Egan Bernal will no longer get on Wednesday for the seventeenth stage of the Tour de France. The INEOS Grenadiers defending champion thinks it is best to leave the race after some very disappointing days.
Bernal was preferred to Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas in the INEOS Tour squad and went for his second consecutive overall win, but failed to impress in the tough stages. He lost a lot of time, especially in recent days.
On Tuesday, the young Colombian only crossed the line in 127th place, more than 27 minutes behind day winner Lennard Kämna. In the standings he dropped to place sixteen, 19.04 minutes behind yellow jersey wearer Primoz Roglic.
“Obviously this is not how I wanted to end the Tour, but it is the right decision at the moment. I look forward to coming back here often in the coming years,” said 23-year-old Bernal.
Bernal made his Tour debut two years ago
Bernal was on his third Tour. Two years ago he was employed by winner Geraint Thomas and finished fifteenth. Last year he gave Colombia its first Tour victory ever.
INEOS foreman Dave Brailsford thinks it is wise that Bernal gives up now. “We made this decision in the interest of Egan. He is a real winner who would like to race, but he is also still young. He will still ride the Tour often. It is now smarter to get off.”
Without Bernal, the peloton will face a tough Alpine stage on Wednesday with some very tough climbs. The queen stage ends at the Col de la Loze, a new Tour col of 2,304 meters high that is very irregular.
.
