Egan Bernal says winning the Tour de France 2019 is ‘a feeling of happiness I don’t know how to describe’
A historic victory as Bernal becomes the first Colombian to win the Tour
Egan Bernal said he can’t describe the feeling of happiness after winning the Tour de France.
The Team Ineos rider has made history as the first Colombian to ever win the yellow jersey, while also being the youngest victor in the post-war era.
Bernal was overwhelmed by the occasion as he won the Tour in just his second time in the race at 22-years old.
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He said: “It’s incredible, I don’t know what to say.
“I’ve won the Tour but I can’t believe it. I need a couple of days to process all this. It’s for my family and I just want to hug them. It’s a feeling of happiness that I don’t know how to describe it.
“This is the first Tour for us Colombians. Many Colombians have tried before, we’ve had great cyclists in the past. But I’m the first one to win the Tour.
“Colombia deserves it.”
Bernal has triumphed in one of the greatest editions of the Tour de France in recent memory, having only claimed the yellow jersey on the penultimate mountain stage from surprise leader Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck – Quick-Step).
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After a thrilling three weeks of racing, Bernal rode away from the field over the Col de l’Iseran to take the yellow jersey as a landslide forced race organisers to neutralise stage 19.
Team Ineos, riding their first Tour de France since their change of sponsor from Sky, continue their domination of the race, taking first and second with Bernal and Geraint Thomas, who followed up his 2018 victory with a podium finish.
The Tour de France is another monumental achievement for Bernal in only his second year at WorldTour level, as he has already won the Tour of California, Paris-Nice and the Tour de Suisse.