Pressure is off champion Bernal at Tour de France – Brailsford
SIR DAVE BRAILSFORD is looking to put the pressure on his rivals at the Tour de France as his new- look Ineos Grenadiers go allin behind defending champion Egan Bernal.
The decision to leave out former winners Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas raised eyebrows when the Ineos squad was named last week, with 2019 Giro d’Italia champion Richard Carapaz and rising star Pavel Sivakov among those deputised to support Bernal.
Brailsford, whose team has a new name and kit for the race which begins in Nice on Saturday, believes this much younger unit will be best suited to a parcours designed to encourage attacking racing.
“There’s very little pressure,”
Brailsford said. “( Bernal)’ s young, he’s won the Tour already, he’s got 10 Tours ahead of him in all likelihood, a big future. He can relax, go out and express himself and really have fun.
“It’s the guys like ( Primoz)
Roglic, ( Tom) Dumoulin, ( Thibaut) Pinot, they’re at the other end of the spectrum. They haven’t won the Tour. They’re 30plus years old.
“They haven’t got 10 years ahead of them so they have to deliver now.
“We can capitalise on that and go out with a very ambitious but relaxed approach.”
The absence of Froome had perhaps been sign- posted as the four- time Tour winner, due to leave the team for Israel StartUp Nation in the winter, looked off the pace earlier this summer as he continues his long journey back from career- threatening injuries suffered in a crash last year.
The decision to leave out Thomas was more of a surprise, even if he too struggled to impose himself at the Dauphine.