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EFE · Road Competition · 09/15/2020
Not having assumed the pressure of the leader, mistakes in the preparation of the Tour de France and an Ineos Grenadier in restructuring are some of the causes that have condemned the aspirations of Egan Bernal, defender of the title and eliminated from the fight for the yellow jersey after his victory. sinking last Sunday in the Grand Colombier.
These are the reasons pointed out by Luis Fernando Saldarriaga (Medelln, Antioquia, 47 years old), former runner, specialist in high performance and “talent scout” of Colombian cycling, trainer of runners like Nairo Quintana, Esteban Chaves, Sergio Higuita, Jrlinson Pantano and Darwin Atapuma.
Saldarriaga, who attended EFE from Colombia, exposed several reasons why he believes that Egan Bernal had the faintness that prevents him from meeting the expectations that he was given as the No. 1 favorite of the Tour de France.
“I think they have made a mistake in planning the Tour. It is true that we came out late from the confinement of the pandemic, but it is not bice to consider that it is an issue that has not harmed him, since it took weeks to prepare.”
The problem of the 23-year-old winner of the 2019 Tour can be extended to the entire Ineos team, according to Saldarriaga, “since we have seen that it does not work from the physical point of view, of lack of strength, of resistance. We will have to analyze the preparation of the runners “
The high-performance expert already observed from the Dauphin, which was held two weeks before the start of the Tour, that something was wrong with Bernal’s preparation.
“Things weren’t going well because he resisted less and less. At the Tour de L’Ain and at the Dauphin they put him in trouble. He didn’t have a punch because he wasn’t comfortable, and when that happens it’s because the preparation is over” .
Fatigue has been the key aspect that justifies Bernal’s poor performance on this Tour.
“This happens because there is a fatigue at the level of the central nervous system that prevents sufficient impulses from reaching the muscular part, something recurrent in cyclists. It is an acute fatigue that manifests itself for the last week and a chronic fatigue that comes from before , many weeks before, which in the case of cycling and in power stabilizes in 42 days. In other words, he arrives tired since the Tour de L’Ain ended or around that time “.
Another aspect that the Antiochean expert highlights is the altitude training deficit, very considerable compared to 2019.
“This year Bernal arrived in Europe 55 days before the Tour, for 11 days last year. That means his short stay in altitude, which has affected him a lot for his hematocrit and hemoglobin levels, which are what give him the ability to oxygenation and resistance “.
On the other hand, the Ineos, former Sky, is being involved in a process of renovation, with the absence of sacred cows such as Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas and the inclusion of young cyclists with a lot of projection.
“The Ineos went into a restructuring that is normal in the teams. The veterans are leaving and the young people who enter have to apply the work model and learn how to do a Tour. There are the cases of Sivakov or Van Baarle. The idea of the team is difficult. Before they had Geraint Thomas, there was an established hierarchy. That the reform is noticed is normal. “
Finally, Luis Fernando Saldarriaga indicates an important factor of a psychological nature: the pressure to assume leadership.
“The psychological part has also had a lot of influence. Part of the problem has had to do with that. He is the leader of the team and has not known how to configure that responsibility. The pressure was stronger than normal.”
Carlos de Torres
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