Giro d'Italia contender Egan Bernal has thanked his Netcompany Ineos teammate Ben Turner for his work on Tuesday's fourth stage, adding that he would be "minutes down" in the general classification without the Briton's help on the road to Cosenza.
Bernal got into difficulty on the only major climb of the day, the second-category Cozzo Tunno, which peaked 42.5km from the end of the Giro's first stage back after the rest/transfer day.
As Movistar drilled the pace at the head of the peloton, the Colombian champion was surprisingly dropped 2km from the top of the climb. Ineos instructed Turner to drop back and help their GC co-leader, with the pair successfully making it back to the peloton before the finish.
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Turner ended up in fourth place on the stage, and later said, "It feels like a big disappointment" despite being happy that Bernal didn't lose any time. In turn, Bernal was thankful for his teammate.
"He was great. He told me already on a few mountain stages that he can climb really well. I said to him before the Giro that he's already a climber. He did a great job," Bernal told TNT Sports ahead of stage 5.
"Also, it's kind of sad because we saw in the end that he can win the stage if he doesn't wait for me. In the end, the team took the decision, and I just want to thank him because without him, I would already be minutes [down] in the GC.
"This is teamwork, and I really hope he can win a stage in the Giro because he deserves it."
Bernal added that it was hard to see Turner disappointed with his result, which saw him miss out behind stage winner Jhonatan Narváez.
"It's super hard [to see him disappointed] because we are friends and obviously you want the best for your friends. It's not that we are only teammates; he is a friend," he said.
"When he was sprinting, I was thinking, 'If he doesn't wait for me, he would win' – I don't want to say easily, but he could be more in the front.
"It was hard, but in the end, it is how it is. This is cycling, this is a team sport. In the end, I just hope to be in the front also – because of the effort he did."
Meanwhile, Netcompany Ineos sports director Elia Viviani said that Turner did an "amazing job" in helping Bernal, noting that the former Giro d'Italia winner wasn't on his best day after the early rest day.
"I think the day after the rest day is never an easy one because the body switches off a bit, and then this long climb is always a solid one. The high pace from Movistar really put some people on the limit," he said.
"We have Egan not probably on his best day, so we needed to switch on in this part of the climb. He just dropped towards the end, and Ben waited for him and brought him back, so that was an amazing job by him.
"Our two GC guys are still in front in a good position, and for sure, that is thanks to Ben. We will try again to win the stage with him, because he deserves it."
Viviani went on to say that Turner could aim for a stage win on today's stage from Praia a Mare to Potenza. The 203km stage features an early third-category climb and another second-category test, Montagna Grande di Viggiano, 48km from the line.
"Then he finished fourth on the line," he said of Turner. "For sure, he can dream of a win today, but that was a team performance."
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