"The mountain stages of the Dauphiné will be decisive" - Egan Bernal keen on testing himself to the max at France
Cycling
An explosive Egan Bernal has finished 21st and 22nd in the opening two stages of the Criterium du Dauphiné, and he is showing eagerness to perform in the mountains.
"I think the time-trial is important for the mental but the mountain stages of the Dauphiné will be decisive," he said this morning at the start of stage 3 in Monistrol-sur-Loire. He starts the day in 13th place in the overall classification, the day before the first big test for the overall classification which will come in the form of a 31-kilometer long time-trial.
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The Colombian is one of three options for INEOS Grenadiers to battle for the overall classification, however he will be the one with most eyes on. Alongside Daniel Martínez and Carlos Rodríguez, all three will have the chance to prove their form this week in the Dauphiné alongside competition they know will be present at the Tour de France.
The high-altitude summit finish at the Col de la Croix de Fer specially will suit the 26-year old, after finishing inside the Top10 on both the Tour de Romandie and the Tour de Hongrie there will be expectations on his shoulders that he will perform close to the best over the coming days.
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- Congrats! It is done so now is time for CX.averagecyclist15-11-2026
- It's going to happen at some point. It will happen to Tadej as well, we all get older. Jonas was in pretty great form at the tour. I still consider him a top two or three cyclist in the world, until he's not.awp15-11-2026
- mij, I am not so sure of that. I have been on a spine ward at a Denver hospital that had quite a few spinal injuries from mountain biking.BDBigGuy15-11-2026
- Pogi takes care of his teammates in races and training. Tadej Pogačar is widely praised within the cycling peloton for his fair and egalitarian leadership, actively supporting his UAE teammates both on the road during races and behind the scenes at training camps. Rather than acting like an untouchable superstar, he has intense team loyalty by sharing daily chores, giving up personal glory to help domestiques, and publicly praising their sacrifices. Unlike some Grand Tour contenders, like Vingegaard, who occasionally train away from their squads, Pogi consistently attends team training camps alongside his domestiques, making the exact same sacrifices to build friendship. I love how Pogačar shares his teammates-domestiques, either when they succeed or win in races or when they simply just do a good job for him. It has to be a great moral boost for them. And then they work even harder and go even deeper for Pogi. This is teamwork.PogiSloFans15-11-2026
- Yeah, what he said!Lozza15-11-2026
- I’m sure Jasper Philipsen would disagree with you.Lozza15-11-2026
- Article says he was “out for a spin around the town”, implying not off-road.Lozza15-11-2026
- let’s be honest, Alpecin is all about one rider - MVDP. I’m sure he gets whatever he needs, the rest get the scraps.mij15-11-2026
- there are more vicious injuries on a road bike than a mountain bike far and away.mij15-11-2026
- That'll be one crazy rider
Rafionain-Glas15-11-2026
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🗣 @Eganbernal : « Je pense que le contre-la-montre est important pour le mental mais les étapes de montagne seront décisives. » #Dauphiné
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