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Egan Bernal has withdrawn from the Tour de France five days before Paris after an injury ruined his title defense.
The 23-year-old Colombian had remained in contention until Sunday’s stage at the Grand Colombier, when he sent more than seven minutes on the relentless slopes to fall outside the top 10 of the overall standings.
After the rest day on Monday, Bernal suffered again on Tuesday’s stage at Villard-de-Lans, although he later indicated that he hoped to travel to Paris out of respect for the race. But on the morning of Wednesday’s queen stage at Col de la Loze above Méribel, the Grenadiers of Ineos announced that Bernal was out of the race.
Ineos team principal Sir Dave Brailsford said: “We have made this decision with Egan’s best interests in mind. Egan is a true champion who loves to race, but he’s also a young rider, with a lot of laps ahead of him and at this point, ultimately, we think it’s wiser for him to stop racing. “
“Obviously, this is not how I wanted my Tour de France to end, but I agree that it is the right decision for me under the circumstances,” Bernal said. “I have the utmost respect for this race and am already looking forward to coming back in the next few years.”
Bernal started the Tour still with a back injury that forced him to withdraw from the Critérium du Dauphiné last month, but he had played down the problem until his collapse. After Tuesday’s stage, he told reporters that the pain had spread to his knee and it seemed clear there was little point in continuing it.
Ineos said Bernal will now have a recovery period before resetting his goals for the remainder of the season. It has been speculated that he could now target the Vuelta a España, which will be Chris Froome’s last race for the team before he joins the Israel Start-Up Nation next summer. The Vuelta is scheduled to begin on October 20.
