Egan Bernal has won the Colombian road race
national championships. The
INEOS Grenadiers rider was able to complete a successful week of racing for the British team,
after Brandon Rivera was victorious in the time trial.
The race, open to all teams, unfolded on a circuit with 4,366 metres of elevation and a final section averaging 7.7%, which gradually whittled down the group of favourites as the kilometers ticked by. The fierce pace and relentless profile triggered constant splits in the bunch, leaving a reduced lead group for the decisive phase.
Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) and Iván Ramiro Sosa (Equipo Kern Pharma) broke clear in the final kilometres and contested the title in a sprint. The rider from Zipaquirá was faster in the head-to-head and crossed the line in 5:25:06, at an average speed of 38.2Km/h, sealing the national title. Sosa finished second at 7 seconds.
Behind, Juan Felipe Rodríguez (EF Education – Aevolo) completed the podium at 24 seconds. Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain – Victorious) placed fourth on the same time as Rodríguez, while Javier Ernesto Jamaica (Nu Colombia) was fifth at 32 seconds. The rest of the top 10 were Wilson Estiben Peña, Robinson Fabián López, Juan Diego Alba, Rodrigo Contreras and Harold Tejada.