The cycling world is currently dominated by a certain Tadej Pogacar. Mathieu van der Poel has shown he can challenge the Slovenian in the spring classics, but in the climbing and stage races, Pogacar has been virtually unbeatable over the past two seasons. Egan Bernal also recognizes this, as he discussed the Slovenian dominance in an interview with WIN Sports.
The Colombian - who also knows what it’s like to dominate, with victories in the Tour de France ('19) and Giro d'Italia ('21) - watches his Slovenian counterpart with wide eyes. "He’s currently racing on another level in stage races. When you go up against him, he often makes you feel like a bad rider. That tends to make us angry."
"You give everything and then one rider just takes off as if nothing is happening," Bernal continues, though he later adds some nuance to his statements. "What’s going on in your head isn’t always what you’re supposed to think. I do think it’s really cool to race against Tadej. He pushes everyone forward to become even better. It’s great that we get to witness the Pogacar era up close."
Optimism
The now 28-year-old Bernal wasn’t able to truly challenge Pogacar last season, let alone beat him, but the INEOS Grenadiers climber draws a lot of motivation from his road campaign. After several difficult years, he feels like himself again.
"I really felt myself getting stronger this year. After finishing seventh in the Giro d'Italia’s general classification, I aimed for a podium in the Vuelta a España. That didn’t happen, but I still believe that one day I can win," Bernal remains ambitious.
