Egan Bernal to return to competition at Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali.

Egan Bernal will race again next week. INEOS Grenadiers had leaked that he would either do it in the Volta a Catalunya or in the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali and finally he is going to do it in the Italian race that will take place on March 21 and 25.

The 2019 Tour de France winner has had a very complicated year since, after debuting with good sensations and fighting among the best in the Vuelta a San Juan, he had a knee problem that has made him miss races since then. Now, after a hard training in Colombia, he is ready to return to action in Europe.

It won't be the first time Egan Bernal will take part in the Coppi e Bartali, as he also competed in the hilly race in 2016 and 2017. Logically, he will not be looking for a victory, but rather to accumulate kilometers in order to convince the INEOS Grenadiers sports leaders that he deserves a place for the next Tour de France.

As many as eight WorlTour teams will be present at the Italian race: INEOS Grenadiers, BORA-hansgrohe, Soudal Quick-Step, Jayco AlUla, Astana Qazaqstan, Jumbo-Visma, Trek-Segafredo and EF Education-EasyPost.

As it coincides with the Volta a Catalunya, one of the most important stage races on the international calendar, it tends to lose some weight in the quality of the riders who decide on the Italian race, although the level is usually very high with many riders still wanting to accumulate kilometers ahead of the spring classics.