Bernal waiting to strike as Tour de France reaches toughest tests

Tour de France 2020 107th Edition 4th stage Sisteron OrcieresMerlette 1605 km 31082020 Egan Bernal COL Team Ineos photo Vincent KalutPNBettiniPhoto2020
2019 Tour de France champion Egan Bernal will begin stage 10 in second place on GC (Image credit: Bettini Photo)

Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) may not be the red-hot favourite at this point in the Tour de France or the rider who has impressed the most in the mountains, but only a fool would write the defending champion off at this point.

Despite his nagging back issues and the almost daily questions over his form and that of his team, the Colombian is still nestled nicely in second place overall as the Tour prepares to exit its first rest day. There are far sterner tests ahead with daunting days in the Alps to come but there is an argument that by sitting second, just 21 seconds off Primož Roglič’s yellow jersey, Bernal is in a perfect position.

Daniel Benson

Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.