Egan Bernal’s brother could move to Europe to start racing in the future
Could the Tour de France winner's brother join the peloton?
Egan Bernal’s younger brother could relocate to Europe to begin his racing career in the coming years.
Ronald Bernal, 15, would be welcomed at his older sibling’s old team Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec to begin his racing career, as he is believed to be “really strong.”
The team’s manager Gianni Savio told cycling website TuttoBici he would be happy to give the youngster a chance to improve and develop with the ProTeam.
Savio said: "Ronald is considered a true talent and Egan himself said he is very strong.
“Egan has decided that his brother Ronald will come to Italy to race under our guidance and he was recommended to follow him well because he is really strong.”
He added: “Unlike Egan, his brother is stronger in sprints, when there is a small group he is able to sprint in front of everyone. They are talking to me very well about him and I can't wait to have him with us and make him grow with attention as we did with Egan.”
Savio told Cycling News that he is willing to help Ronald, but not until he turns 18.
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Bernal emerged as a generational talent last season, when he won Paris-Nice, the Tour de Suisse and then the Tour de France in his second year at WorldTour level.
The 23-year-old started racing in Europe with Androni in 2016, before signing with Team Sky (now Ineos) in 2018.
This season the Colombian has struggled with a back injury, caused by having one leg longer than the other, as he was forced to pull out of his Tour de France defence on stage 17.
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He previously said: “It is quite a long process and it will surely not take one or two months, but a long time, so it’s going to take a reasonable amount of time for me to be pain-free again.”
Bernal was the youngest winner of the Tour de France in the modern era, but his victory was then followed by the success of Tadej Pogačar in 2020, who won the race on the eve of his 22nd birthday.
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Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers. Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.
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