Egan Bernal withdraws from World Championships nomination due to muscle injury
CyclingSunday, 13 September 2026 at 01:00
The Colombian cycling team might quite possibly expand its wait for a top-10 result at the cycling's road race World Championships beyond an entire decade. In 2017, Fernando Gaviria finished 8th in Bergen, a result which Egan Bernal hoped to take inspiration from as Colombia's leader in Montréal. However, the national champion's plans have changed and we won't see the 29-year-old in action in Canada in two weeks.
Bernal had a busy summer. Launching his season in late April, Bernal finished 2nd overall at Tour of the Alpes, was fifth at Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and 10th at Giro d'Italia.
However instead of a break after this extensive block, Bernal was called up by Netcompany INEOS also for the Tour de France in absence of many of the team's leaders. For a while, Bernal competed for a final top-10, but run out of gas towards the third week and dropped to 20th overall.
Complicated summer
After his second Grand Tour of the season, the former Tour winner finally enjoyed some rest, even though that did not go without any unwelcome events, such as a car collision with a taxi two weeks ago.
Bernal seems to have escaped any consequences to his health, as he declared for the upcoming World Championships as a leader alongside Nairo Quintana and Santiago Buitrago. But in most recent turn of events, Bernal withdrew from the Champinoship due to a muscle overload. He will be replaced by Wilmar Paredes.
The 30-year-old rider of Medellín - EPM gathered impressive 10 UCI victories this season, however his nomination is rather controversial. The former rider of infamous of Manzana Postobon project was previously involved in illegal activity, serving a 4-year doping ban between 2019 and 2023.
Read also
Colombia’s selection for the Montreal 2026 World Championships:
| Rider | Team |
| Nairo Quintana | Movistar Team |
| Santiago Buitrago | Bahrain Victorious |
| Harold Tejada | XDS Astana |
| Sergio Higuita | XDS Astana |
| Brandon Rivera | Netcompany Ineos |
| Walter Vargas | Medellin EPM |
| Wilmar Paredes | Medellin EPM |
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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