- Tour of Andalusia, couples dance
Egan Bernal , the first Colombian winner of the Tour de France , has turned 23 this January and dislikes the newspaper reports that point to Evenepoel (20 years), Pogacar (21) or his compatriot Higuita (22) as the young people who have been pushing. "And they leave me out, as if I were already an old man!"
QUESTION. Did you miss winning the Tour without the glow of raising your arms at that stage of Tignes suspended after Iseran?
REPLY. I do not think so. It was a stage where I felt very good, everything was flowing. You feel you have the day. Going up, down ... Feel in the atmosphere that 'today is my day'. When they stopped the stage, I was a little afraid of not knowing what was going to happen and when they told me I was the new leader, the feeling was: 'Ok, I deserved it.' I stayed calm with myself.
Leadership in the Ineos
"To be a leader in the Ineos you don't need to have a great record, I came from Androni and I was not one to win many things. I arrived and they told me 'go to the Tour Down Under to learn; go to Colombia as a second leader: I won; and I was also second in Catalonia and I was on the podium until the fall; I was as second leader in Romandía and I finished it second; leader in California, I won ... Then they took me to the Tour de France. but when one is the strongest, it will be demonstrated. "
Q. Not having won a regular stage makes you set the goal of achieving it?
A. Yes, there is a lot of motivation for the Tour. Winning stages for me has always been very complicated. Obviously, I would be very excited to win in the Tour de France and in any other race. Beating day races and stages has always been very difficult for me.
P. The Tour changes life. More yours or your family's?
A. That of my family, mine, for my friends ... None of us expected it. Obviously you want to win the Tour, but when it arrives, that light impacts you. You go with the mentality of 'I want to win, I want to win', but when you get it, you stay a little 'stunned'.
Q. And you will have to do many things that you don't want.
A. Yes, some of them get tired, because I am calm, I don't mess with anyone and I don't want to be bothered either. Going out for coffee is almost impossible, you have to accept it. But if a child wants a picture how are you going to say no, if he has been waiting for half an hour ... Many times I will have to refuse it and that worries me. I am Tour champion but I am still a boy who is 23 years old.
Q. And it even seems obligatory to go to the races to demand more.
A. I do not know if it is mandatory, but it is a responsibility. For example, the Tour Colombia is, in theory, to go 'quiet', but there are many people who come to see you win and I feel that, as champion of the Tour, I should do my best. First, because it is much better for me. And so it is for them.
Q. We read you a tweet promising help after watching a report that showed children from an indigenous community feeding in the garbage dumps of Puerto Carreño. Helped?
A. My girlfriend, Xiomy, is creating a foundation by Exito [a food chain, a personal sponsor], to combat malnutrition in Colombia. We don't want to take the picture or set an example, but go a little further. But the problem is so great that we are considering ideas to feed so many families. The easy thing is to buy, leave the food and leave. We want something that can transcend and help the community in the long term, not just in a week.
P. He also wrote tweets about the national unemployment riots that shocked the country in November. How did he live them?
A. I was quite scared. You watch television and you don't know what is true and what is not. But what they said was very strong, that they were entering the houses, stealing. My mother lives in a group of those who were assaulting, not that, but of the same characteristics. And in a small city, you wonder how whores can be doing that in a place where everyone is known. I had to bring her, because I was afraid that something might happen to her.
P. He wrote: "I understand the situation and the motives of the people who leave to march peacefully. I want to invite them to have hope, to have faith and to believe that things can change."
A. The messages were of support. I hesitated to send it, because a message cannot do much, in the end I wrote what I wrote and many took it on the positive side, but as one is a public figure some say 'now it is right-wing', or 'it is left-wing'. And one slows down when speaking or being able to be oneself.
P. Let's go back to cycling. How do you solve who will be the leader of the Ineos in the Tour?
A. I do not have an answer at this time. Dave [Brailsford] on that is very intelligent and knows what to say so that everyone feels happy. He told me that I will have all the support of the team and for me that is what matters most. Surely the same thing he will have told [Geraint] Thomas or [Chris] Froome. Having two such good teammates is a motivation to train hard and earn the position. If one of the two is stronger than me, it will be difficult, but I will have to accept it. It's hard to work, because I'm the last winner of the Tour, but things are like that. You have to respect yourself, we have a team that goes in the same direction and we are not going to ruin everything for a lollipop.
The classics
"I do not think they are my type of career. If one day I win a classic it will obviously be something very good and special, but I do not think that at this moment I am focused on that plan. In Lombardy yes, what happens is that it is end of the season, it's not like a Liege, I've never run it, but I think it's different. I think of a Walloon Arrow or a Liege and the truth is that I don't see myself there. I don't see myself winning a Liege. in the future, yes. Right now I want to be focused on what I think is going well for me, which are stage races. "
Q. Has your calendar changed a lot on the way to the Tour?
A. Yes it changes. If everything is on track, I will defend the title in Paris-Nice, because I want to run in France, even if it goes full throttle all day and fans are almost always there. Then, Basque Country, which I have always wanted to run. For my coach [Xabier Artetxe], who is from there and with him I was training in that land for several months; for the fans and the Basque culture, which I like.
Q. And then, classic?
A. The problem with the classics is that I extend the effort a bit. It is good for me to be a week without touching the bicycle, I feel that I need it and I have done very well. If I take that week without touching the bike after a Liege it would already be too close to the Tour de France, and I feel a little scary. We will analyze the case after the Tour of the Basque Country. Already, in June, I will normally do Dauphiné. Although as a runner one will always press to get strong in the race, the coach's idea is not to get as well and to improve the way in the Tour de France. It is a race-transit for many, as of preparation. But also for that reason I prefer to rest before and arrive in a better state to the Dauphiné, because feeling good on the bicycle and not suffering so much gives me more confidence for the Tour.
Q. Is the bike still fun or pure work?
R. I enjoy. On the Tour de France I enjoyed the bike, running, the adrenaline rush, being focused 24 hours on the race, watching where the wind comes from, racing, always fighting and fighting. I really like that adrenaline.
Q. Rate your current degree of happiness from 0 to 10.
A. Like anybody, it depends on the day. One happier than another. Sometimes you wake up with the existential crisis and you send shit to everyone, while another day everything is fine. I am normal, like you, like anyone.
No to Turn
"The decision to choose whether or not to go to the Tour was not quick, there was discussion and in the end I understood that it was not the best. First, because I am 23 years old and I have never done two great laps. Then, because having won the Tour de France people are going to expect him to do very well in the Tour, that is, to win or make a podium. And then he had to go to the Tour de France to defend the title and then he would be dead. Then, better be calm, calm. I think I have many years to go to the Giro, which is a race that I like too much. I wanted to go two years. Although I have more time than none, it was in my head to run it, but I understand the team and I think the best decision is to put the focus on the Tour and then maybe next year go to the Giro ".
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