Egan Bernal posts monster mountain day on Strava with over 6,600m of elevation
The Tour de France champion posted a 237km training ride while back home in Colombia
Egan Bernal has posted a monster training ride while back home in his native Colombia as he gears up for his end of season races at the Yorkshire Worlds and the Italian Monument Il Lombardia.
The Tour de France champion has been enjoying a break from racing following his maiden Tour de France victory, following up the French Grand Tour with a participation in the Clásica San Sebastián, which he failed to finish.
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However, the 22-year-old has been training hard in order to put up a strong showing in his final few races of the 2019 season, going on a huge training ride on September 7.
Bernal rode nearly 237km, with over 6,600m of elevation, in a ride that took more than six hours to complete.
His average speed was 37km/h, hitting a top speed of 85km/h on the descents, with an average power of 230w.
The elevation map will make you tired just looking at it, as he also took a personal record on a climb which Movistar's Winner Anacona holds the KOM, riding the segment more than a minute faster than Bernal.
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Despite the Colombian Cycling Federation announcing that Bernal will ride his first UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire at the end of September, which will also be his first time racing on UK roads, the Ineos rider says he is still not sure if he will go.
"I want to clarify that I am still not sure about going to the World Cup this year," Bernal said. "I am training in Colombia to prepare the end of the season well, but if I feel that I am not fit to represent my country in the best way, I prefer that they give the opportunity to another person."
It's been an odd couple of weeks for Bernal, posting a video of himself downing a glass of wine on his Instagram before sharing his personal email address on Twitter to his 180,000 followers.
His fellow South American and future team-mate, the Ecuadorian Giro d'Italia winner Richard Carapaz, was also supposed to be making his debut on British roads this September. However, after being denied a visa, he couldn't ride the Tour of Britain for Movistar, which would have been one of his last races for the Spanish team before transferring to Ineos for 2020.
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Jonny was Cycling Weekly's Weekend Editor until 2022.
I like writing offbeat features and eating too much bread when working out on the road at bike races.
Before joining Cycling Weekly I worked at The Tab and I've also written for Vice, Time Out, and worked freelance for The Telegraph (I know, but I needed the money at the time so let me live).
I also worked for ITV Cycling between 2011-2018 on their Tour de France and Vuelta a España coverage. Sometimes I'd be helping the producers make the programme and other times I'd be getting the lunches. Just in case you were wondering - Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen had the same ham sandwich every day, it was great.
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