Egan Bernal vows to race Tour de France in ‘killer mode’

Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) has acknowledged that he’s some way short of his Tour de France-winning form of old, but vowed to race in ‘killer mode’ after a solid start to the 2023 edition.

The Colombian, who won the yellow jersey in 2019 aged 22, has been negotiating a long road back from his life-threatening crash at the start of last year, but recent results - 8th place at the Tour de Romandie and 12th at the Critérium du Dauphiné - raised expectations ahead of the Tour.

Bernal lost 21 seconds to the main group of general classification favourites on the opening day in the Basque Country, but broke even on stage 2 as the lead group was cut to 24 riders over the Jaizkibel.

“The preparation I had wasn’t with a view to winning the Tour, but I think the character that we have to show on each stage is going out and giving everything, and not thinking any less of ourselves.

“We have to go out there with a winning mentality, go out there in killer mode, and try and get stuck in as much as possible, be intelligent, and be aware that the Tour is long but always try to give our best in every stage.”

Bernal made his Tour de France debut in 2018 in his first season with Ineos and placed 15th overall while supporting Geraint Thomas to overall victory. He returned to win the race the following year, but back injuries derailed his title defence and he switched to the Giro d’Italia in 2021, winning it at a canter before placing sixth at the Vuelta.

After barely racing in 2022 due to a horrific list of injuries from a training crash in Colombia, this marks Bernal’s return to the Tour after a two-year absence.

“This is the Tour de France, the race that motivates me the most and excites me the most, and while I’ve got some strength, I’m going to try and be up there as much as I can," he said.

“I already won this race, and the least I can do is give the best of myself.”

Bernal came into the race as one of four potential general classification cards for Ineos Grenadiers, although that has now reduced to three after fellow Colombian Dani Martínez, their plan A going into the race, lost 10 minutes across the opening two stages.

22-year-old Spaniard Carlos Rodríguez is the team’s best-placed rider, 10th overall at 22 seconds from the lead of Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates), while Bernal sits at 19th, tied at 43 seconds with British talent Tom Pidcock.

“Everyone is good, everyone is calm. The group has been moving really well,” said team director Steve Cummings.

“They’re hard to navigate, these chaotic stages, particularly [stage 2]. It’s always nervous here, so they’ve done a really good job."