11:21 AM
A few months ago, after finishing the 2023 season in which he challenged and finished the routes of the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España after recovering from the accident in which he almost lost his life, Egan Bernal (Ineos) surprised with his ambition in the cycling of high competition.
“I wake up every day thinking that I will return to my best level. “I want to have that mentality that I can be one of the best runners in the world.”
This Thursday, in the fourth fifth of the Tour of Switzerland, of 148.6 kilometers between Ambrí and the high finish in Carí, the Colombian cyclist ratified that objective by crossing the finish line in third place and thus climbing to the same position in the general classification, led by Englishman Adam Yates (UAE Emirates).
Bernal, winner of the 2019 Tour de France and who is getting ready to return to that race on June 29, confirmed that he is in great shape and deserves to achieve a new podium this year.
Third in the National road race in Tunja, in the O Gran Camiño and in the Tour of Catalonia, Egan, among those chosen by the country to compete in the Olympics in Paris, signed another pleasant performance on the way to Carí, a first-class mountain pass located 1,636 meters above sea level. The winner was Yates, with a time of 3:54.37, escorted by his teammate, the Portuguese Joao Almeida, 5 seconds behind, and Bernal, 16 seconds behind.
For his part, the Antioquian Sergio Andrés Higuita (Bora) crossed the finish line in eighth position, 1.03 behind.
In the general classification, Yates leads Almeida by 35 seconds and Bernal by 1.11. Higuita rose to tenth position. Give up 3.01.
The toughness in the Swiss race, considered one of the most demanding after the Giro, the Tour and the Vuelta, continues this Friday with the 151.4-kilometer mountainous route from Locarno to the summit in Blatten.
On Saturday, meanwhile, riders will challenge 118.2 km starting and finishing in Villars-sur, with four mountain passes in between, the last of them at the finish line; while on Sunday, at the close of the competition, a 15.7 km time trial will be held between Aigle and Villars-sur-Ollon.
