Former Tour de France and Giro d’Italia winner, Egan Bernal, is likely to return to the peloton in 2027 after some earlier doubts following the early closure of the Colombian rider’s season.
Bernal finished his 2026 campaign after placing 20th at the Tour de France in July; then, in early October, the Netcompany Ineos rider posted a statement on his Instagram account, hoping to clarify his future.
In that statement, Bernal said he intended to return in 2027, but left the door open to his premature departure from the sport, saying: "I don’t know exactly what the coming years hold, and I don’t think I need to know everything right now."
However, the 29-year-old recently travelled from his Colombian home to a team meeting at Netcompany’s Copenhagen headquarters, signalling his intention to continue racing. And if that wasn’t enough, comments from one of the team's sports directors, Dario Cioni, seem to have gone at least some way to confirming he will remain.
"Egan took a break from the season finale, but he had done the Giro and the Tour, so it’s not something we’ve never seen before," Cioni told Bici.PRO.
"It’s clear that Bernal is a winner; he is not happy with finishing tenth. And rightly so, after the Giro and the Tour, he didn't feel he could be competitive, so he chose to end the season early. But he will restart as scheduled in 2027."
Winning the Tour de France at just 22, Bernal was heir apparent to the team’s Grand Tour-winning heritage. He went on to win the 2021 Giro d’Italia, but, despite some glimmers of hope, has never been the same since a career-threatening training crash in Colombia at the start of 2022.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
The team gathering in Denmark was an opportunity for riders and staff to meet their new sponsor, Cioni, describing it as halfway between the end of the 2026 season and the start of 2027. Riders had medical checks, while staff had their chance for meetings.
In the interview with Bici.PRO, Cioni was also asked about the departure of Filippo Ganna to Lidl-Trek, a rider with whom he had worked closely.
"Those are choices in the hands of managers," Cioni said. "On a personal level, obviously I'm sorry, but these are team decisions that must be respected.
"A rider like Pippo [Ganna], who gives 100% towards the goals he sets for himself, pushes everyone to the limit. I think that as a team, until the arrival of Remco [Evenepoel], we were the point of reference in time trials.
"Beating Remco is not easy, but if we look at the collective, we are still at the forefront. We have the best package, certainly not inferior to Specialized, and we got to this point also thanks to a rider like Ganna."
The road season might be at an end, but Cyclingnews isn't slowing down. Subscribe for unlimited access to our comprehensive news coverage, industry-leading CN Labs testing, expert columnists, and so much more. Plus, the Cyclingnews app means you can stay up-to-date wherever you go! Join today.
A recent addition to the Cyclingnews staff, Owen Rogers is an experienced journalist, working as a freelancer covering the sport for various magazines and websites for more than 10 years.
Initially concentrating mainly on the women's sport, he has covered hundreds of race days on the ground and interviewed some of the sport's biggest names.
Living near Cambridge in the UK, when he's not working you'll find him either riding his bike or playing drums.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
