and your competitors.
"Racing-wise it will not really change and I will be just as motivated as ever to try and beat my competitors to try and win it.
"I can't really see big problems there, but of course I would like to have a big public there and a lot of people but it's probably just not happening.
"When the situation is like we can race, but we can race without fans, then of course we should do it and make the most of it. It will make for a good show on TV then."
The UCI's re-jigged schedule will see the Road World Championships immediately follow the Tour, with the Giro commencing two weeks later.
The Giro will also overlap with a shortened Vuelta a Espana, with four of the five Monuments taking place at the same time as one of the Grand Tours.
Dumoulin said: "I didn't look at it in detail with all the exact dates and everything, but in general I think it's a good idea to let the biggest races be on the calendar within a timeframe of less than three months.
"So it makes it very difficult and very hard for all organisers and for some races. It's definitely challenging, but it's the best we can do in the given situation. So yes, I'm definitely up for this planning."
Racing was halted in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the suspension last month extended until August 1 for the UCI's WorldTour events, including the three Grand Tours.
But following a period of consultation with representatives of riders, organisers and teams, the UCI has laid out fresh plans for the conclusion of the season, which will see 25 events crammed into a little over three months.
The plans are subject to current social and travel restrictions being lifted, but the season is due to resume on August 1 with Strade Bianche in Tuscany, Italy, before finishing on November 8 with the conclusion of La Vuelta, which is now set to begin on October 20.
Spain's Grand Tour - initially set to start in mid-August - had been shortened by a weekend at the request of organisers, after the city of Utrecht in Netherlands declared it would not be able to meet conditions for the Grand Depart.
However, even with La Vuelta operating with a reduced schedule, it will overlap – as had been expected – with the Giro d'Italia, which is to run from October 3-25.
The Tour de France had already been confirmed to start on August 29 and finish on September 20.
UCI president David Lappartient said: "We have drawn up a solid, attractive and varied new calendar that is as realistic and coherent as possible. This has been achieved as early as was practicable and in line with information available today [Tuesday] concerning the evolution of the pandemic.
"Riders, teams and organisers now have the dates they need to anticipate the resumption of racing on August 1. This is a very important step that the entire cycling community, financially impacted by the pandemic, has been waiting for to move forward."
He added: "We will continue to move forward together towards the resumption of the season, nevertheless with the reminder that the health of riders and all concerned parties is still the overriding priority, and that the recommencement of our activities will remain dependent on the evolution of the world health situation."
The Women's WorldTour is also set to recommence on August 1, with its new schedule including 18 events.
Organisers RSC Sport confirmed the race would not begin as scheduled on May 9.
Friday's announcement has long seemed inevitable, with Italy having been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis. As of Friday, the country has seen 15,113 confirmed cases and 1,016 deaths.
A statement from RSC Sport said: "Due to the spread of the coronavirus, the Hungarian government has declared a state of emergency which prohibits the organisation of mass events and makes it impossible to organise international events.
"Consequently, the organising committee of the Hungarian stages of the Giro d'Italia declared the impossibility of hosting the start of the 'race for pink' in Hungary on the dates initially scheduled.
"The two sides reiterated their determination to work together to allow the Giro d'Italia to depart from Hungary at a later date.
"Given the national and international situation, RCS Sport announces that the start of the 2020 Giro d'Italia is postponed.
"The new date will be announced no earlier than April 3 when the provisions of the prime ministerial decree of March 4 2020 end, and after the organisation has dealt with the government, local and territorial authorities and Italian and international sport institutions."
The race had been due to begin in Budapest and end on May 31 in Milan.
Hungarian politician Mariusz Revesz, a government commissioner, revealed earlier on Facebook the news that the country would not be taking up its chance to host the early stages of the prestigious race.
He wrote: "Due to the serious epidemic situation in Europe, it will not be possible to organise the first three phases of the Giro d'Italia in Hungary in May 2020, the Grande Partenza.
"Over the past three weeks, there have been several meetings between Hungarian and Italian organizers, and the Hungarian organising committee has repeatedly stated that competition should not endanger the safety and health of Hungarian people.
"Unfortunately, in Italy, the epidemic has become more severe day by day, and the number of illnesses and casualties has continued to rise, with the result that the Italian government has announced a nationwide quarantine.
"Meanwhile, the virus has reached Hungary, and in order to curb the epidemic, the Hungarian government has declared a state of emergency, which prohibits the organisation of more popular sports events and makes it impossible to organise international events."
