Rad star at the Vuelta: Bernal and the urge for the double

Egan Bernal is going into this 76th Vuelta a España with clear goals.

"The double is possible," said the Colombian at the end of the Burgos tour, which he finished in a less than intoxicating 38th place.

The effects of the break from racing that he had taken after his triumph at the Giro d'Italia and the subsequent COVID-19 infection could still be felt.

Nevertheless, Bernal was optimistic about the big goal of following his Giro win in the spring with success in Spain.

The last time this was achieved in 2008 was the Spaniard Alberto Contador.

Bernal is also targeting another special brand.

"It is a dream to win all three big tours," he said.

Seven racers currently make up this club;

big names like Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Christopher Froome are among them.

"This is not so easy"

“First you have to drive a Tour de France, then you have to win it.

Then drive a Giro and win it.

This is not so easy.

And now I want to try that at the Vuelta ”, Bernal described in his clear way the difficulties, but at the same time also the feasibility of the task.

“I don't know if I'll succeed.

I can try again in later years.

The only important thing is that you tackle it at all. "

The course doesn't necessarily suit Bernal. Two time trials frame the tour. Primoz Roglic, Olympic gold medalist in the time trial, could place himself well in front in the short opening time trial this Saturday in Burgos over 7.1 kilometers. The Slovenian is even more accommodated by the largely flat 33.8-kilometer time trial in the pilgrimage site of Santiago de Compostela on the last day of the Tour of Spain. There he can save a lot of time on the climbers in the peloton if - unlike on the 2020 Tour - he keeps his nerve and doesn't block his legs. His Vuelta triumphs in the last two years also show that he is interested in the tour at the end of the season.

In any case, Bernal expects to lose time in the fight against the clock. In the nine mountain stages, however, he has plenty of opportunity to compensate. However, his main rival Roglic also accommodates the poisonous shorter climbs that are characteristic of Spain's mountains. Only in the last week did the longer target climbs increase, on which men like Bernal, the Tour third Richard Carapaz or Miguel Angel Lopez, who fell in France, can play out their endurance advantages. Carapaz in particular, beaten by Roglic in the last Vuelta, is hoping for the dreaded peaks of Lagos de Covadonga and Altu d 'El Gamoniteiro. "The Vuelta last year was three days shorter, there were also fewer mountains," said Carapaz when asked how he wants to conquer Roglic.

Almost as exciting as the question of how the Slovenian's Vuelta hat trick can be prevented is the decision of who is most likely to try that at Team Ineos. Talent and previous victories at the Giro and Tour de France speak for Bernal. Whether he will be able to achieve a second big form high after the Giro is questionable not only because of the consequences of the COVID disease, but also because of the recurring back problems. For its part, Carapaz is in top form. He finished his third place on the tour with Olympic gold in the road race. Whether he can keep his performance at the highest heights until the end of the Vuelta is uncertain. The “Locomotive from Carchi” - as Carapaz was called in his youth because of its bear power - has to stand under steam for a very long time.

Is that why Adam Yates has the best cards? The Briton has been on pause since the end of April, only came back in July in ninth place in the Olympic road race and has focused entirely on the Vuelta. Ineos is also continuing the multi-captain strategy that has become fashionable. The three professional cyclists take the situation athletically. “The road will decide,” said Bernal. “Having options is always good for a team,” Carapaz said in Spanish before Yates made the same point in English. “At this year's Grand Tours we saw how a fall can mess up a team. Having alternatives, especially in the first week, when the risk of falls and other bad things is particularly high, is just a good thing. "

Roglic, who fell victim to this year's Tour de France, will surely agree with him. For him, after several disappointments on big tours, the Vuelta is an opportunity to end this season in a forgiving way. Especially since his Slovenian compatriot Tadej Pogacar, outstanding cyclist of the past two years, is taking a break - he is preparing for the world championship in his home country. But that still leaves the Ineos armada around Bernal.