Egan Bernal has abandoned the Vuelta a San Juan in the opening kilometres of stage 6. The Colombian had been lying fourth overall after a strong display on Friday’s decisive mountain stage to Alto Colorado.
That performance on Alto Colorado was Bernal’s best since he suffered severe injuries in a training crash in January of last year, and it had appeared to augur well for the Ineos rider’s prospects at the Colombian national championships next week. Bernal climbed off 18km into Satuday’s penultimate stage.
“The numbers were there when I was training at home, but it’s one thing to do it in training and another to do it in a race,” Bernal had told reporters at the finish of stage 5, where was fourth, 40 seconds behind winner Miguel Ángel López (Medellín-EPM). “That gives me a lot of morale and confidence, as well as the motivation to want more.”
More to follow…
