Egan Bernal started 2023 competing in Argentina where he had to withdraw in the sixth stage of the Vuelta a San Juan due to discomfort in his left knee. Although it was ruled out that he was serious, the runner needs recovery time so as not to suffer a relapse and apparently It would not be enough for him to arrive in good condition to participate this Sunday, February 5, in the elite men’s race of the 2023 Nationals.
Although Bernal had arrived in Bucaramanga with his team to prepare for the race. His knee would not have fully recovered and together with the INEOS medical staff they would choose not to compete on Sunday in the test. All this so that he can have enough time to be in full physical condition and face the 2023 season, which has just started and where his main challenge is the Tour de France.
“The truth is that I still don’t know, we still have knee pain, so we are going to assess if it really runs or not, we are going to see what the team decides”, the cyclist told Caracol Radio, who also added that he has not yet defined the date of his trip to Europe. “I don’t know, I have no idea, we are going to see decide here whether or not we run the Nationals and then from that plan the next step.”
Egan is one of the main references of the competition and although he expressed his joy for visiting the Santander capital, his physical condition would prevent him from showing himself to the people. For now, the most important thing for the British team is to keep their rider in good health, who has upcoming competitions on his calendar, such as the Vuelta a Andalucia, which will take place from February 15 to 22 and where he was named squad leader. It is expected that by those days he will already be 100% recovered.