A challenging uphill final time trial saw Egan Bernal slip from third to fourth in the overall standings at the Tour de Suisse but the Colombian is hopeful that he has done enough to earn a spot on Ineos-Grenadiers' team for a GC tilt at the Tour de France, which starts on June 29 in Firenze.
Tom Pidcock claimed he had one of the best time trials of his career on stage 8 at the Tour de Suisse as he ended his race on a high. He finished fifth, 50 seconds slower than stage winner João Almeida but moved up to sixth place overall.
Bernal, Pidcock and Carlos Rodriguez are all possible GC leaders for Ineos Grenadiers at the Tour de France, with Geraint Thomas as part of the team's expected lnie-up.
"It was hard. I hoped to keep the podium in this race, but this is cycling. I had a bad day on the bike," Bernal said in a post-race interview in Villars-sur-Ollon.
"I did my best but I'm feeling a bit sad, also because of the team, because we worked really hard all week for this podium and, in the end, I just lost it by 10 seconds, or whatever it was."
Bernal finished fifth on stage 4 atop Gotthard Pass and moved up to fourth overall before jumping up one spot after taking third on stage 5's summit finish to Carì. He went into the final day, stage 8, holding third place overall at 1:51 behind eventual overall winner Adam Yates and runner-up João Almeida, both UAE Team Emirates.
However, in the 15.7km race against the clock from Aigle to Villars-sur-Ollon that included a 10.2km climb that averaging 8.2% the podium place slipped away. Almeida won the stage, with Yates taking second place and winning the overall title. Bernal finished ninth at 1:30 back dropping to fourth place overall behind Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), who finished third in the final stage.
Bernal hasn't raced at the Tour de Suisse since he won it in 2019 and said the race seemed tougher than he remembered but that it also offered some insight into his form ahead of bigger targets this season.
"It is always a hard race, but I think in this edition, we were going really fast on the climbs. The level was super high, and for sure, we did good training for the upcoming races," Bernal said.
Following a life-threatening crash in early 2022 and return to racing, Bernal's overall condition has improved steadily, with a seventh at Paris-Nice, third place in the Volta a Catalunya – his first WorldTour podium since his comeback – tenth at Tour de Romandie and now fourth overall at the Tour de Suisse.
Ineos-Grenadiers have yet to announce their Tour de France team, a race Bernal won in 2019, but he said that if he does take part he would like to see if an overall classification bid was possible.
When asked where he will be racing next, Bernal said, "Hopefully the Tour and I think with the Tour I will be happy."
'I don't want to be someone who just finishes in the top 10 in GC all the time' says Pidcock
"It was one of my best time trial results since turning pro, so I can be really happy with that. Every day, I've gotten better this week. I started off, really, not good, coming from altitude, and I was super light, and every day was getting better. That was my best time trial, the numbers were really high, so I think I can be really happy," Pidcock said.
The reigning World Champion, Olympic gold medallist in cross-country mountain biking and former Cyclocross World Champion said that with training, he believes he could also win the biggest stage races.
"It shows what, kind of, practice does. We've had five days in a row in the mountains, and each day, I'm getting better. It's really positive for me to see." Pidcock said after shifting up to sixth overall.
"Of course, I don't want to be someone who just finishes in the top 10 in GC all the time, but it's certainly positive for the future."
Pidcock will now turn his attention to the fifth round of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series, which is being held in Crans-Montana, Valais, in the Swiss Alps. He says he will stay there until heading to the Tour de France.
"Right now, I go to Crans-Montana tonight and I race the World Cup next weekend before going to the Tour. So, I don't go home. I stay here in Switzerland."
