"We thought: then we’ll just sprint there"; Vuelta chaos through the eyes of overjoyed stage winner Egan Bernal
CyclingTuesday, 09 September 2025 at 20:20
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Follow us on GoogleEgan Bernal won Tuesday’s somewhat decapitated stage 16 of the Vuelta in Spain’s Pontevedra region. Due to protests, the finish had to be moved once again, but understandably, the Colombian champion of INEOS Grenadiers wasn’t complaining afterwards. “It’s a victory, no?” he said.
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Bernal was one of the big names in a large breakaway of seventeen riders and was himself responsible for some of the damage on the climbs. In the end, he and Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step) were left at the front, with Bernal outsprinting him at the improvised finish line eight kilometers before the original one.
“After I dropped from the GC, I really wanted to go for a stage win,” said the climber, who had started this year’s Vuelta with overall ambitions. “I really wanted to win in my national jersey, and that means a lot to me,” added Bernal, who celebrated his first WorldTour victory since his serious crash in early 2022.
Read on below the video!
Bernal: "We thought: then we’ll just sprint there"
“It was a beautiful stage, super hard the whole day, we were going full gas” said Bernal in a brief reaction via his INEOS Grenadiers team. “The cooperation with Landa was super, and we knew the finish would be eight kilometers earlier. We thought: then we’ll sprint there. It was a good day for memories.”
Thanks to his strong performances, he is now up to twelfth place in the general classification, just 1:32 behind current tenth-place rider Junior Lecerf.
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Latest Comments
- - Bienvenido de vuelta, Pogi! Forza per la prossima stagione — zdravje naj bo na prvem mestu.bikebuffj27-09-2026
- - Was the vertebra a C6 or C7? Curious what the expected timeline is before he can do threshold work outdoors again.breakawaybikerd27-09-2026
- - That first-week domination at the Vuelta was scary good—three stage wins and time gaps on wide, windy roads. Shame a stray rock changed everything. Vamos Tadej!cyclechamp4527-09-2026
- - “You’re not a real cyclist until you’ve broken your collarbone” made me wince. Bit macho, innit? Recovery isn’t a badge—just glad he’s riding safely again.patriciaw27-09-2026
- - Why wasn’t the ride on Strava if he’s okay to post videos? Is there a reason pros sometimes skip Strava uploads after injury?cadencekingm27-09-2026
- - Loved the context about Urska, Dunbar and Verhulst-Wild all dealing with similar surgeries. The titanium plate club is real. Heal up, champ. Paris 2025 focus?samanthak27-09-2026
- - Five Tours “won” is a big claim—did you mean five-time strongest performer, or are we counting something unofficial? He’s got two yellow jerseys officially. Article needs a quick fact-check there.gearguru3327-09-2026
- - Great to see Tadej back spinning the legs. That Vuelta crash was brutal, but collarbone + C-vertebra recovery in this timeframe is impressive. Hope they’re not rushing—concussion protocols matter more than an Insta reel.jennifer1927-09-2026
- - Qué carrera, magnifique esprit! Niewiadoma mostrando coraje total, pero Demi otra vez imparable en el sprint. Respect to both.sprocketspiny26-09-2026
- - Not sure the article gives enough tactical detail. Who was in the chase group and what teams were actually pulling? That context matters if we’re judging Kasia’s options in the finale.jennifer1926-09-2026
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