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
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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.
>>> Five talking points from stage 21 of the Tour de France 2019
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.
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“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).
>>> Was the Tour de France 2019 the greatest edition in history?
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.
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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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