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Bernal shows greatness in the hour of defeat, but his form construction went wrong. Now the British team, used to success, is threatened by tension.
He does not blame himself: Egan Bernal.
A day after his chances of winning were lost, Egan Bernal did not look devastated, but liberated. “I have nothing to blame,” the Colombian said Monday. “I gave it my all. That’s cycling, that’s life.”
Bernal did not object to his fate, he was relieved. In a video interview with a press spokesperson for his Ineos team, he was finally allowed to admit what had been indicated for days and it became evident in the streamers of the Grand Colombier: the winner of the previous year is not in a position to repeat his triumph. Bernal rolled over the finish line more than seven minutes behind the fastest of the day on Sunday. He said he wanted to help his teammates on the remaining stages. Maybe I could bring them some jerrycans and then, if the situation allows, fight for a stage win. Despite all the tragedy, Bernal’s appearance was a sign of greatness.
On Wednesday morning, Bernal announced his withdrawal from the Tour de France, ahead of the actual stage with the arrival of the mountain at Col de la Loze de Méribel. The Ineos team announced in a statement that the decision was made in “Egan’s best interests.” Bernal will now focus on recovery and set new goals for the remainder of the season.
The failure of the Colombian marks a turning point. Ineos and the previous team, Sky, had won the Tour de France every year since 2012, with the exception of 2014, when Froome fell. The team that played with overwhelming dominance in the world’s greatest bike race probably won’t even make it into the top ten.
Immediately, the veterans among the British team spoke. Bradley Wiggins, the 2012 winner, criticized Eurosport for the fact that Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas were not part of the tour lineup. Wiggins’ objection was astonishing, because he had initially found the decision to leave the two former winners at home correct. The preparatory races had revealed that veterans Froome and Thomas would have been powerless against the spirited exits of the man of the moment, Primoz Roglic. His non-selection was a logical consequence.
On some days, Froome wouldn’t even have been able to keep up with Roglic’s Jumbo-Visma team long before the end. “I wish I had gone on the tour,” the four-time tour winner said with a smirk a few hours after Bernal’s implosion in a television interview. “It could have played a role there.” You should know he was talking nonsense. After his fall in June 2019, the Brit is still far from his best form.
Bernal participated in the first joint preparatory race, the Tour de l’Ain, almost on par with Roglic. At the Critérium du Dauphiné, which they both didn’t finish, he seemed less confident already, but he was still a stone’s throw away. The Colombian got into shape earlier that summer and then slowly deteriorated.
Those who have passed their peak of performance in a training cycle can often hide this for a while, but they are running out of substance. Every day it takes more and more effort to keep up with the best until theft becomes inevitable. It seems that this is exactly what happened to Bernal.
In the past, the Sky and Ineos riders in the Tour de France were always in perfect shape. Often they even managed to get their best performance in the third week of the race. The team’s performance director, Rod Ellingworth, played a significant role in this impressive moment. Ellingworth is absent this year – the former key figure now works for the Bahrain team.
Perhaps the team is suffering from missing the usual high-altitude training camps in 2020 due to the corona pandemic, speculates former Sky coach Sean Yates. With regard to Bernal in particular, that doesn’t make any sense: he spent months at a high altitude in Colombia. The 23-year-old is more likely to throw himself into training.
Ineos has by far the biggest budget of any World Tour team. The British should be able to get their stars back on track. It will be more difficult to avoid atmospheric stress. Froome, who followed on television Sunday night, will no longer be part of the team in 2021. His compatriot Adam Yates, who is currently fifth in the Tour de France, will join the squad. It is unclear whether he is willing to set aside his own ambitions. This seems even less likely with Thomas: he recently expressly stated that he wanted to take advantage of opportunities to win at the current stage of his career. But Bernal also wants to keep fighting for wins on the tour. He was sole captain this year, but his position is now weakened.
In the past, Ineos had an excellent communicator in the form of sports director Nicolas Portal, who managed to react sensitively to dissonances. Portal died of a heart attack in March. Missing at least as much now as Ellingworth.
Stage 17 on Wednesday
Die Tour de France
