Egan Bernal loses 40 minutes at the end of second week as he battles an illness

INEOS Grenadiers is currently in a bit of a pickle. Team leader Carlos Rodriguez is still in contention for a top 5 result in the GC, however the rest of the team is in the corner where the blows are falling. Last hit came when Egan Bernal, fighting with a cold, had to completely give up to on his GC ambitions in a stage 15.

The Colombian has had a cold for a few days and feels flu-like, Het Nieuwsblad reports. It is an explanation for his poor performance in Sunday's Pyrenees stage to Plateau de Beille. The 2019 Tour winner got into trouble very early, managed to return, but had to give up on the Col d'Agnes, crossing the line more than forty minutes after stage winner Tadej Pogacar.

The 27-year-old climber was thirteenth in the general classification before the fifteenth stage, but such massive loss of time saw him drop to 21st spot, nearly an hour behind the yellow jersey.

Bernal has no plans to throw in the towel for the time being, but his team INEOS Grenadiers already had to say goodbye to Tom Pidcock earlier in this Tour. Meanwhile Geraint Thomas has also tested positive for the coronavirus. Because the 2018 Tour winner only has mild symptoms, he is still part of the Tour peloton.