22 May 2021
Brilliant Bernal passes Zoncolan test
Related riders
Egan Bernal
Giro d'Italia stage 14: Cittadella › Monte Zoncolan, 205km
Egan Bernal extended his overall lead at the Giro d'Italia with an expertly-timed attack in the final kilometre to finish fourth on Monte Zoncolan.
Bernal was the only rider able to react to a devastating attack from Simon Yates, with the pair going clear of the other favourites.
The Colombian followed Yates' attack, patiently weathered the acceleration before countering with his own turn of pace which the Team Bike Exchange rider could not follow, with Bernal and Yates now 1-2 overall.
Earlier, the race had looked as though it could arrive at Monte Zoncolan in groups after Astana attacked the peloton of the descent of the Forcella Monte Rest. Excellent positioning from Bernal and Jonathan Castroviejo ensured the maglia rosa was in the front group, with a smattering of GC rivals in the following two bunches of riders.
The peloton eventually reformed before the final climb began, with Astana continuing to push the pace, though not denting the advantage of the early break.
With Astana dwindling in numbers as the gradient picked up, the Grenadiers pushed the pace to reduce the peloton even more as Gianni Moscon, Jhonatan Narvaez, Jonathan Castroviejo and Daniel Martinez worked tirelessly to deter any attacks.
Some of the GC favourites were slowly starting to be distanced until Yates and Bernal's accelerations distanced the group, though Martinez managed to regain some ground to move into the top 10 overall.
Bernal was the only rider able to react to a devastating attack from Simon Yates, with the pair going clear of the other favourites.
The Colombian followed Yates' attack, patiently weathered the acceleration before countering with his own turn of pace which the Team Bike Exchange rider could not follow, with Bernal and Yates now 1-2 overall.
Earlier, the race had looked as though it could arrive at Monte Zoncolan in groups after Astana attacked the peloton of the descent of the Forcella Monte Rest. Excellent positioning from Bernal and Jonathan Castroviejo ensured the maglia rosa was in the front group, with a smattering of GC rivals in the following two bunches of riders.
The peloton eventually reformed before the final climb began, with Astana continuing to push the pace, though not denting the advantage of the early break.
With Astana dwindling in numbers as the gradient picked up, the Grenadiers pushed the pace to reduce the peloton even more as Gianni Moscon, Jhonatan Narvaez, Jonathan Castroviejo and Daniel Martinez worked tirelessly to deter any attacks.
Some of the GC favourites were slowly starting to be distanced until Yates and Bernal's accelerations distanced the group, though Martinez managed to regain some ground to move into the top 10 overall.
Egan Bernal
I need to be focused as anything can happen in the Giro."
Reaction
Egan Bernal
“I just tried to be calm, because I am in a really good position now in GC and I don’t need to attack in every mountain stage, I need to be calm, I need to be patient. Finally, I followed Yates and tried to accelerate in the final and I think I did a good race.
Egan Bernal
“I just tried to be calm, because I am in a really good position now in GC and I don’t need to attack in every mountain stage, I need to be calm, I need to be patient. Finally, I followed Yates and tried to accelerate in the final and I think I did a good race.
"Astana were pulling really hard during the stage, I was thinking Vlasov would be good as it was a good climb for him. I was surprised they were pulling really hard, but in the final we had control of the race.
“It is a good gap [to Yates], but I need to be focused as anything can happen in the Giro. It look as though it may be enough time, but you never know so I need to be calm with the gap.”