Mitchelton-Scott, who saw Adam Yates test positive before stage eight, took the decision to abandon the race after four members of staff contracted the virus.
"As a social responsibility we've made the decision to withdraw," said Mitchelton-Scott boss Brent Copeland.
It comes after 571 tests conducted over October 11-12 also showed title contender Kruijswijk had caught COVID-19, with the Jumbo-Visma rider having sat 11th, one minute and 24 seconds off the pace set by Joao Almeida.
In addition, Team Sunweb's Matthews tested positive ahead of stage 10, along with staff members at Team AG2R-La Mondiale and Team INEOS.
There has been no racing since the Paris-Nice in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the 2020 season is slated to get back under way in August.
The revised schedule will see the three Grand Tours, five Monuments and the UCI Road World Championships all take place in just over three months.
The Road World Championships begin on the day the Tour de France is set to end, while the Giro d'Italia overlaps with a shortened Vuelta a Espana. In addition, the Milan-San Remo is the only Monument to not coincide with a Grand Tour.
Mitchelton-Scott rider Yates, who won the Vuelta in 2018, believes smaller teams will find life difficult with their resources potentially spread so thin.
"A lot of races survive year by year, so they need to run. A lot of teams survive year by year, with their exposure to races. So I think we can't really control that from that side of view," Yates told Stats Perform.
"You have one team who don't need to ride this race because they have no interest in that country and then you have another team where that will be one of their most important races of the year.
"It's very hard to juggle the season in a way that fits everybody. I wouldn't like the task of coming up with a full season in three months or whatever it is.
"It's obviously very difficult to organise, but I think for the welfare of the riders, it's just going to be a very intense period for everybody – not just riders, I think you've got to look at the staff and the rest of the team.
"If we're running three or four races at exactly the same time on the same day it really puts a lot of stress on the whole organisation and on the whole team.
"You'll need staff going to this race, buses going to this race and they'll be driving thousands and thousands of kilometres between races. Full gas for those three months, throughout the whole time.
"Us personally as a team, we're quite a small team, we're only low 20s, a lot of other squads are 30 plus, up to 30. We'll be racing a lot more than other teams, who will be able to spread out their roster a lot more, whereas we'll be doing more races at the same time.
"I just think it's going to be stressful for a lot of teams."
Yates believes the circumstances could decrease the quality of the competition, although with the window to race so small he acknowledged the drama could increase.
"I think [it could lower the quality], or it could be the opposite because now everybody is going to come out flying," he said.
"Everyone will come out ready to race because there's no chances to build into this season anymore. This season is three months, that's what it is, so it can go either way really.
"It can either be a lot of riders are spread out and less competition or it could be really focused and everybody is raring to go."
Team INEOS rider Thomas sustained a pelvis fracture when riding over a drinks bottle prior to the start of stage three and announced on Tuesday he was unable to continue.
That decision was taken shortly before an eventful leg in Villafranca Tirrena, with Groupama–FDJ's Demare sneaking in ahead of Sagan and Ballerini in a photo finish.
Bora-Hansgrohe's Sagan launched his sprint with a little under 200m to go, with Demare to his left, but he finished a matter of millimetres behind his rival.
Italian riders Ballerini, Andrea Vendrame and Elia Viviani completed the top five.
"I think it was a millimetre," Demare said in his post-race interview. "I had luck on my side. I often train for sprints behind my dad's scooter. It helped me for today.
"I wasn't sure if I had won when I crossed the line."
Joao Almeida finished the stage safely in the front group and extended his overall lead over closest challenger Jonathan Caicedo to two seconds, having taken bonus seconds on the second intermediate sprint.
The tense finish was somewhat overshadowed by a nasty crash involving Vini-Zabu riders Luca Wackermann and Etienne van Empel, who appeared to be taken out by barriers blown into their path by a low-flying race helicopter.
Italian Ganna excelled on stage 14 - an individual time trial spanning 34.1 kilometres - to continue an impressive campaign in his home race, crossing the line in 42 minutes and 40 seconds.
Rohan Dennis was 26 seconds slower over the course to claim an INEOS 1-2, while the rest of the field were over a minute back on the world time-trial champion.
"Every victory is important for me, we have a really strong team," Ganna - who was also victorious in the opening time trial, as well as stage five - said after his latest success.
