Bernal takes a break from training: Daily News Digest
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Hello again, CyclingTips readers.
Egan Bernal has joined other big names around the sport in suggesting that the Tour be postponed with widespread lockdowns disrupting the normal training routines of the pros.
Bernal is currently at home in Colombia, where a national lockdown is in place, and for his part he is not training at all right now. The 23-year-old has said in an interview that he and his coach have decided to take a rest period for the moment.
In other words, if you haven’t yet convinced yourself to spend your day on the trainer, at least you have that in common with the defending champion of the Tour de France.
Stay safe, readers.
What’s news
| Bernal takes a rest period, urges Tour postponement
As Ciclo21 reports, Egan Bernal has decided to take a rest period while on lockdown in Colombia and, as such, is not training “either mentally or physically.” The Tour champ and his coach made the decision to step away from training with the expectation that the form he built up over of the offseason would not simply disappear after a short stretch off the bike.
Bernal also weighed in on the still-undetermined status of the Tour, joining others around the sport who have suggested that if the Tour is not pushed back, the contenders will not have adequate time to prepare for the race. As Bernal noted, “a favorite could falter, the preparation is different, it would be best to postpone the Tour.”
| Aru’s contract
After multiple seasons marred by health issues, Fabio Aru was hoping that 2020 would be his year to prove that he could return to the form he flashed earlier in his career. Instead, the 2015 Vuelta a España winner is starting to wonder what transfer season will be like if he gets to the end of the year without having had the opportunity to put his abilities on display due to widespread race cancellations and postponements.
“I’d be a hypocrite to say I don’t think about it,” Aru told TuttoBiciWeb. For now, at least, he is trying to keep his focus elsewhere, saying that he is spending his time on the trainer as well as brushing up on his Spanish and English.
| An August Giro?
The Italian cycling world is looking into the possibility of running the Giro d’Italia in August as the likelihood of rescheduling at an earlier point seems to be decreasing.
“If you don’t move the Tour, August could be a solution for the Giro,” said Renato Di Rocco, president of the Italian cycling federation, according to SpazioCiclismo. “If instead the Tour has to move, priority will be given to the Tour as a global media event, then to the Giro.”
| Ciccone giving away yellow jerseys in fundraiser to help hospital
Giulio Ciccone, whose strong 2019 campaign included two days spent in the race lead at the Tour de France, is giving away his two yellow jerseys as well as two of his Trek-Segafredo team jerseys as part of a fundraiser to help a hospital in his hometown of Chieti, Italy.
You can find out more at his Facebook page.
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SUBSCRIBE TO THE DAILY NEWS DIGEST PODCASTToday’s featured image of Egan Bernal ascending the Col du Galibier comes from the Grubers.
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