Bogota (AFP)

Egan Bernal, the first Colombian winner of the Great Loop last year, will try to defend his land against foreign "invaders", including Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe, who set off on Tuesday to attack the Tour of Colombia.

The rider of the Ineos team (ex-Sky), 23 years old, will compete for the 3rd time in the Tour of Colombia of which he won the first edition in 2018.

"The Tour of Colombia is one of the most important races in Latin America (...) It brings a lot of prestige and attracts very good runners, although it is not a World Tour race", the first division global, Egan Bernal told local media.

"It's going to be a great race and we hope to be successful," added the Colombian, who recovered from a heavy fall during the Colombia road cycling championships earlier this month.

The race, scheduled from February 11 to 16, will pass in particular through the province from which Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic) hails, which will however skip this edition, as will the title holder Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana).

Despite these absences, the Colombian race will not be easy for Egan Bernal.

Surprise winner of the Tour of Italy, the Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz will make his debut under the colors of Ineos in the homeland of "scarabs", the nickname of his Colombian climbers.

The course "is very special, the altitude will weigh a lot, it's a very difficult race," said Richard Carapaz, 26, who is participating for the third time.

"Running here at over 2,500 meters (altitude) will be very demanding," said Daniel Martinez, the double Colombian time trial champion. "All Europeans will be very affected".

The performances of Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck), winner of the 2019 Golden Bike after wearing the Tour's yellow jersey for 14 days, and his teammate, the Luxembourger Bob Jungels, will also be closely followed, as will that of Sebastian Henao , usual Bernal teammate.

The 27-year-old Frenchman, winner of two Colombian stages in 2018 and 2019, had to abandon the Tour of San Juan in Argentina in late January due to gastric problems.

The race begins on Tuesday with a 16.7-kilometer team time trial in the town of Tunja, at 2,700 meters above sea level.

© 2020 AFP