Almeida, meanwhile, claimed sixth place to tighten his grip on the pink jersey, albeit there is still plenty of racing to go before the finish in Milan.
Still, the Portuguese rider extended his advantage for a second successive day; he now sits 56 seconds clear of nearest rival Wilco Kelderman, who was ninth on the stage.
"I did better than I thought, I'm so happy with the result," Almeida - who has worn the maglia rosa since the third day - said. "In the end, it was a positive day."
Pello Bilbao remains third in the standings but Brandon McNulty is now just behind him, the American moving up thanks to a third-place finish as he sits in front of Vincenzo Nibali, Rafal Majka and Domenico Pozzovivo, who are all within 30 seconds of the podium places.
STAGE RESULT
1. Filippo Ganna (INEOS) 42:40
2. Rohan Dennis (INEOS) +00:26
3. Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) + 01:09
4. Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal) +01:11
5. Josef Cerny (CCC) +01:16
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Joao Almeida (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) 54:28:09
2. Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb) +00:56
3. Pello Bilbao (Bahrain-McLaren) +02:11
Points Classification
1. Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) 221
2. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) 184
3. Joao Almeida (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) 83
King of the Mountains
1. Ruben Guerreiro (EF Pro Cycling) 87
2. Giovanni Visconti (Vini Zabu-Brado-KTM) 76
3. Filippo Ganna (Team INEOS) 48
WHAT'S NEXT?
Stage 15 could see changes in the general classification as the race climbs into the mountains during the 185km-ride to Piancavallo. Those looking to make a move will know they have a rest day to follow on Monday, too.
Movistar rider Rubio won the 74.6-kilometre stage in two hours 16 minutes and 21 seconds.
Thibaut Pinot and Jefferson Alexander Cepeda finished second and third respectively.
Rubio said: “A big day that I was looking for by working very hard. It’s been difficult with the bad weather. But I had to keep going.
“I knew that Pinot was very strong. I had to finish with him and play it well tactically. It will take time for me to realise that I won a stage of the Giro d’Italia. I didn’t believe I’d do it.”
The stage started under heavy rain at Borgofranco d’Ivrea but organisers were forced to re-route some of it, with riders retreating to their team buses due to the conditions.
Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) retains the overall lead ahead of Primoz Roglic and Joao Almeida.
Thomas said: “We stayed calm when a small group went in the first climb. We stayed in control with Ben Swift and Pavel Sivakov setting the pace. Great ride by them. The way it went at the end made it quite hard to attack.
“But Primoz is probably happy to leave me in the Maglia Rosa for a few more days. I expect something more from him next week.”
Thomas was able to follow a late move from Primoz Roglic on the approach to Val di Zoldo as Joao Almeida dropped back, and the two then worked together to keep the Portuguese behind and take 20 seconds out of him, enough to see Roglic move up to second.
With one mountain stage to come and a mountainous time trial before Sunday’s finale in Rome, Thomas leads by 29 seconds from Roglic with Almeida 39 seconds in arrears.
“It was a decent day,” Thomas said. “To gain time on Almeida and not get dropped by Primoz, it was a good day, a solid day for sure. I felt pretty good, pretty in control.
“Primoz, he likes to go hard, then take it easy, then go hard. I gave him a few turns, then I wasn’t sure how he was feeling. In the last two kilometres he really squeezed on it again, he was super strong, but I was pretty happy with how it was.
“Obviously it’s nice (to gain time) but Primoz had a bad day the other day and Almeida did today. I’ve just got to keep being consistent day by day, climb by climb.”
The pink jersey crossed the line a little under two minutes after Italian champion Zana sprinted clear of Pinot, who for a second time in a week came within a few metres of a first career Giro stage win in his final appearance in the race.
The leading duo had been part of a six-strong breakaway group who were allowed an advantage of up to six minutes on the 161km stage from Oderzo, but eyes were always further back on the first of the mountainous trio of stages that will decide who wears pink in Rome.
Thomas, donning the leader’s jersey on his 37th birthday as he aims to become the race’s oldest ever winner, was clearly in confident mood as his Ineos Grenadiers team-mates drilled the pace on the front of the peloton.
They quickly shed several riders as the road ramped up inside the final 30 kilometres, first on the Forcella Cibiana, then on the steep slopes of the Forno di Zoldo.
