"I have no idea what they were doing" - Egan Bernal blasts UAE for blocking long-range attack on Monte Grappa

The Giro d'Italia is on fire and surprisingly, the rider that has been attacking the most is currently far from the podium. On Monte Grappa - and stage 15 as a whole - INEOS Grenadiers tried to once again explode the GC battle, but was met with an ultra-conservative UAE Team Emirates - XRG with whom he was not happy with.

With over 90 kilometers to go on the mythical climb, Bernal launched an attack after the work of his teammates. He was immediately followed by Isaac del Toro, and later joined by Richard Carapaz, Thymen Arensman and Derek Gee.

"We were just collaborating, but it looks like the other group was going super hard, because actually I felt I was descending like a rock, I was even a bit scared in the descent, but the guys behind they still..." Bernal said in an interview with Cyclingnews.

INEOS went all-in on a move that could've seen them move up the GC a lot. Del Toro refused to collaborate, and his team chased behind with numbers, so as to regain control of the race and bring Juan Ayuso back to the front as well. In the finale, they deployed the same tactics, maintaining the outlook of the overall classification very similar int the final week.

Arensman was visibly upset with UAE's tactics as was possible to see during the broadcast, whilst Bernal more so confused. "I have no idea what they were doing. It was a bit strange, but they have their reasons, so no idea."

Still, the overall fatigue on the stage led Primoz Roglic to crack on the final climb which saw the duo both gain a position in the Top10. "With Roglič, I don't know what happened, honestly. The last climb wasn't super steep, but it was one of those climbs where if you drop, you can lose a lot of time. Actually, in the last metres I was struggling a little bit, it was super hard to keep the pace with the big boys, but I think we did well to try. We are team Ineos, we have to do something for sure."

INEOS has truly been lighting up this Giro, and with a motivated and in-form Bernal, there are fireworks on most days with climbs on the menu. The Colombian shares that much of this is due to the pleasure of being able to race pain-free once again.

"I have been racing with back pain for my whole career, since I was a kid I remember I was having back pain, and since last year after the surgery when they removed the hernia, I've been enjoying being on the bike and it's the first Grand Tour I do without pain," the 28-year old explained.

"After three years of being in the gruppetto the whole race, finally I can do something, I can move the race, and I can feel that I'm bringing something to my team. I'm just happy to be back and for sure, for the future, I think this race will give me something extra, with the result we don't know what it will be, but for sure it will be a big step."