Teams & Riders The official Egan Bernal is the new Egan Bernal thread

[SafeBet]

First, they seem to be making an issue of the point that Bernal's season is over. He won't be riding the Italian classics he normally does.

Won't he?
He's currently training in Italy.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Maybe there was more to it than a tactical move all agreed on? When they went all in with Yates on stage 20. López abandoning the race and Bernal might not feeling all that happy about it too?

 

[ice&fire]

Maybe there was more to it than a tactical move all agreed on? When they went all in with Yates on stage 20. López abandoning the race and Bernal might not feeling all that happy about it too?

Bernal attacked before Yates in that Vuelta stage 20. He was followed by Haig and Lopez. The rest of the group caught them after 200m. Then Yates jumped and was immediately followed by Roglic and Mader. Mas and Haig closed the gap a few seconds later.
So either Bernal agreed to a tactic of alternating attacks where he would try first or he just went like on stage 17 but got a worse result.

 

[laarsland]

Bernal has now finished three seasons of a five year deal in which he's perhaps not been the all-conquering serial TdF-winner they'd hoped for, but his palmares is amazing for a 24 yo. He's far and away Ineos' best GT-rider for the foreseeable future with Roglic and Pogacar both tied down to long contracts. And given the fact Tadej just renewed for six seasons, my take is that Acquadro feels he's in a strong bargaining position and wants to leverage it by putting stories in the media. The more traction with other teams, the more pressure on Ineos to renew now and on bigger wages than putting it off for another year.

 

[Pinot's goat]

He's far and away Ineos' best GT-rider for the foreseeable future

Even if you think Bernal > Carapaz, you can't seriously think Bernal is far and away better.

 

[Red Rick]

Even if you think Bernal > Carapaz, you can't seriously think Bernal is far and away better.

I do actually. At his best he's just better everywhere than Carapaz, apart from maybe having a slightly worse sprint.

 

[laarsland]

I love Carapaz’s riding style, but it’s sadly also why he’ll (hopefully) add another Giro or a Vuelta to his palmares, but never be a serial winner in the GTs. When Bernal is at the top of his game he combines Nairo’s early career climbing with peak-era Froome ruthlesness with a great TT in the mix too.

 

[BlueRoads]

Does anybody have an overview how Bernal does in cold/rainy hot weather?
I already mentioned this, but I did get the feeling this year the weather is quite important for his performances, that he's significantly better in cold conditions, that is, suffers less in those, while heat can get to him. Anybody with confirmation/ opposition performances, impressions or thoughts?

 

[Rackham]

L'Equipe is still pushing the "Bernal could leave Ineos" story this evening: Egan Bernal a l'embarras du choix pour trouver une éventuelle nouvelle équipe - L'Équipe (lequipe.fr)

They're discussing his potential destinations. But it all seems almost irrelevant because unless my memory is hazy, pro cyclists usually only leave at the end of their contract (this isn't football). So with Bernal under contract until 2023, someone would have to buy it out (unless there's a clause or Ineos agrees to part ways for xyz reasons).

I can see why Israel would want him (Froome is a bust), but it doesn't mean it's a plausible scenario which L'Equipe seems to think it is.

Does anybody have an overview how Bernal does in cold/rainy hot weather?
I already mentioned this, but I did get the feeling this year the weather is quite important for his performances, that he's significantly better in cold conditions, that is, suffers less in those, while heat can get to him. Anybody with confirmation/ opposition performances, impressions or thoughts?

I always put this sort of "xyz rider is good in xyz weather conditions" mostly down to coincidence.

I mean based on his form in May & the opposition he faced in Italy (Caruso & Simon Yates), Bernal would have walked that Giro even in a heatwave... & then people would have talked about his great races in the heat.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

I always put this sort of "xyz rider is good in xyz weather conditions" mostly down to coincidence.

I mean based on his form in May & the opposition he faced in Italy (Caruso & Simon Yates), Bernal would have walked that Giro even in a heatwave... & then people would have talked about his great races in the heat.

Yet his best performance occured when the weather was terrible and he wasn't better than his rivals in the final week (in warmer weather).
Almost the whole Vuelta was hot and Bernal was struggling with his form. Suddenly he got better in the Cantabrian mountains - in cold and rainy weather.
I wouldn't call it coincidence.

 

[Rackham]

Yet his best performance occured when the weather was terrible and he wasn't better than his rivals in the final week (in warmer weather).
Almost the whole Vuelta was hot and Bernal was struggling with his form. Suddenly he got better in the Cantabrian mountains - in cold and rainy weather.
I wouldn't call it coincidence.

If that's the case then he has a problem. I just find it hard to believe he has problems with the heat like that to the extent it shaves serious watts off his performance.

I remember what Lance Armstrong (yeah I know) once said about the cold & rain (i.e. he was a rider who was famous for going well in wet raining cold conditions): he said he didn't like the bad conditions per se, but enjoyed the fact it made the race harder for everyone else & he chose to use that to his advantage. So Bernal might be similar, i.e. merely using the weather conditions to attack his rivals (because he's a good bike handler as well).

And yes, like everyone I've seen Bernal appearing to struggle to hot stages (even in the Tour de France or the Tour de l'Ain 2020), but I'd still believe a certain amount of 'coincidental' is involved.

