Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) has said he is still not totally certain if he will do the Tour de France this summer, but that if he does take part, he would like to see if an overall classification bid was possible.
The Colombian is currently down to take part in the Tour de Suisse, a race he won in 2019, the same year that he won the Tour de France. He previously raced in the Tour de Romandie, prior to spending a month back home in South America.
Following his life-threatening crash of early 2022 and return to racing, Bernal’s overall condition has improved steadily, with a third place in the Volta a Catalunya this March his first WorldTour podium since his comeback.
Now back for more racing in Europe and speaking to L’Équipe, Bernal said he was not yet sure if he was going to be part of Ineos Grenadiers line-up of the Tour. If he went, he would be keen to see if the overall classification was a realistic possibility, but aware that it could be an idea that was very rapidly snuffed out, too.
“It depends on if I go or not, but if I participate in the Tour, I’d be keen to go for the overall and finish as high up the ranking as possible. But if in the first couple of stages I lose five or six minutes, then I’ll recalibrate my objectives,” he said.
His goal in the Tour de Suisse, he said, would be to “give the maximum for a result and at the same time keep in mind that the main objective is to reach the start of the Tour in the best form possible.”
As for his top results in Catalunya and elsewhere this spring, he concluded, “It’s above all the result of a lot of hard work. I’m very pleased to see I’m back at a high level after everything that’s happened to me. It helps me stay calm.”
While none of the absolute standout GC contenders for July are taking part in this year’s Tour de Suisse, the lineup is a strong one nonetheless. Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) and Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), both former Tour de France podium finishers, are racing alongside Bernal together with Enric Mas (Movistar) and three times former Tour de Suisse winner Rui Costa (EF Education-EasyPost).
Plenty of the younger guns in the current peloton will also be present for Sunday’s opening prologue in Vaduz, including Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ), João Almeida and Isaac del Toro (both 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, where he took tenth overall, Bernal has now returned to Switzerland for his next race. Between the two, he told L'Équipe he had first spent nearly a week off the bike then started over a month of training, switching between volume and specific efforts as his part of his buildup for the second half of the season.
“They’re basic things, but you have to do them well. Sometimes we overthink things but cycling is pretty simple. It’s mainly about if you train well, eat well, rest up and sleep. If your body is in good shape, form comes naturally.”
