If we read the actual quote about his withdrawal we see:
"Egan is a true champion who loves to race, but he is also a young rider, with many Tours ahead of him, and at this point, on balance, we feel it is wiser for him to stop racing," Brailsford said
Translation: he would be fit to continue and this isn't a medically enforced withdrawal.
Egan seems a very decent fellow and I wish him well, but he has used the media to try and force Ineos' hand on this (as Pinot has also been trying). Within 24hrs it went from "I have to accept the others have better legs" with no mention of injury to "that injury I had a few weeks back is now really troubling me and making it almost impossible to ride". I am not going to rag on a rider for youthful naivety or emotion, but he could have handled this better.
Ineos are a complete mess though, they are destroying relationships with their main GC riders, and this latest episode doesn't scream of harmony. Plus if I'm a domestique who has to suffer and service others every day this withdrawal does nothing for my motivation. Ineos will leave the tour completely empty handed after this. I genuinely think this step reduces Bernal's future potential (assuming I interpret Brailsfords quote above accurately).
We hear increasing speculation of lead riders "struggling to gain motivation when things don't go their way" (I have heard that on TV specifically about Buchmann and Carapaz at this tour, but I think applicable to Pinot and Bernal). If that speculation has any grounding then these are not team players who extract the most support and effort from their teammates. If Bernal had gone back each day to collect supplies from the team car and hand them out to his colleagues, then gone straight to the grupetto then his team mates would likely ride through any difficulty for him in future tours. But instead we appear to have one rule for the poster child and one rule for the rest of the team when times get tough.
Give me a Dumoulin (destroying his own GC position for the team) or a even a Sagan (incredibly determined in a futile effort) any day. I'm not comparing apples with apples with that, but I do think we can draw some conclusions about the mental makeup of some riders by how they conduct themselves when their personal ambitions for the year are in ruins.
"Egan is a true champion who loves to race, but he is also a young rider, with many Tours ahead of him, and at this point, on balance, we feel it is wiser for him to stop racing," Brailsford said
Translation: he would be fit to continue and this isn't a medically enforced withdrawal.
Egan seems a very decent fellow and I wish him well, but he has used the media to try and force Ineos' hand on this (as Pinot has also been trying). Within 24hrs it went from "I have to accept the others have better legs" with no mention of injury to "that injury I had a few weeks back is now really troubling me and making it almost impossible to ride". I am not going to rag on a rider for youthful naivety or emotion, but he could have handled this better.
Ineos are a complete mess though, they are destroying relationships with their main GC riders, and this latest episode doesn't scream of harmony. Plus if I'm a domestique who has to suffer and service others every day this withdrawal does nothing for my motivation. Ineos will leave the tour completely empty handed after this. I genuinely think this step reduces Bernal's future potential (assuming I interpret Brailsfords quote above accurately).
We hear increasing speculation of lead riders "struggling to gain motivation when things don't go their way" (I have heard that on TV specifically about Buchmann and Carapaz at this tour, but I think applicable to Pinot and Bernal). If that speculation has any grounding then these are not team players who extract the most support and effort from their teammates. If Bernal had gone back each day to collect supplies from the team car and hand them out to his colleagues, then gone straight to the grupetto then his team mates would likely ride through any difficulty for him in future tours. But instead we appear to have one rule for the poster child and one rule for the rest of the team when times get tough.
Give me a Dumoulin (destroying his own GC position for the team) or a even a Sagan (incredibly determined in a futile effort) any day. I'm not comparing apples with apples with that, but I do think we can draw some conclusions about the mental makeup of some riders by how they conduct themselves when their personal ambitions for the year are in ruins.
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