Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) has stated he’s nonetheless not completely sure if he’ll do the Tour de France this summer time, however that if he does participate, he wish to see if an total classification bid was attainable.
The Colombian is presently down to participate within the Tour de Suisse, a race he received in 2019, the identical 12 months that he received the Tour de France. He beforehand raced within the Tour de Romandie, previous to spending a month again residence in South America.
Following his life-threatening crash of early 2022 and return to racing, Bernal’s total situation has improved steadily, with a 3rd place within the Volta a Catalunya this March his first WorldTour podium since his comeback.
Now again for extra racing in Europe and talking to L’Équipe, Bernal stated he was not but positive if he was going to be a part of Ineos Grenadiers line-up of the Tour. If he went, he could be eager to see if the general classification was a practical risk, however conscious that it might be an concept that was very quickly snuffed out, too.
“It will depend on if I’m going or not, but when I take part within the Tour, I’d be eager to go for the general and end as excessive up the rating as attainable. But if within the first couple of phases I lose 5 – 6 minutes, then I’ll recalibrate my targets,” he stated.
His objective within the Tour de Suisse, he stated, could be to “give the utmost for a consequence and on the similar time understand that the principle goal is to succeed in the beginning of the Tour in the very best type attainable.”
As for his high ends in Catalunya and elsewhere this spring, he concluded, “It’s above all teh results of plenty of laborious work. I’m more than happy to see I’m again at a excessive degree after every little thing that’s occurred to me. It helps me keep calm.”
While not one of the absolute standout GC contenders for July are collaborating on this 12 months’s Tour de Suisse, the lineup is a powerful one nonetheless. Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) and Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), each former Tour de France podium finishers, are racing alongside Bernal along with Enric Mas (Movistar) and 3 times former Tour de Suisse winner Rui Costa (EF Education-EasyPost).
Plenty of the youthful weapons within the present peloton may also be current for Sunday’s opening prologue in Vaduz, together with Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ), Joao Almeida and Isaac del Toro (each UAE Team Emirates), defending champion Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), Austrian climber Felix Gall (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale), Visma-Lease A Bike’s Cian Uijtdebroeks and Bernal’s teammate Tom Pidcock.
After the Tour de Romandie, the place he took tenth total, Bernal has now returned to Switzerland for his subsequent race. Between the 2, he instructed L’Équipe he had first spent almost per week off the bike then began over a month of coaching, switching between quantity and particular efforts as his a part of his buildup for the second half of the season.
“They’re staple items, however you must do them nicely. Sometimes we overthink issues however biking is fairly easy. It’s primarily about in the event you practice nicely, eat nicely, relaxation up and sleep. If your physique is in fine condition, type comes naturally.”
