As the GC carnage unfolded on the gravel stage of the Giro d'Italia, it looked for a long while like Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) was going to be one of the big winners, after he got away in a group with two teammates, and the eventual top two on the stage, Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike).
However, despite Bernal's big day out on the gravel he excelled on previously, he couldn't live with the pressure that came from the new Mexican race leader, and was eventually caught by the main chasing group of GC riders 6km from the finish in Siena.
It was a testament to Ineos' promise of a new, aggressive racing style, with Bernal admitting that the plan wasn't overly complicated. The move he, Thymen Arensman and Brandon Rivera entered into was just part of that instinct, while chasing survival on the strade bianche.
"I think the plan was to not have much science, just go into the first sector in front and then go full gas," Bernal told reporters at the finish, after fighting and grimacing to cross the line ninth, even after being caught so late.
"Today was a day where the position counted a lot, and you had to try to survive the sectors. We saved ourselves, but it's a shame though, because in the end I was missing something to keep from dropping, but I had been in front for a long time."
As has been the story for Bernal ever since his near career-ending and life-threatening crash in 2022, the team were delighted to be seeing improvements, but were, of course, disappointed that the Colombian champion was eventually caught.
"It was looking really good until it wasn't, but I think we can still be really proud of the effort," Ineos DS Zak Dempster told Daniel Benson's substack at the team bus.
"They took the race on, and obviously you've got to be ahead of the bad luck as best you can. I think, with Thymen there," who suffered an untimely flat tyre in the final 40km, "maybe we would've been in a much stronger position, but everyone had crashes and mechanicals, so we can't complain."
Dempster was hungry for more after Bernal's narrow miss from gaining big time on his GC rivals, so expect similar tactics to be used when the Giro enters its brutal final week.
"We made a decision to just continue to try to take more time on Primož Roglič and the other GC guys," Dempster said.
"Obviously, they came back, and then [Bernal] fought like a hero to stay in the wheel and limit his losses. We already know what he's like: his character, his abilities, and it's been a long road back to get back into the position he is now, so we can be really proud of that, but for sure we're wanting more now.
"I think he was ninth, he lost like 13 seconds to Ciccone, who was fourth, so he limited his losses really well considering where they caught him. He just had to try to hang on as best he could."
As the Giro finds itself at the second rest day, Bernal sits seventh overall, 1:57 away from the overall lead of Del Toro. And neither he nor the team are underestimating the 21-year-old as a genuine contender.
"He's a great rider, I like him a lot. He's very intelligent, he moves well, he descends well, and he always runs in front," said Bernal. "For me, he's one of the best here. Obviously, he can win the Giro d'Italia."
"The reality is if you have a guy like Del Toro in your wheel, then he's going to drop you at some point on that terrain," said Dempster, who echoed his rider's praise.
"100%, from what I've seen so far, he's the best at UAE, so I'd expect him to be their main guy. I think he's got every right to man the leadership there, so let's see how that plays out."
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