Bernal rethinking programme to defend title at rescheduled Tour de France

Tour de France champion Egan Bernal said on Wednesday he will reconsider his training programme so he can defend his title after new dates were announced for this year's race.

Organisers announced earlier on Wednesday the start of the Tour was being pushed back to the end of August in response to the coronavirus lockdown in France.

"We have 4 and a half months to get back to 100 per cent," Bernal posted on Instagram. "It is time to rethink all the training and start with more motivation than ever to get to this date in the best form."

Bernal said his team, Ineos, "will continue to work hard, calmly, with a lot of patience and intelligence, to be back on the starting line with a clear conscience having done the right job."

The race, originally scheduled for 27 June to 19 July, has been moved to 29 August to 20 September because of the ban on mass events in France.

Bernal, the first Latin American to win the Tour, has been confined in central Colombia since returning from Europe after Ineos withdrew from Paris-Nice, where he was also the defending champion, following the death of their sports director Nicolas Portal.

In the last few days, Bernal has posted videos on social media showing him training on an exercise bike.

View this post on Instagram

@letourdefrance , la carrera más importante del mundo. Acaba de anunciar que se va a posponer esta carrera hasta el 29 de Agosto, esto quiere decir que nos quedan 4 meses y medio para llegar de nuevo al ??% de forma, es hora de replantear todo el entrenamiento de nuevo e iniciar con más motivación que nunca para llegar a esta fecha con el mejor estado de forma. Queda mucho tiempo, pero seguro con @teamineos seguiremos trabajando duro, con calma, con mucha paciencia e inteligencia, para volver a estar en la línea de salida con la conciencia tranquila de haber hecho el trabajo Justo.

A post shared by Egan Bernal (@eganbernal) on Apr 15, 2020 at 12:00pm PDT