Tour’s budding star: Colombian rider Bernal

CARCASSONNE, FRANCE — The youngest rider at the Tour de France is showing all the signs of becoming cycling’s next big star.

Colombia’s Egan Bernal proved his worth — and more — by working as a trailblazer for Sky teammates Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome up the zigzagging ascent of Alpe d’Huez.

Bernal’s effort set up Thomas to win the grueling 12th stage to strengthen his hold on the yellow jersey, and for Froome to protect second place in a dominant choral performance by Sky.

The climb up one of the Tour’s iconic climbs promises to be a signature moment for Bernal, who at 21 years old is the youngest of the 176 riders to start the Tour and yet already appears to have the making of a winner.

“It felt great to be there on Alpe d’Huez, a mythic climb, and leading the group,” Bernal told The Associated Press two days after his impressive Alpine trek. “And on top of that, having Geraint, who is the leader, and Froomey, who is one of the best cyclists in history, right behind. It was important for me.”

The original plan was for Bernal to pull for five kilometers of the demanding ascent. But when the legs flagged on another teammate, he went on for another three kilometers and set a pace that fellow Colombian and twotime Tour runner-up Nairo Quintana couldn’t match.

Froome said he sees his younger self in his precocious partner. “He’s got an amazing engine. You only have to look at what he did on Alpe d’Huez — for a 21-year-old, that’s amazing,” Froome said. “There is a lot in Egan that reminds me of myself when I was younger. It’s great having him on the team and he brings a lot of young, new energy to the group.”

Bernal inherited the love of two wheels from his father. He competed in his first race at age 8, and after excelling on the mountain bike he made the jump to road racing. His most difficult moment on a bike came during his professional debut in 2016 at the Tour of the Mediterranean in France.

“I had just moved from America to Europe, from the junior to the elite category, from mountain to road racing,” Bernal recalled. “It was my first professional race and it was terrible. It was very cold and raining, and it was a very hard race. But I never lost confidence.”

That self-belief was behind his victory last year at the Tour de l’Avenir, a race similar to the Tour for amateurs.

He joined Sky for this season and won the Colombia Oro y Paz race in February ahead of Quintana and last year’s Tour runner-up, Rigoberto Uran.

Bernal was running a close second to Alejandro Valverde at the Tour of Catalonia before crashing on the final stage. But he rebounded by winning the Tour of California in May. Sky then picked Bernal for its eightman team to help Froome shoot for a fifth Tour title.

Bernal crashed near the end of Stage 1 and joined the scores of riders who wiped out on the cobblestones in Stage 9. In the mountains, however, he’s finishing stages among the top riders.