Egan Bernal has said that his participation at the 2024 Tour de France will only happen if his form is better than when he lined out in the event this year.
On the comeback trail from the life-threatening crash he suffered early in 2022, Bernal raced both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España this year, finishing 36th and 55th overall respectively.
However, the 2019 Tour winner recently told podcast La Movida that his return to the race next July will hinge on an improvement in condition compared to 2023. The Vuelta, on the other hand, remains his main goal as a GC race, in order to complete his Grand Tour ‘set’ after winning the Giro d’Italia in 2021 and the Tour two years before.
Bernal also said he would aim to start the 2024 season at the Colombian National Championships, prior to a possible ride at the Tour Colombia. Beyond that, however, his 2024 schedule is yet to be sketched out.
“A short while back, they [the team] sent me a form about the races I’d like to do and I didn’t know what to answer because it will all depend on how I’m going,” Bernal said.
“If I’m in good shape, then they can give me a ride in the Tour. But if I’m racing like this year, I’d be the first to say that they shouldn’t: the Tour is the worst race there is for improvisation.”
Instead of looking too far ahead, Bernal said, he’d be aiming to hit the ground running in 2024 and then take things step by step in the rest of the year, starting at the national championships (February 2-5) and then, ideally, the revived Tour Colombia, which takes place from February 6-11.
“Racing at home would fill me with confidence, ideally, and then I’d head to Europe to do the best in the races I’m scheduled to do.”
Bernal repeated his previously confirmed idea that the Vuelta a España remains his big career goal, telling LaMovida that “if they got me to choose one race to win right now it would be the Vuelta. We all know how important it is to win all three Grand Tours and I could retire happy.
"But more than that I want to get back to my top level and go head to head with the people who are dominating cycling right now. I never had that chance because when I was at the top of the sport, they hadn’t reached there yet and to do that would be amazing, regardless of whether I win or not.”
Regarding the future of Colombian cycling, Bernal concluded by pointing out that it remained tough for younger riders to make a name for themselves in the sport because of economic and geographical questions.
“Things are a bit uncertain, but not because we are lacking in talent. But the country’s not as well-developed as others and at the same time we’re on the other side of the world. So it’s tough for kids to show what they’ve got," he said.
"Cycling is getting more technologically advanced and the talent is here, but for one reason or another they don’t have the [up-to-date] bikes, the nutrition or the psychological support.”
