With the Tour de France set to begin on August 29th, the reigning champion Egan Bernal has said he would not sacrifice himself for his team mates, even though Chris Froome is aiming for an historic fifth win.
Bernal said while Team Ineos is a British outfit and
Thomas and Froome were both British, he was the reigning champion and he could
not be expected to ride in the service of others.
He added Thomas and Froome would be the same; that all three would have a chance of winning and it would become clear as the race progressed how the team should operate.
"I understand the position of Geraint Thomas who
wants to win a second Tour. In the past two Tours he was first and second so
he’s a rider who has to be taken into account,” Bernal told Spanish Eurosport.
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“I also understand Chris Froome wants to win his fifth
Tour. Given everything that has happened to him, it would be the best way to
come back for him.
"But I also put myself in a position. I’m young,
I’ve already won one Tour de France and I’m not going to throw away the
opportunity to win another Tour. That’s for sure.
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“That I would sacrifice myself, being at my 100 per cent…
I don’t think I’m going to do that, nor will he, nor will anyone."
Bernal, still aged just 22 years, said he would focus on
the Tour only rather than the Giro or Vuelta. His comments suggest Richard
Carapaz will focus on the Giro or Vuelta, which overlap this year.
The fact the Tour starts at the end of August and the two
other Grand Tours are crammed in relatively quickly afterwards should open
opportunities for Bernal’s Irish team mate Eddie Dunbar.
Bernal added that he, Thomas and Froome would start the
Tour with a “wait and see” team outlook.
"When the first stages are out of the way we’re
quickly going to see what position Froome’s in, what position I’m in, and what
position Thomas is in. Little by little the outlook will be clearer.”
But he added even though he was the champion he could not
got to Team Ineos management and insist he would be team leader.
"At the moment, it’s a question of having cold
blood, focusing on training, trying to do things as well as possible, get to
the Tour and then things will fall into place."
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