Egan Bernal: “When you win the Tour, that light impacts you”

Egan Bernal, the first Colombian winner of the Tour de France, has turned 23 this January and dislikes the newspaper reports that point to Evenepoel (20 years), Pogacar (21) or his compatriot Higuita (22) as the young people who have been pushing. “And they leave me out, as if I were already an old man!” Today you can receive the Laureus Prize as a revelation of 2019.

QUESTION. Did I miss winning the Tour without the brightness of raising my arms that stage of Tignes suspended after Iseran?

REPLY. I do not think so. It was a stage where I felt very good, everything was flowing. You feel you have the day. Going up, down … Feel in the atmosphere that 'today is my day'. When they stopped the stage, I was a little afraid of not knowing what was going to happen and when they told me it was the new leader, the feeling was: 'ok, I deserved it'. I stayed calm with myself.

P. Not having won a regular stage makes him set the goal of achieving it?

R. Yes, there is a lot of motivation for the Tour. Winning stages for m has always been very complicated. Obviously, it will make me very excited to win in the Tour de France and in any other race. Beating one day races and stages has always been very difficult for me.

To win the Tour I will not stop being a 23 year old boy

P. The tour changes life. Ms yours or your family?

R. That of my family, ma, for my friends … None of us expected it. Obviously you want to win the Tour, but when it arrives, that light impacts you. You go with the mentality of 'I want to win, I want to win', but when you get it, you stay a little 'stunned'.

P. And you will have to do many things that you don't want.

R. Yes, some of them get tired, because I am calm, I don't mess with anyone and I don't want to be bothered either. Going out for coffee is almost impossible, you have to accept it. But if a child who wants a photo how are you going to say no, if he has been waiting for half an hour … Many times I will have to do it and it worries me. I am Tour champion but I am still a boy who is 23 years old.

In the riots of November, I was scared, I was afraid they would hurt my mother

P. And it even seems mandatory to go to the races to demand more.

R. I don't know if it's mandatory, but it's a responsibility. For example, the Tour Colombia is, in theory, to go 'quiet', but there are many people who come to see you win and you feel that, as the Tour's champion, I should do my best. First, because it is much better for me. And so it is for them.

P. We read a tweet promising help after watching a report that showed children of an indigenous community feeding in the garbage dumps of Puerto Carreo. Help?

R. My girlfriend, Xiomy, is creating a foundation in the hands of Exito (a food chain, a personal sponsor), to combat malnutrition in Colombia. We don't want to take the picture or set an example, but go a little further. But the problem is so great that we are considering ideas to feed so many families. The easy thing is to buy, leave the food and leave. We want something that can transcend and help the community in the long term, not just in a week.

P. He also wrote tweets about the national unemployment riots that shocked the country in November. How did I live them?

R. I was quite scared. You watch television and you don't know what is true and what is not. But what they said was very strong, that they were entering the houses, stealing. My mm lives in a group of those that were being assaulted, I don't know, but with the same characteristics. And in a small city, you wonder how whores can be doing that in a place where everyone is known. I had to bring her, because I was afraid that something might happen to her.

As a public figure, you stop talking and being able to be yourself

P. He wrote: “I understand the situation and the motives of the people who go out peacefully. I want to invite you to have hope to have faith and believe that things can change.”

R. The messages were as supportive. He hesitated to send it, because a message cannot do much, in the end he writes what he writes and many took it on the positive side, but as one is a public figure some say 'now it is right-wing', or 'it is left-wing'. And one slows down when speaking or being able to be oneself.

P. Let's go back to cycling. How is it resolved who is the leader of the Ineos in the Tour?

R. I do not have an answer at this time. Dave (Brailsford) in that is very intelligent and knows what to say so that everyone feels happy. He told me that I will have all the support of the team and for me that is what matters most. Surely the same thing he would have said to (Geraint) Thomas or (Chris) Froome. Having two such good partners is a motivation to train hard and earn the position. If one of the two is stronger than me, it will be difficult, but he will have to accept it. It is difficult to work, because I am the last winner of the Tour, but things are like that. You have to respect yourself, we have a team that goes in the same direction and we are not going to ruin everything for a lollipop.

P. Has your calendar changed a lot on the way to the Tour?

R. S is changed. If everything is on track, run the Pars-Nice, because I want to run in France, even if it goes full day and fans are almost always. Then, Pas Vasco, I've always wanted to run. For my coach (Xabier Artetxe), who is from there and with him I was training on this land for several months; for the fans and the Basque culture, which I like.

P. And then, classics?

R. The problem with the classics is that I extend the effort a bit. It suits me to be a week without touching the bicycle, I feel that I need it and I have done very well. If I take that week without touching the bike after a Liege, it will already be too close to the Tour de France, and I feel a little scary. We will analyze the case after the Tour of the Basque Country. Already, in June, I usually do Dauphin. Although as a runner one will always press to get strong in the race, the coach's idea is not to get as well and to improve the way in the Tour de France. It is a race-transit for many, as of preparation. But also for that reason I prefer to rest before and arrive in a better state to the Dauphin, because feeling good on the bike and not suffering so much gives me more confidence for the Tour.

P. Is the bike still fun or pure work?

R. I enjoy. On the Tour de France I enjoyed the bicycle, running, the adrenaline rush, being focused 24 hours on the race, watching where the wind comes from, competing, always fighting and fighting. I really like that adrenaline.

P. Rate your current level of happiness from 0 to 10.

R. Like anyone's, it depends on the day. One happier than another. Sometimes you wake up with the existential crisis and send yourself to eat shit to everyone, while another day everything is fine. I am normal, like you, like anyone.