It was the defining image of Egan Bernal's Giro d'Italia victory, re-posted on social media hours and days after his life-threatening training accident last month as a show of solidarity and support.

The photo showed Bernal, dressed in pink, frolicking, almost defeated. In the foreground, Daniel Martinez is half-turned, arms outstretched and fists clenched, encouraging the leader of the Ineos Grenadiers to keep on running.

That afternoon at Sega di Ara, Martinez's persuasion and pace-making effectively saved Bernal's maglia rosa.

On an anxious alert awaiting positive news from last month's Clinica Universidad La Sabana, Martinez could only join the crowd in wishing them the best, and in doing so posted that already famous image.

"Today more than ever, I pray that he recovers soon and comes back to put on the show as he knows how," Martinez wrote in the accompanying caption.

Bernal spent about two weeks in the intensive care unit and underwent complex spinal surgery. He later revealed that he suffered a vertebral fracture, a right femur fracture, a right patella fracture, chest trauma, a perforated lung, and a rib fracture, and was told he had a 95 percent chance of remaining paralyzed.

While there is no timetable for Bernal's eventual return to competition, his recovery has far exceeded the expectations of the medical team overseeing his rehabilitation. Last week, Bernal posted a video of himself riding a recumbent stationary bike with the caption, "Don't let anyone tell you you can't do it."

Ahead of the final stage of the Volta Ao Algarve, Martinez said, "Egan is a great champion not only on the bike, but off the bike as well. It is very emotional to see his recovery. It is important that he has a positive attitude and the main thing is that he recovers well."

Martinez was part of a group of Ineos riders who were in Colombia training camp with Bernal when he crashed.Martinez and his fellow riders, including 2019 Giro winner Richard Carapas, somehow managed to get the new season, they had to continue their work to complete their preparations.

After winning the Colombian time trial title in Pereira earlier this month, Martinez's first race on the European road came in Volta Ao Algarve, where he finished third overall, 1:21 behind Remco Evenpole (Quick Step Alphavinil). The 25-year-old is set to substitute for Bernal in this year's Tour de France, and despite his friend's absence, the race remains on his provisional program.

"My original plan was the Tour de France. With Egan's absence, things will be very different. He will be a very important part of the Tour de France," Martinez said. His next appearance will be Paris-Nice, where he will depart with considerable ambition as part of the Ineos team that includes Filippo Ganna and Adam Yates.

Evenpoel was dominant in the time trial to Tavira on stage 4 and proved unassailable in Portugal, while Martinez showed consistency over the five-day race, despite the presence of Geraint Thomas, Tom Pidcock, and Ethan Hayter, He was the leader of the Ineos.

He finished fifth in the first summit finish at Alto da Foia and seventh in the time trial. Although Martinez lost 1:30 to the hard-charging Evenpoel, he was only 1 second per kilometer behind European time trial champion Stéphane Küng in the 32.2 km test.

"It was a long time trial, not easy, and very technical. I think the feeling was good for my first trace of the year."[27] [28] [29] "It was a long time trial, not easy, and very technical. We are here to prepare for the coming race."

On Sunday's final stage, Martinez attacked on the first of two climbs on the Alto de Marjan, causing Evenpoel to suffer. This attack helped to crush the yellow jersey group, although Evenpoel himself was unmoved.

On the final climb, Martinez turned his attention to the stage win, but was outpaced in the sprint by his former teammate Sergio Iguita (Bora-Hansgrohe), a fellow countryman.

"At first I was going to attack Lemko from a distance, and in the finale I went for the sprint. Martinez told reporters at the finish line, "I was close to Higuain, but I was still happy with my performance."

"In the last kilometer, I knew it was going to be a sprint. I passed [Brandon] McNulty, but I went from quite a distance and I couldn't hold off Higuti at the end."