Until this Saturday, Egan Bernal’s calendar for the season was a mystery, but it was already known which Grand Tours the rider born in Zipaquirá will compete in. Within the INEOS Grenadiers they have handled everything with mystery and have not shed light on the plans they would have for their team leaders.
However, the ‘Global Cycling Network’ portal revealed that the British team would have it in their plans to start on June 29 in Florence to be in their second consecutive Tour de France.
This same medium also gave details and reported that Bernal’s main role will be as the main mountain team member for the team leaders.
Precisely, as for the ‘capos’, it is not known for sure who will command the INEOS, but the main candidates to be so are Carlos Rodríguez and Thomas Pidcock.
On the one hand, the young Spanish rider hopes to continue consolidating himself in the elite, after being fifth overall in the last edition; For his part, the British would seek to try to be a three-week man, a mission that has been left pending in recent years.
What is clear is that INEOS expects that in the Vuelta a España, Egan Bernal will be the leader of the team in search of the title, which would lead him to complete the championship in the three races of 21 stages, after conquering the Tour of France 2019 and the Giro d’Italia 2021. Of course, this will depend on the Colombian’s performance throughout the season.
In 2024, the Cundinamarca native has already made it clear that he hopes to compete again with the best in the world, just as he did before his serious accident in January 2022.
As for the Giro d’Italia, the INEOS Grenadiers would once again have the role of Geraint Thomas, who came in second position in the last edition behind the Slovenian Primoz Roglic, who took the lead from him in stage 20, held in the Mount Lussari.
Although this is not official information, it is expected that at the end of January it will be known by the sports directors themselves what the specific plan will be for the main men of the INEOS.
For now, what is clear is that Egan Bernal will begin his 2024 season competing in the Boyacá National Championships and the Tour Colombia, which will take place from February 6 to 11 and will culminate in Bogotá.
In the absence of INEOS as an official team in this competition, the ‘Young Wonder’ would be part of the Colombian National Team, along with his teammate Brandon Rivera.
Source: https://sports.caracoltv.com/ciclismo