It was a thunderclap on the Tour on Wednesday morning: Egan Bernal, the leader of the Ineos-Grenadiers and winner of the Tour de France 2019, gives up.
The Colombian will not take the start of the 17th stage, the main event of this 2020 edition towards the Col de la Loze.
It is to tell the truth a half-surprise so much, for a few days, the young (22 years) South American was in perdition.
On Sunday, in the ascent of the Grand Colombier, he had already lost all his chances of succeeding himself by letting slip several minutes on the Slovenian duo Roglic - Pogacar.
Tuesday, in the stage leading to Villard-de-Lans, Bernal gave up completely, both physically and mentally, finding himself at the finish in a Gruppetto unworthy of his status.
His team, Ineos, announced in a tweet this Wednesday morning, shortly before 8 a.m., that Bernal was giving up on continuing his ordeal.
He has not yet explained the reasons for this serious failure, which will force his team, hitherto overpowered, to review its strategy for the future.
Egan Bernal has withdrawn from the Tour de France ahead of stage 17.
- INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) September 16, 2020
This is not the first time this season that Bernal has left a race on the sly: he had already given up in August to start the 4th stage of the Dauphiné.