There were question marks over Roglic’s form after he lost time on Tuesday’s stage 16 – a day when Almeida and Thomas rode away – but as they neared the top of the penultimate climb he showed his hand as Jumbo-Visma team-mate Sepp Kuss guided him to the front to launch an attack.
Thomas was quicky on his wheel but Almeida dropped back. Jay Vine did his best to guide his UAE Emirates team-mate back but could not fully close the gap after running wide on the short descent into the two kilometre climb to the finish, leaving Almeida to chase alone.
Irishman Eddie Dunbar finished just behind Almeida to move up to fourth overall, adding to the celebrations for the Jayco-Alula team after Zana’s victory.
While there was still no stage win for Pinot, similarly left frustrated on stage 13 last week, the Frenchman at least moved up to seventh overall, four minutes 43 seconds down.
Dainese, who has spent several days suffering with illness, edged out the fast approaching Jonathan Milan by a tyre’s width in Caorle with Michael Matthews a couple of inches further back.
Mark Cavendish, still seeking a first win of the season a couple of days after announcing it would be his last as a professional, had been near the front of the bunch on the approach to town.
But the Manxman lost position on one of two tight left-handers inside the last two kilometres and could not contest the sprint, showing his frustration as he rolled over the line. There should be one more opportunity for a sprint on Sunday’s final stage in Rome.
Thomas was guided into the finish by Ineos Grenadiers team-mate Ben Swift, staying safe to retain his 18-second advantage over Joao Almeida in the general classification, with Primoz Roglic sat third, 29 seconds down.
That means the Welshman will spend his 37th birthday in pink when the race returns to the mountains on Thursday going into the decisive weekend.
“It was an alright day, a little bit of rain but nothing compared to what we’ve had so far,” Thomas said.
“It was a bit of a crazy bunch finish, we’re happy to get that done. We knew the sprint teams would race a decent pace and we were able to save as much as possible for the next three days.
“It will be nice (tomorrow), hopefully it will be a good day. There’s lots of work to do before (Sunday), we’ll take tomorrow first.”
Before the mountains to come, this was a rare opportunity for the sprinters, and their determination to take it was clear as a four-man breakaway that included Charlie Quarterman was offered little margin and little hope, never building much more than a 90-second advantage.
The last of those escapees, Senne Leysen, was caught with five kilometres left of the 197km from Pergine Valsugana, almost all of which was either flat or downhill.
When the sprint began, Matthews struck out first but Dainese, racing close to home in the north east of Italy, used his slipstream to come around to the right.
More of a surprise was the storming finish of Milan, who appeared out of position on the final bend but this Giro’s in-form sprinter had the pace to get within a few millimetres of victory.
“This is insane,” said the 25-year-old Dainese. “The first sprints didn’t go as we planned, we did a good job but we never had a good result to show it…
“In the last metres I was really digging deep. I saw Jonny coming, I couldn’t really throw my bike because I was on the limit but it was nice to get my wheel a few centimetres in front to get the win.
“Especially after the last five days, I was quite sick with stomach issues and also my breathing was not good and today was the first day I was feeling good. I’m super happy, I can’t thank my team enough for keeping me in the race and keeping me motivated.”
De Gendt, who was dubbed the 'Breakaway King' earlier in his career, won his first Giro stage back in 2012 and the 35-year-old Belgian rolled back the years to cross the line first on Saturday.
It was a superb ride from the Lotto-Soudal man who, as his nickname would suggest, led from the breakaway and then held off Davide Gabburo's late charge in Naples.
De Gendt, who took King of the Mountains jersey at the Vuelta a Espana in 2018 and has two Tour de France stage wins to his name, suggested he thought his time had past, but was thrilled to finally end his wait for another Giro success.
He told reporters, as quoted by cyclingnews.com: "Today was one of those days that suits me. It looks a little bit like the Barcelona stage in Volta a Catalunya, always up and down.
"It's hard to recover. It's also hard to close the gap. But 10 years after the Stelvio stage, I finally won a stage in the Giro again.
"If you would have asked me two weeks ago, if I was able to win a stage in the Giro I would have said no because I was in such bad shape. But now the good legs are coming."
Juan Pedro Lopez had a bit of work to do to maintain his 38-second lead in the general classification standings, but he fended off an attack from Lennard Kamna, who stays second ahead of Rein Taaramae.
Guillaume Martin was the big mover, leaping up 24 places into fourth as he finished three minutes ahead of the peloton.
