This was the general classification of the Tour of Spain after the triumph of Egan Bernal in stage 16

Egan Bernal, champion of the Tour de France in 2019 and the Tour of Italy in 2021.

Photo: AFP – Luca Bettini

Egan Bernal reached a triumph full of symbolism by conquering his first stage victory in the Tour of Spain and, in addition, the first one in a great after the serious accident that almost cost him life in 2022. The Colombian of the INEOS got into the decisive escape and resisted the attacks of Mikel Landa in the last kilometers of mountain, showing the solidity and intelligence that took him years ago to be champion of the Giro For Bernal, who had been looking to return to the forefront for some time, this success means a confirmation of his recovery and a message that he can still compete at the highest level.

The outcome was as unusual as exciting. The protests in favor of Palestine forced to cut the stage eight kilometers before the original goal, so the organization improvised the end in a repect where everything was defined. There, in that unexpected scenario, Bernal won Landa in a reduced sprint: he endured the attacks of Spanish and launched his power in the last meters, crossing the banner with the sober gesture of who knows that this triumph is worth more than a stage, because it symbolizes the definitive return to the elite.

Egan Bernal went up in the Turn

The stage victory allowed Egan Bernal to climb to box 12 of the general classification, leaving less than a minute of the top 10 and recovering the illusion of being among the best of a large one. The Colombian of the INEOS showed solidity in the mountain and ability to definition in the end, which not only consolidated him as the protagonist of the day, but returns it to the fight for a place in the elite of the general, dominated from beginning to end by Jonas Vingegaard, who maintains a 40 -second advantage over João Almeida.

In addition to Bernal, the day was positive for other Colombians. Harold Tejada is strengthened in box 13, confirming the regularity he has shown in this return with Astana, while Santiago Buitrago, although march 19, remains a key man in the mountain for the Bahrain-Victororus and keeps his options alive of looking for a partial triumph in the next stages.

Colombia: 39 victories in the Tour of Spain

Colombia has built a brilliant history in Spain since Antonio “Tomate” Agudelo inaugurated the list of wins in 1985, accumulating 39 stage victories and two general titles with Lucho Herrera in 1987 and Nairo Quintana in 2016. Throughout the decades, names such as Pacho Rodríguez, Félix Cárdenas, Santiago Botero and Miguel Ángel López – all with three stages National in the Iberian Round, to which are added memorable podiums of Fabio Parra, Esteban Chaves and López himself, as well as six mountain titles and two of the young people. With the recent victory of Egan Bernal, this tradition of Colombian prominence in Spain reaffirms and continues to grow.

Colombians with more stage victories in the Tour of Spain

• Miguel Ángel López – 3
• Santiago Botero – 3
• Félix Rafael Cárdenas – 3
• José Francisco “Pacho” Rodríguez – 3
• Nairo Quintana – 2
• Esteban Chaves – 2
• OLIVERIO RINCÓN – 2
• Luis Alberto Camargo – 2
• Fabio Enrique Parra – 2
• Luis Alberto “Lucho” Herrera – 2
• Juan Sebastián Molano – 2
• Egan Bernal — 1
• Rigoberto Urán – 1
• Sergio Higuita – 1
• Winner Anacona — 1
• Leonardo Fabio Duque – 1
• Ángel Yesid Camargo – 1
• Óscar de Jesús Vargas – 1
• Julio César Cadena – 1
• José Martín Farfán – 1
• Oswaldo Néstor Mora – 1
• Omar Hernández – 1
• Carlos Emiro Gutiérrez – 1
• José Antonio Agudelo – 1

🚴🏻⚽🏀 The latest in sports?: Everything you should know about world sport is in the spectator