 

[Sciatic]

Yet his best performance occured when the weather was terrible and he wasn't better than his rivals in the final week (in warmer weather).
Almost the whole Vuelta was hot and Bernal was struggling with his form. Suddenly he got better in the Cantabrian mountains - in cold and rainy weather.
I wouldn't call it coincidence.

That’s also how secured his Tour victory—on the rainy, weather-shorted stage with mudslides.

 

[tobydawq]

That’s also how secured his Tour victory—on the rainy, weather-shorted stage with mudslides.

Well, it didn't actually rain while the stage was still on...

 

[Sciatic]

Well, it didn't actually rain while the stage was still on...

You mean because it was snow and hail instead?

 

[tobydawq]

You mean because it was snow and hail instead?

No, there was no drop of precipitation on the riders before the stage was called off. Rewatch the footage of when it happened, there were still completely dry roads.

 

[Sciatic]

I guess I’m remembering shots from cams away from the race on other sections of the course. I stand (well, sit) corrected!

 

[BlueRoads]

Was it the day before when it was raining hard?

 

[tobydawq]

I guess I’m remembering shots from cams away from the race on other sections of the course. I stand (well, sit) corrected!

The gruppetto actually did get tortured by a hailstorm on their way to the top of the Iséran but not the front riders.

 

[southwards]

Good vídeo about Bernal'd situation

View: https://youtu.be/vIcQKgmSNl4



Tldr: there's nothing concrete,and he has nowhere else to go. And the riders should cope with shared leaderships.

On the weather, I don't know if Bernal is better at the cold, but he was third at the Strade Bianche, won a Paris Nice and demolished the super cold stage in the Dolomites. Pogacar states clearly he fares better in the cold. I'm not a pro, but I can clearly see I'm much better in the cold. These things happen.

 

[Escarabajo]

We have heard nothing about what really happened. Commentators and media are making a lot of assumptions. The note came directly from Acquadro. Everything could be a smoke screen for negotiating purposes for all I know. But saying more is not good and start putting a stain on the cyclist. I usually listen to Javier Ares but here he went further to add all Colombian peloton into this. This is really getting out of control. I saw nothing in La Vuelta to make me think otherwise. Bernal even said that he wasn't feeling as good and that there was shared leadership. Not a single time I saw disagreement between the two. There could be fights inside the camp, as it usually happens, and we can't expect that there is always harmony inside the teams. That is plain stupid. Teams usually keep it to themselves. I think this is just smoke created by Acquadro because his eyes got really big after talking with Israel Start-Up Nation cycling team.


.

 

[Escarabajo]

Brailsford says Bernal will fulfil his contract with Ineos

'He's still got two years on his contract' says team principal

www.cyclingnews.com

There you have it.

 

[noob]

Brailsford says Bernal will fulfil his contract with Ineos

'He's still got two years on his contract' says team principal

www.cyclingnews.com

There you have it.

Oh TdF next year... So probably none of the three (Rog, Pog, Bernal is going to the giro next year then )

 

[southwards]

Oh TdF next year... So probably none of the three (Rog, Pog, Bernal is going to the giro next year then )

Laughs in Portuguese.

 

[carton]

Good vídeo about Bernal'd situation

View: https://youtu.be/vIcQKgmSNl4



Tldr: there's nothing concrete,and he has nowhere else to go. And the riders should cope with shared leaderships.

On the weather, I don't know if Bernal is better at the cold, but he was third at the Strade Bianche, won a Paris Nice and demolished the super cold stage in the Dolomites. Pogacar states clearly he fares better in the cold. I'm not a pro, but I can clearly see I'm much better in the cold. These things happen.

He's articulate and knowledgeable, but, unfortunately, for my money, but he's also being a bit of a chauvinistic blow-hard. YMMV. My take is that it was clear early on that Adam Yates wasn't going to win the Vuelta and the shared leadership and giving Pidcock and Van Baarle freedom to go after stages ended up costing Ineos a podium. And ultimately the impression after this season is that Bernal and Roglic are the only guys who might give Pogacar a run for his money, and Acquadro is just doing right by his clients by trying to drum up some interest and see where the market is before the river card comes. All of the riders understand this and so does Ineos. So that whole never-ending Colombians don't have a team of their own so they should keep their chin downs and take whatever the teams give them spiel is bull$#*t. I mean, it's good advice for a guy who wants to have a long career as a domestique, but not for someone who's aiming to win Grand Tours.

I remember not so long ago a Spaniard being chased up and down France by his American-sponsored team working for his American teammate even after winning a Tour and proving himself one of the best stage racers in the world. The best thing he did was leaving that team for another team that gave him the respect he was due. This wasn't about the Vuelta, it was about Bernal making it known that while he likes to put on a show he's not riding fors#*ts and giggles, either. Yeah, he wants to stay at Ineos. But he wants a team behind him at the Tour next year even more than that. Bernal trusted Portal and Brailsford to call the shots, but he doesn't trust Tosatto and Ellingworth nearly as much, for good reason. He is savvy enough not to say so himself, and not to make a big deal about it. It's not enough to be the strongest rider to win. It's actually what makes cycling interesting. And it's why it's not enough to show up, play nice and pedal hard.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Oh TdF next year... So probably none of the three (Rog, Pog, Bernal is going to the giro next year then )

I'm not sure, with a Giro stage finishing in Slovenia and RCS getting extra money from the start in Hungary I expect them to throw some money at at least one of the Slovenians, probably Pogacar.