Bernal impresses at Il Lombardia

13 Oct 2018

Bernal impresses at Il Lombardia

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Egan Bernal put in a strong and gutsy performance to secure 12th place at Il Lombardia.

The young Colombian impressed once again in the final Monument of the year, bridging to an elite front group on the descent off the brutal Muro di Sormano climb.
 
Having shown superb descending skills to make the junction, Bernal set about working alongside Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain Merida) and Primoz Roglic (LottoNL-Jumbo) as the race headed into its final phase.
 
Eventually distanced as Pinot and Nibali accelerated on the Civiglio climb, Bernal settled back into a group of chasers, eventually finishing on the wheel of world champion Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) in Como.
 
Pinot was able to distance Nibali on the race’s penultimate climb and carved out a gap on the run-in, eventually leading home the Italian by 32 seconds.
 
Gianni Moscon also found himself in a chasing group following the wall-like Muro di Sormano, but was unlucky to puncture on the crucial descent. The racing had really picked up on the Madonna del Ghisallo, with Sergio Henao covering an early move in his final race for the team.
Egan Bernal

Egan Bernal

I need to be happy as it’s normal that I have to recover after the crash. Now I’ve finished the season with some good races and I’ve been able to help the team.
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After the race Bernal put his result into context, finishing his season on a high after returning from a hard crash at Clasica San Sebastian.
 
He told TeamSky.com: “I’m happy with the result. I’m happy because I went two months without racing and I began racing again one week ago. I wanted to do a good result here and I came 12th. But I need to be happy as it’s normal that I have to recover after the crash. Now I’ve finished the season with some good races and I’ve been able to help the team – so I’m happy for that.”
 
On a spectacular descent that saw him close down a significant gap to the leaders he added: “I was really focused on getting across to the first group because I knew on the last climb I would not be with them. So I preferred to make a fast descent, but always without taking risks – I was always under control. I was able to re-joint the leaders which was really nice.”

Final result:

1. Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) 5:53:22
2. Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain Merida) +32"
3. Dylan Teuns (BMC Racing) +43"
4. Rigoberto Uran (EF Education First-Drapac) s.t.
5. Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal)
12. Egan Bernal (Team Sky) +1:31"