BORMIO – Twelfth at 1'10” from Del Toro, Egan Bernal still can't find consistencyMortirolo saw him struggle more than we would have expected. It's clear that the Colombian is on the road to recovery, but something is still missing. For the Ineos Grenadiers the balance is nevertheless positive. Their stories are intertwined. The Bernal accident deprived the team of its last Tour winner, opening two seasons of drought for the British, with the only parenthesis of the Giro being Tao, who in the meantime has moved to Lidl-Trek.
It explains it very well Zak Dempster, sporting director born in 1987, arrived in 2023 on the flagship of the British teamHe's Bernal's point of reference at the Giro, and he's the one who explains some passages and offers us different perspectives.If his body will really let him do what his mind wants – he says – then it could be really special."
A few days ago, Egan said: "We're Team Ineos, we have to do something!" What did he mean?
I think this team has a glorious history based on victory. So the goal must always be to win and that's why we're here and We will do everything necessary to try to achieve this goal..
Did you expect Bernal to be at such a high level again?
I think he had a very unfortunate startHe came from Colombia, where he had built up a lot of confidence. He trained without back pain and, to be honest, he felt on cloud nine. And we also had complete faith in this process. We arrived in Catalonia and he was still very cautious because of his collarbone., fearing he'd returned too soon. And from there, we stuck to our plan of sending him back to Colombia to prepare, as originally agreed. It was a risk.
Why?
We discussed whether to include the Tour of the Alps or Romandy or something like that. Then we decided against it, to have confidence that he would prepare himself in the right way and I think in the last couple of weeks The signs were really good. We always believed that if everything went well, he could fight for a result.
Do you think the Team Sky mentality of strong leaders like Froome and the group all to themselves has been recreated within the team?
It's different, Team Sky has a long history. There are still people around who were there back then, but For example, I'm relatively new to the teamI'm in my third season and I think last year wasn't that good. We have to be realistic, the last three months have dragged on beyond measure. and this ultimately helped us force change.
In what way?
We had clear discussions because finally everyone who works for this team wants to be part of something specialThis winter we reflected, we talked about how we run, how we want to behaveWe have also made some changes to some of our preparation processes.
And did it work?
Our Customers did a thorough analysis of what we are doingAnd it was really nice to see what we talked about being put into practice. Not everything is perfect, because we make mistakes and we have to accept that. But at the same time, I think that We can be truly proud of the mentality and spirit we broughtI think if we continue like this – thinking critically and evaluating how we're doing and making decisions based on winning – then we will all create something we can be truly proud of. Actually, we're already doing it.
Do you see Bernal as a leader or does he still need to earn the trust of his teammates?
He is a leader, by his actions or what he says. His words carry weight in meetingsWe have Arensman, who has finished sixth in two Grand Tours and is performing as well as the best in the third week. So we have two cards to play and we'll stick with them, but it's likely that one of us will have to sacrifice his result for the other. This is one of the things that we care about as a teamThey trust each other, communicate openly, and compete to win. So I'm sure that decision will come at some point and it won't weigh heavily.
Let's talk about Egan: is his comeback in his legs or also in his mind?
I really think that If his body will allow him to do what his mind wants, then we will see some great things.He had severe back pain: after the bus accident, he is lucky to be able to walk anymore, let alone run. It was a long and frustrating process for him, because you never know what life will throw at you.. But the way he handled it, he came out of it more resilient than ever.
Have you seen him change during the year in light of the improvements?
Yes, I think he is anxious to be there in front and waited a really long time to go backHe was there every week competing with the best. When he won his first Tour, most of us were convinced he would go on to win more. POI he won the Giro and it was clear that Egan was one of the 3-4 strongest riders in the group. But life throws you challenges and it was a long process to get backIn these last stages, I see him eager to enjoy being there. But at the same time, he's a killer.
A killer?
We forget what it was like at the beginning of his career: competitive with the best in power amps and stuff like that. But I think those instincts will sharpen and that day he will start getting some wins too.
As a team, do you feel like you're on the verge of two very important days?
Yes, definitely. If you look at the difference in altitude, The San Valentino stage was one of the most challenging we had in the Giro in this third weekWe have already had some decisive stages, but there have also been some many in which we have suffered without expecting itCrashes in the rain. We had the Strade Bianche stage, which was absolute chaos. The time trial in the wet, complete with a crash. The next two are the most important stagesTwo truly decisive days and I think that 20 well-done minutes are enough for everything to change again.
