Bernal finds himself in a very strange Giro situation — but INEOS hope for a turnaround

Egan Bernal is in a peculiar situation at the Giro d'Italia. The Colombian champion at Netcompany INEOS had a good build-up — confirmed by a second place at the Tour of the Alps — and must have arrived with high expectations. But on day seven of the race, he conceded almost three minutes. And the strangest part of all: his legs are actually going brilliantly.

Netcompany INEOS came to the Giro d'Italia with serious ambitions. With Thymen Arensman and Bernal, the British team brought two genuine leaders who were podium candidates on paper. After the first real mountain stage, though, one of those names has had to be pencilled through: Bernal lost a substantial amount of time on Blockhaus.

He had already shown a difficult moment on day four — but he attributed that at the time to the transition from Bulgaria to Italy, and from an easy pace to all-out racing on a long, sustained climb. That day he was saved by Ben Turner, who chased him back to the peloton. And so Bernal started stage seven in the same time as virtually all of his rivals.

When Visma | Lease a Bike hit the accelerator on Blockhaus on Friday, the Colombian national champion's jersey was one of the first significant names to be shed. While teammate Arensman also conceded 1 minute 44 seconds to stage winner Jonas Vingegaard, Bernal clocked in at 2 minutes 57 seconds back. In the GC, he dropped to fifteenth overall.

Before the start of stage eight, Bernal came through the mixed zone and gave two truly strange interviews — not because he said strange things, but because the former Tour de France and Giro winner genuinely has no idea why he lost so much time. "It's strange to say, but I felt good — really good," he said with a note of surprise even in his own voice.

Bernal could feel he was putting power through the pedals, and the numbers on his power meter were confirming it. "I wasn't just looking at my power, but the feeling was also fantastic. And yet I lost almost three minutes — so that's strange," he laughed on Saturday afternoon, with the uneasy smile of a man who cannot make sense of what has happened to him.

Shrugging his shoulders, Bernal continued: "I don't want to talk too much about the numbers, because the fact is I lost three minutes. But I think at the same time I was doing my best 40 minutes ever. I was riding at 6 watts per kilo — that's genuinely good for me. Those are good numbers, and I still lost a lot of time."

Speaking to Spanish television as well, Bernal expressed his bewilderment at the situation he now finds himself in at this Giro. "I'm calm, because the only thing I can do is control my effort. And I am putting my best foot forward. I know myself and my body, so I know how far I can go. The pace on the Blockhaus was something I simply couldn't match. Still, I'm happy with what I've done."

Continue reading below the photo!

That Bernal was back among the best GC riders in stage eight — with its explosive finale — did show that his form is real. There is a reason he finished second at the Tour of the Alps and fifth at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. On the first real climb of this Giro, INEOS sporting director Leonardo Basso says, the pace was simply higher than usual.

"We know that Grand Tours are different from other races," he explained to IDL Pro Cycling after stage eight. "The start of this Giro was a little strange, because the first three days in Bulgaria weren't very hard — and then on day four it was suddenly hot and the racing went explosively uphill on that long sustained climb. A lot of riders ended up with a very high heart rate."

Bernal was one of them — but while Arensman showed improvement on Blockhaus, his co-leader fell further behind. "The Blockhaus was again a stage with only the final climb as a real hard effort. After the time trial in stage ten, we'll get stages with a lot of cumulative climbing and fatigue — including before the finales. We'll see a different approach from the teams then," Basso said.

Continue reading below the photo!

No panic at Netcompany INEOS, then. Because — as we explored with Basso — Bernal has throughout his career proved to be above all a stage racer who peaks in the third week. A rider who loses less form than his rivals as the race wears on. That would explain the smile from a man who knows exactly what he is doing.

Basso concluded: "The third week is so hard — you also need to be able to stay stable. We're still only in the first week, and we're looking forward to what's ahead. I hope that his current numbers in the third week are enough to be with the best. That's the game of a Grand Tour: stay stable and be at your best in the third week. Then there are a lot of opportunities."