SLOW DOWN!
Spectators are a huge part of any Grand Tour, and while sometimes they can get too close, the support is always appreciated, and one fan took to the side of the road with an amusing request.
With stage eight being a 153km circuit around Naples, there were four ascents of the Lago Lucrino, and it appears this particular spectator holds – or, held – the record pace up the climb on Strava, a website that amateurs and professionals alike use to track their rides.
"Slow down, don't take my KOM pls", read his sign. It is doubtful the pros met that request.
STAGE RESULT
1. Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal) 3:32:53
2. Davide Gabburo (Bardiani CSF Faizane) same time
3. Jorge Arcas (Movistar) same time
4. Harm Vanhoucke (Lotto-Soudal) +0:04
5. Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) +0:15
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Juan Pedro Lopez (Trek-Segafredo) 32:15:31
2. Lennard Kamna (Bora-Hansgrohe) +0:38
3. Rein Taaramae (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) +0:58
Points Classification
1. Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) 147
2. Biniam Girmay (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) 120
3. Mark Cavendish (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team) 78
King of the Mountains
1. Koen Bouwman (Jumbo-Visma) 68
2. Lennard Kamna (Bora-Hansgrohe) 43
3. Wout Poels (Bahrain-Victorious) 27
Ulissi claimed the eighth Giro stage win of his career as he outsprinted Almeida at the end of a 192-kilometre ride from Cervia to Monselice.
Almeida's efforts saw him pick up six bonus seconds, stretching his General Classification advantage to 40 seconds over Wilco Kelderman.
Patrick Konrad (Bora-Hansgrohe) was third, while Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) saw his hopes vanish.
Demare, winner of four stages this year, could not keep pace after the peloton was split into three on a short final climb and eventually finished 41 seconds off the pace.
While Demare still holds a healthy lead in the battle for the Maglia Ciclamino, he is over two minutes behind Almeida in the GC standings with eight stages to go.
Speaking after his victory, Ulissi - who also won stage two - conceded another success in this Giro had not been in his thoughts.
"We did a great job on the last climb and the team set-up me up perfectly. We dropped the sprinters and reduced the peloton to a small group," said Ulissi.
"I was tired after doing the climb so fast but [team-mate Brandon] McNulty was fantastic in the way he led it out. I saw I'd got my wheel ahead and won. I've been on form all season. I didn't expect to win another stage but it’s a great feeling."
STAGE RESULT
1. Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) 04:22:18
2. Joao Almeida (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) +00:00
3. Patrick Konrad (Bora-Hansgrohe) +00:00
4. Tao Geoghegan Hart (INEOS) +00:00
5. Mikkel Frolich Honore (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) +00:00
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Joao Almeida (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) 53:43:58
2. Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb) +00:40
3. Pello Bilbao (Bahrain-McLaren) +00:49
Points Classification
1. Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) 221
2. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) 184
3. Joao Almeida (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) 78
King of the Mountains
1. Ruben Guerreiro (EF Pro Cycling) 87
2. Giovanni Visconti (Vini Zabu-Brado-KTM) 76
3. Filippo Ganna (Team INEOS) 45
WHAT'S NEXT?
Saturday sees the riders tackle a challenging 34.1km time trial from Conegliano to Valdobbiadene, which features one categorised climb and a maximum gradient of 19 per cent on the Muro di Ca' del Poggio.
It was not until October that last season's event took place, with Ineos Grenadiers rider Tao Geoghegan Hart taking the honours for his first Grand Tour triumph.
However, the Briton's primary target in 2021 is the Tour de France so he will not be wearing the maglia rosa in Milan at the end of the month.
Here is a rundown of everything you need to know about this year's Giro.
THE ROUTE
It is 3,479 kilometres of hard graft from the start in Torino on May 8 to the finish line in Milan 22 days later.
That spans 21 stages, with two rest days, beginning and ending with individual time trials.
In between are some punishing days in the saddle, including seven major mountain stages and brief trips into Slovenia and Switzerland along the way.
All eyes will be on what could be a pivotal day in the mountains on stage 16, which takes in climbs up Passo Fedaia and the Passo Giau in the Dolomites.
The literal high point of the race – though perhaps not at all figuratively for the competitors – will also come on that day atop the Passo Pordoi, at 2,239m above sea level.
THE CONTENDERS
There is little to split Simon Yates and Giro debutant Egan Bernal in the bookies' odds, with stiff competition from elsewhere in the pack.
