“They’ll take the strongest”: Former Giro winner Egan Bernal must earn INEOS place in 2026 Maglia Rosa fight

Egan Bernal has already worn pink in Italy. He knows what it takes to win the Giro d’Italia. But as he looks ahead to 2026, the former champion is clear about one thing: past glory will not carry him back to the startline as a protected leader.

Bernal has said his ambition is to return to the Giro d’Italia as one of the main figures in INEOS Grenadiers’ plans. But he has also made it just as clear that nothing will be handed to him. Selection, he says, will come down to form alone.

“In principle, I would like to do the Giro d’Italia, but we have to go race by race, day by day. To the Giro, they will take the strongest riders, and you have to earn that spot. You have to be there,” Bernal said in conversation with RCN.

For a rider who has already won the Giro, that is a striking position. It shows how Bernal sees the next phase of his career: not as someone trading on reputation, but as someone who still feels he has to prove himself all over again.

His target is obvious. The Maglia Rosa remains one of the defining symbols of his career. Winning it once put him among the greats of Colombian cycling and confirmed him as one of the standout stage racers of his generation. Now, years later, the fight to get back into that battle is as much about earning trust inside his own team as it is about beating rivals from other squads.

Bernal’s approach to 2026 is deliberately cautious. There is no big speech about guaranteed leadership or fixed Grand Tour status. Instead, he is framing the season as a test he has to pass step by step.

“You have to keep your feet on the ground, work very hard. Right now, my head is on the national,s and then we go to Europe to go race by race. The team makes many plans, but you know you have to go day by day,” he added.

That mindset matters inside a team like INEOS Grenadiers, where competition for Grand Tour roles is constant and internal depth is part of the team’s identity. Bernal is not arguing for special treatment. He is placing himself in the same race as everyone else.

The immediate focus is clear. First come the national championships. After that, Bernal is set to move back to Europe, where INEOS plan to use him in early-season racing. He is expected to be part of the team for the Volta ao Algarve in February, with the possibility of racing some of the Ardennes Classics later in the spring.

Those races are not just preparation. They are auditions.

Every climbing test, every time trial, every stage where the legs are truly asked questions will feed into one bigger decision: is Bernal strong enough to be taken back to the Giro as a central figure in the team’s plans?

For a former Giro winner, that might sound like a strange position to be in. But for Bernal, it is exactly where he wants to stand. Not protected by history. Not shielded by reputation. Just another rider trying to be among “the strongest” when the time comes to choose who gets to chase pink again.