Tour de France sprinters including Jasper Philipsen, Mads Pedersen, and Tim Merlier will have to put their green jersey aspirations on hold for now after a new face popped up in the maillot vert following Saturday's opening stage.
The rider wearing the green jersey for stage 2's hilly run to Montjuïc Park in Barcelona is far from a typical sprinter - it's 2019 Tour winner Egan Bernal.
The Colombian climber led his Netcompany Ineos team over the first checkpoint of the day during the opening stage team time trial in Barcelona, and with the British squad the quickest of all across that line, Bernal raced into green.
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"It's a jersey I never thought I'd wear!" Bernal said after the stage.
"It's a special race with this new team time trial format, but the team was incredibly strong and finished in an amazing way. Team time trials are super hard, and these guys are crazy – they have so much power! It was a good performance."
With time triallist extraordinaire Filippo Ganna part of the Ineos squad this July, it was no surprise that they went for glory on the opening day. In the end, they were denied the stage victory by Visma-Lease a Bike as Jonas Vingegaard grabbed the yellow jersey, but they'll "try on every stage", Bernal said.
"Of course, we came here to win, and we missed out on the victory, but at the same time we're in good shape, and the team is in a great vibe.
"We're definitely going to fight for everything. Every stage is an opportunity. We're here to enjoy the race, and we have nothing to lose, so we'll try on every stage."
It remains to be seen for how long Bernal will manage to defend his newly earned green jersey. With 25 points up for grabs at the intermediate sprint on Sunday, it seems unlikely he'll hold on this evening.
The sight of a Colombian climber in the sprinter's jersey has lived on as a meme in the past, with Nairo Quintana's stint in green at the 2019 Vuelta a España even spawning its own 'NairoInGreen' subreddit. Maybe Bernal's run as points leader will prove similarly influential…
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