Bernal is from the rich stock of Ineos Grenadiers' stable and will have the backing of a strong team, as will Team BikeExchange's Yates.
Both have Grand Tour successes under their belts, Bernal winning the 2019 Tour, while Yates prevailed at the 2018 Vuelta a Espana.
Given that Geoghegan Hart was not giving any billing ahead of last year's race, it would be remiss to exclude supposed 'outsiders' from the reckoning.
On that front, Joao Almeida (Deceuninck-QuickStep) and Bernal's team-mate Pavel Sivakov would be two to look out for, while 2020 runner-up Jai Hindley (DSM) cannot be discounted.
PAST WINNERS
2020: Tao Geoghegan Hart
2019: Richard Carapaz
2018: Chris Froome
2017: Tom Dumoulin
2016: Vincenzo Nibali
EXPERT INSIGHT
Tour winner and five-time Olympic champion Bradley Wiggins shed some light on the supposed fragility of Bernal, suggesting the dynamic with Sivakov could prove problematic.
Wiggins favours Yates instead and suggested he could be joined on the podium by fellow Briton Hugh Carthy.
"The air of invincibility around Bernal has now gone after his failure at the Tour last year due to injury," Wiggins told Cyclingnews.
"There are question marks over his form and if he's through the period of being able to get through three weeks of racing without problems for his back.
"But for me this is Simon Yates' moment. He's won the Vuelta and it's been three years since he won that race and he dominated the Giro until Chris Froome did what he did.
"We could have two British riders [Yates and Carthy] on the podium and I think that it's going to be great race, I really do."
Colombian Bernal, winner of the 2019 Tour de France, stands on the brink of another famous triumph. The 30.3-kilometre time trial from Senago to the Piazza Duomo is the final frontier in his mission, and Bernal will set out with a lead of one minute and 59 seconds.
Caruso had the glory of a first individual Grand Tour stage win in his career on Saturday, delighting the Italian crowd, and there is every chance he will finish on the general classification podium.
Simon Yates had applied pressure with a stage win on Friday, but the Englishman trails Bernal by three minutes and 23 after crossing the line in sixth place.
Bernal put in a mighty ride on a devilishly mountainous stage, helped along most notably by compatriot and INEOS Grenadiers team-mate Dani Martinez.
Caruso made a bold move with 6.5km remaining, as he and Romain Bardet attacked and left Pello Bilbao trailing, the front pair opening up a lead of over 30 seconds
Martinez pushed hard and Bernal went with him in the maglia rosa group behind the leaders during the taxing climb to the finish.
Bardet fell away from Caruso with two kilometres remaining as the gradient reached 13 per cent, his legs giving up on the prospect of a stage win, allowing Bernal and Martinez to surge past and take second and third place respectively.
Caruso finished 24 seconds clear of Bernal, and a time bonus saw him narrow his gap to the overall leader by 30 seconds overall, tightening his hold on second place in the Giro.
Riding in the rain and mist at times and through snow-covered valleys as the race passed through the Swiss Alps, Saturday's 164-kilometre ride from Verbania to Valle Spluga-Alpe Motta was designed to provide an exacting test for the riders who had put themselves in place to take glory in Milan.
Bernal and Caruso showed they have the steel, but the maglia rosa remains in Colombian hands.
Bernal said on British Eurosport: "I am satisfied with the result. I think we managed well the situation. We have two minutes in advantage for tomorrow's time trial so I think we are in a good position.
"It's not the best to have the [rider ranked] second in the GC [general classification] in front of you, and almost one minute in front of you.
"But I had three team-mates and I tried to use them and finish as fresh as possible in the final climb and also for tomorrow.
"We did well, we managed the situation, but it was difficult."
STAGE RESULT
1. Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) 4:27:53
2. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) +00:24
3. Dani Martinez (INEOS Grenadiers) +00:35
4. Romain Bardet (Team DSM) +00:35
5. Joao Almeida (Deceuninck–Quick-Step) +00:41
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) 85:41:47
2. Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) +01:59
3. Simon Yates (Team BikeExchange) +03:23
Points Classification
1. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) 136
2. Davide Cimolai (Israel Start-Up Nation) 118
3. Fernando Gaviria (UAE Emirates) 116
King of the Mountains
1. Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroen Team) 184
2. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) 140
3. Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) 99
