Egan Bernal winning Colombia Oro y Paz earlier this year. Team Sky has confirmed today, if confirmation was needed, he is the man to take over after Froom and Thomas.
Egan Bernal "exceptional" new contract with Team Sky
Colombian superstar Egan Bernal has signed a new five-year contract with Team Sky. The length of the deal is almost unheard of in cycling.
It also suggests Sky is committed to the team in the long term even though it will soon enter its first phase without a British rider in the running for Grand Tour wins.
Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas will continue to aim for those victories for the next few years. However, during the span of Bernal’s new contract Froome and Thomas will end their careers.
And that means the young Colombian has been signed as the new leader of the team, Dave Brailsford confirming as much today.
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“Egan is part of the next generation at Team Sky, our next big leader for Grand Tours in the years to come, as we continue to build for a bigger and better future,” Brailsford said.
“This is an important moment in the development of the team. A five-year deal in cycling is exceptional. But Egan is an exceptional talent. I believe today’s announcement demonstrates three things.
“He is a top talent who has already shown his mental and physical strength in recent months. And he will only keep on improving.
“He is a big part of the next generation of Team Sky, an incredible crop of young riders, alongside the likes of Tao Geoghegan-Hart, Pavel Sivakov and Gianni Moscon.
“We are all excited about their unique opportunity to continue to learn from the current generation of great champions – Froome, Thomas and Kwiatkowski – as they support them on the road over the coming years, with the goal of helping them to become champions themselves.”
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The rider roster also includes Irish riders Philip Deignan (35) and Eddie Dunbar (22). While Deignan is nearing the end of his career, Eddie Dunbar has just joined Team Sky.
He transferred into the team from Aqua Blue Sport after it collapsed in August. And after finishing out 2018 with the British WorldTour outfit he will riding for the team next year.
Egan Bernal (21) said he was delighted with the new deal. He was also very happy with how his first year with Team Sky had gone, though he has not raced since a bad crash in early August at Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian.
He showed his ability to lead Team Sky and win by claiming victory in Colombia Oro y Paz and the Tour of California.
“I’m very happy to sign a new contract with Team Sky,” Bernal said of the new five-year arrangement.
“It feels like a new stage in my life. I know five years is a long time and that it’s not too common in cycling.
“But the team has been great for me. They offer me everything I could want and I’m excited about the future.
“I imagined my first year with the team would be different and I was nervous before I joined.
“But I found great people, a team that was ready to help me, and I enjoyed a good season. It was made easy for me.
“My ambition is to keep developing as a rider – to learn from and help the best and become a key member of the team for many years to come. For me there is no better place to do that than Team Sky.
“I’m really happy here because I have everything I could ask for. It’s a dream team and I don’t see myself anywhere else.”
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