With a striking new beard as well as new Netcompany Ineos kit, Egan Bernal could hardly fail to stand out at in the mixed zone of the Giro d'Italia team presentation on Wednesday evening. But with his third participation in the race and eleventh Grand Tour start rapidly approaching, the Colombian was also ready to reflect on how much professional cycling has changed since he first took part in a three-week stage race way back in 2018.
Over the past decade, younger and younger riders have been both achieving more top results and are expected to do so, Bernal pointed out, something which places his own dramatically successful performances early in his career into a different context compared to when he started.
