After tremendous falls, Egan Bernal wins Tour de France
The cyclist is the virtual champion of the Tour and on Sunday, July 28, he’s going to ride the last 128km, and he’s going to be crowned 2019’s Tour de France champion at Champs Élysées
LatinAmerican Post | Juliana Suárez
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The 22-year-old Colombian born wore the yellow shirt, also known as yellow maillot, for the second time in the race, which indicates who is the leader of the Tour de France.
Leer en español: Después de tremendas caídas, Egan Bernal gana el Tour de Francia
The cyclist is the virtual champion of the Tour and on Sunday, July 28, he’s going to ride the last 128km and he’s going to be crowned 2019’s Tour de France champion at Champs Élysées.
“Sh*t, I think I’ve won my first Tour,” said the cyclist.
He passed the finish line side-by-side with his teammate, and also favorite, Geraint Thomas.
Now, he’s not only going to be the first Colombian but the first Latin American and the third-youngest man to win the Tour de France.
On Friday, Bernal won the 19th stage and if as it wasn’t enough, the next day, even though he didn’t win the 20th stage, he stood up in the winner’s podium, receiving the yellow maillot, the lion and flowers.
Speechless and skeptical of what had just happened, this Colombian cyclist broke into tears when he wore for the first time the yellow maillot, the day before. “It’s something that we’ve always dreamed about,” he said.
What a moment for @Eganbernal , his family and for Colombia It was never a case of if he would wear the yellow jersey but when! So proud of him and of course the amazing work of @TeamINEOS #TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/c5lHPe4Ciw
— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) July 26, 2019
The triumph fit like a glove after Egan had a huge disappointment a few months ago when he couldn’t participate in the Giro d’Italia. He was going to conquer Italy by leading the INEOS (previous Sky Team) hand-by-hand with his teammate and favorite Chris Froome.
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He presented the new uniform on May 1, 2019, and the team was going to make its debut on May 11, at the first stage of the Italian tour. But things changed for Egan. A week before the tour began, he had a training accident. He broke his clavicle and was out of the first tour where he was going to lead.
After the accident, INEOS confirmed he wasn’t going to participate. Faithfull, he published on his Instagram: “My friends, we’ll see you soon. Stay calm, this is the only thing that gives me motivation to train hard for the rest of the season.”
That way, he arrived at the Tour de France with just one goal: win it. And he did.
Colombia has been conquering the cycling world lately and opening its way into hall of fame thanks to people like Rigoberto Urán and Nairo Quintana. Nevertheless, a new face has emerged recently and is now the winner of the biggest tour.
