Megeve (France) (AFP)

Flashing light two weeks before the start of the Tour de France for Egan Bernal: the winner of the Tour last year, abandoned the Dauphiné on Saturday but the signals are not necessarily negative for the Colombian.

The secret has been well kept for the Ineos team, which only lifted the veil a few minutes before the start of the 4th stage in Ugine. Through the voice of Geraint Thomas, the Welsh predecessor of Bernal on the Tour's palmares.

"Egan is not taking the start. His back is a bit sore. The best thing he has to do is take it slow," said the Welshman. "I don't think this is a major problem, you better be careful."

Worrying injury, especially after two days which highlighted the current superiority of the Slovenian Primoz Roglic, or just a precaution? The balance tilts towards the second hypothesis with regard to Bernal's performance curve and the atmosphere around the team. According to the French coach, the Colombian climber was able to train on Saturday morning, which would rule out the threat of a serious injury two weeks before the start of the Tour in Nice.

"He could have done the stage, for sure", assured the sporting director Gabriel Rasch by confirming "at 100%" the participation of Bernal in the Tour de France: "We felt that Egan had what he had He has a back injury that he's had before, so we wanted to make sure we had enough time before the start of the Tour to treat him properly. "

- Indisputable number one -

Since the beginning of August and the resumption of competitions after the long stoppage due to the pandemic, Bernal has imposed a large block of work. He took part in three stage races: the Route d'Occitanie, which he won hands down, the Tour de l'Ain, which ended for him with a second place behind Roglic, the Dauphiné in which he had to undergo the Slovenian law again in the early stages.

Seventh in the Dauphiné standings after three stages, Bernal seemed to struggle more and more as the days went by, with finishes each time judged uphill. Placed in the first stage (3rd), he was overwhelmed the next day and was left behind on Friday to the point of crossing the line in 14th position. No wonder, therefore, that the Ineos team chooses to avoid accumulating fatigue so close to the start of the Tour, especially on the very mountainous routes of the last two stages of the Dauphiné.

Obviously, the British team is betting above all on the young Colombian (23) to face new competition. Dominant so far in the Tour, she is facing this year the rise of the Dutch Jumbo and her leader Roglic.

In view of the difficulties of the other alleged leaders of the team, Bernal emerges as the indisputable number one. The Briton Chris Froome, seriously injured last year, seeks to regain his level and runs after his selection. Geraint Thomas, who is playing behind in this Dauphiné, is not favored by the ultra-mountainous profile of the next Tour.

"I had a fairly difficult start to the Dauphiné", admits the winner of the 2018 Tour. "I would have preferred to be a little better, but my data is good. I just have to lose another kilo and I will be perfect" .

For Ineos, all is not negative. Especially on a day also marked by the falls which affected the rival Jumbo, mainly the Dutchman Steven Kruijswijk (3rd of the Tour 2019).

© 2020 AFP