Open to all possibilities" - Egan Bernal explains early season race schedule

General
Open to all possibilities" - Egan Bernal explains early season race schedule

Egan Bernal of Ineos Grenadiers will compete in O Gran Camino, Strade Bianche, and Volta a Catalunya after starting the season on Colombia's home road early next month.

In an interview with Revista Mundo Ciclistico, Bernal also suggested that he will compete in the Itzulia Basque Country and Tour de Romandie in April. Ineos has yet to outline what Grand Tours will be included in Bernal's program for 2024.

After competing in time trials and road races at the national championships in early February, Bernal will lead the Colombian national team in the Tour Colombia from February 6-11. He will then participate in O Gran Camino in Galicia in late February, where Jonas Vingegaard and Vismaris A Bikes will also be in action.

"I want to compete in two national championships and the Tour Colombia, and then go to Europe doing my best.

"Usually I ride O Gran Camino, Strade Bianche, Catalunya, Basque Country, and Romandie. But first I'm concentrating on getting to the Tour Colombia. I want to be very strong there, and then in Europe, to see how everything goes. We have to be open to all possibilities."

Bernal competed in both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a EspaƱa in 2023. He finished 36th overall in the Tour de France and 56th overall in the Vuelta, but he hoped that the intense racing would bring better results in the 2024 season.

"I had a very hard schedule last year, but it allowed me to recover well. I'm in much better shape, and the idea for 2023 was to ride a lot of distances in the Tour and Vuelta, build up fatigue, and hope that my body will adapt again."

Bernal spoke at an event celebrating his 27th birthday over the weekend, when 2,000 people participated in a leisure ride outside Bogota.

"Of course, training and racing are two different things, but I want to be very strong. So far, everything is going well."

Categories