Egan Bernal (Ineos) had a great day at the start of the Dauphinéarriving this Sunday in the same group as the leader, the Frenchman Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma).
Egan, in the lot of the winner of the first stage of the Critérium Dauphiné
More than a year after his terrible accident against a bus, the Colombian cyclist Egan Bernal competed this Sunday in the first stage of the Dauphiné Critérium without any certainty and waiting to be able to finish the test before thinking about participating in the Tour de France.
«I just want to finish the race and know where I am. It’s a good test»declared in English the leader of the Ineos team before the start of the first stage of the Dauphiné, in which he finished in 21st position, in the peloton where almost all the favorites traveled to the final victory in this ball race, which celebrates its 75th edition and that traditionally it is a dress rehearsal for the start of the Tour in a little less than a month.
At 26 years old, the winner of the Tour de France in 2019, who remains the only Colombian cyclist to have won the Grande Boucle, continues to recover from the very serious accident he suffered in January 2022 in Colombia, when he was training with a time trial bike and crashed into the back of a bus.
As a result of the impact, Bernal suffered a fracture of a vertebra, the femur of his right leg, the kneecap, a perforation of the lung, and head trauma. So serious was his situation that at first the biggest concern in the cycling world was simply whether the Colombian was going to survive.
«I had a 95% chance of becoming a paraplegic,» admitted the broker this past winter. Fortunately, the cyclist from Bogotá was able to recover from his injuries and returned to competition in August 2022 in the Tour of Denmark and the Tour of Germany, although he did not finish either of the two races. This season, he has already participated in five stage events, with two eighth places as the most outstanding results (in the Tour de Romandie and the Tour of Hungary).
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Egan, in the same group with Chaves and Martínez
Along with Egan Bernal, the other two Colombians in the competition arrived: Daniel Felipe Martínez from Soachun and Esteban Chaves (EF) from Bogotá.
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Due to bonus issues, this is how the general was left after the first stage.
1. Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma) 3 h 43 min 20 s
2. Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates) at 4 s
3. Rune Herregodts (Intermarché) at 6 s
4. Axel Zingle (Cofidis) at 10 seconds
5. Maxim Van Gils (Lotto) mt
6. Danny van Poppel (Bora) Subway
7. Andrea Bagioli (Soudal) mt
21. Egan Bernal (Ineos) mt
27. Esteban Chaves (EF) mt
41. Daniel Felipe Martinez (Ineos) mt
Egan Bernal: «Nobody knows what level I am at»
But Bernal himself admits that he does not know exactly what his level is with respect to the rest of the peloton and he is not even sure to participate in the next Tour de France (from July 1 to 23).
«I don’t know anything. At the moment, I only have this race (the Dauphiné) on my programme. The following came from the way the race is going. Nobody knows exactly what level I am at, neither me nor my coach.»
According to Ineos sporting director Steve Cummings, the Colombian is «still on the way back».
«It’s almost a miracle to see the way he has rebuilt himself as a runner. I don’t know how much separates him from his best level, but if anyone is capable of recovering it, it’s him,» he added.
For his part, Bernal insists on the mental strength he has shown in recent months, marked by other, less serious falls.
«When you have so many accidents and bad luck like me, you have to be strong in the head,» concludes the Colombian.
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SPORT
with AFP