Egan Bernal, who suffered back problems in the Tour de France and Criterium du Dauphiné, has revealed the root cause of his injury: his legs. He will have several months of special gym treatment ahead of him before returning to racing.

The Colombian, who led Ineos Grenadier in both races, retired from the Dauphiné after three stages as a precaution before the Tour. In Le Grand Boucle in the Alps, he was in position for a podium finish, if not outright victory, but his challenge fell apart in the Grand Colombier, and Bernal said after the race, "I'm in all directions."

Bernal noted that the pain was spreading to his knee, but he continued to fight through the stage despite losing another 11 minutes. At this point, 19 minutes behind on GC, Bernal was ruled out of the Tour and subsequently lost the 2020 season to focus on recovering from his injury.

In an interview with ESPN Colombia, Bernal said that the root cause of his injury was that one leg was longer than the other. He recently had his bike position checked in Germany and is currently in the gym working on strengthening his core and back muscles.

"The problem is that one leg is longer than the other," he said. I'm already thinking about next season. I've got a scoliosis in my spine, so it's going to take a lot of time to recover."

"The disc in my spine managed to puncture the nerve that runs down to my hip and down to my leg."

The 25-year-old added that the problem cannot be cured with surgery. Instead, recovery will require rehabilitation and strengthening of the back for the 2021 season.

"It's exactly where it hurts, but surgery won't fix it. Rather, it is a problem that can only be solved with long-term rehabilitation and efforts to relieve the inflammation. The slightly moving disc needs to be put back in its original position."

Bernal said the process is long and will take several months to return to full strength. It is unclear when he will return to racing next season.

"It will be quite a long process, not just one or two months, but a long time. It will take some time to be free from pain."

"I will rehab in Monaco, do my best and stay motivated for next year. I have a career ahead of me and I can't keep thinking about the Tour de France, which I lost.

"You always have to think ahead and the way to do that is to do things the best way you can right now."