Paris (AFP)
Egan Bernal, winner of the Tour de France 2019, has left the door open to "other possibilities" than defending his title next summer even if he says he is ready to take on this responsibility.
"I have an open mind, it's not just a decision on my part and I do not exclude other possibilities," said Colombian climber Ineos team at the presentation of the edition 2020.
"It would be really great to take on this responsibility to defend the yellow jersey, it would be very special and very beautiful," he added.
"It seems to me that the course is good for me but you also have to watch the Giro, I do not want to be a rider who does not look at the other great tours," continued the Colombian team Ineos, one of the youngest winners in the history of the Tour de France (22 years old).
Since joining a WorldTour team in 2018, Bernal has participated only twice in the Tour de France.
The British team, which has won six of the last seven editions of the Tour, has several other headliners. Mainly British Chris Froome, four-time winner of the Tour who is in serious injury, and Geraint Thomas, winner in 2018 and second in 2019, and Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz, who won the Giro 2019 and was recruited by Ineos.
"We're going to see the routes, what the team thinks, what Dave (Brailsford, director) thinks, the other runners ... It's not just my decision, I'm open-minded. many possibilities: the Giro, the doubled Giro-Tour, Giro-Vuelta ... ", detailed Bernal.
"It's a decision that is not taken lightly," he continued. "I can not come and say + I'll be in the Tour + team, we're a team and we need to find a way to divide the races, according to the race best suited to each runner."
Last year already, Geraint Thomas had left the door open for participation in the Giro before his team decided to focus on the Tour de France.
© 2019 AFP