The best Egan Bernal since the 2022 crash? "I thought I could go for the stage" INEOS Grenadiers says

Egan Bernal was a big factor during today's stage of the Giro d'Italia and a stage win even looked possible at a certain point. INEOS Grenadier seem to have in the Colombian the clear leader, but he does not look like he is only here to contest for a minor GC place but instead has the form to fight for something bigger.

The Colombian put in a great performance on the final climb to Tagliacozzo. As leader of INEOS Grenadiers, he attacked 800 meters from the finish line, looking for the victory. He was followed by a very strong Juan Ayuso who then went on to take the stage win, but Bernal's strength was enough to finish third just ahead of a surprisingly unresponsive Primoz Roglic.

"I was feeling really good. I saw the finish line close and I thought I could go for the stage. Obviously coming third is good, but I think we have to keep trying to win," an ambitious Bernal began by telling the press right after the stage.

Bernal began the season with a double victory at the national championships, both in the time trial and the road race in Colombia. For that reason, he wears the jersey with the flag of his country. This gave him the strength to attack, as he ends up pointing out in his words:

"I thought that to a certain extent I could go for the stage. I was just a little short, and that's what made the difference. I still felt very good legs. The jersey gave me strength," he concluded.

Because of his modest time-trial, Bernal remains outside of the Top10 at this point - he is 14th, 46 seconds behind Primoz Roglic - but in all fairness, he is only 19 seconds off the 4th position of Antonio Tiberi, with all of the high mountain stages still yet to be raced.