Former Tour de France winner Egan Bernal has reiterated plans for a comeback in the world’s most important cycling race.
“I really want to return to the tour,” said the Ecuadorian after the extension of his contract with the British Ineos Grenadiers Team until 2026, “it feels like after a very long time that I was last on the tour.”
In 2020, a year after his surprise success, Bernal took part in the Tour of France for the last time. Due to a back injury, the South American had to give up prematurely, burying his hopes of successfully defending his title. Last year, Bernal did not start at the Grand Boucle and instead got into the saddle at the Giro d’Italia. The 24-year-old entered the list of winners of the Tour of Italy for the first time.
However, Bernal now wants to turn his focus back to the Grand Loop. “I’ve signed for the best years of my life,” said Bernal when he announced that he would continue to work with his previous team for another four years.
Bernal had already indicated his intention to make a comeback for the tour last autumn. “We will concentrate all of our training and our strengths on preparing for the Tour de France,” said the former Tour Champion in an interview with a trade magazine.
This year’s Tour de France will kick off on July 1st with an individual time trial in the Danish capital, Copenhagen. After two more stages in Denmark and trips to Belgium and Switzerland and a total of 3329 kilometers, the 109th edition of the most famous and demanding tour in the world traditionally ends on July 24th in Paris on the Champs-Elysees.
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