Bernal thanks Ben Turner's sacrifice after his crisis in the Giro: "Without him, I would have lost minutes"

The fourth stage of the 2026 Giro d'Italia left one of the most unexpected images of this first half of the race. Egan Bernal, one of the top favorites for the final podium, suddenly dropped off on the slopes of Cozzo Tuno and was close to losing a significant amount of time. His salvation came thanks to the work of his teammate Ben Turner, who waited for him and brought him back to the main group.

Ben Turner let a possible victory slip away to help Bernal

Bernal struggled a lot on the long 15-kilometer climb and lost contact with the leading group made up of about forty riders. At that moment, Turner, who was riding ahead and had real chances to contest the stage, received the order to slow down and assist his leader. The Brit ended up exhausting himself during several kilometers of pursuit until he managed to reintegrate Bernal.

After the stage, the Colombian did not hesitate to publicly praise his teammate's work. "Ben was incredible. He had already helped me before in mountain stages," Bernal explained in statements to Eurosport. The INEOS Grenadiers leader also acknowledged the sporting cost that decision had for Turner. "It's also a shame for him because he could have surely won the stage. But the team made a decision, and I have to thank him for it. Without Ben, I would have lost minutes."

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Turner finished fourth at the line, relatively close to the stage winner, Jhonatan Narváez, after an enormous effort that practically nullified his chances at the finish.

Bernal also showed understanding towards the Brit, who finished visibly emotional after the day, although he insisted that he had simply done his job within the team. "It's a complicated situation. We are friends, and you want the best for each other. But cycling is still a team sport," added the Colombian.

Despite the tough moment experienced on the climb, Bernal managed to limit the damage and remains third in the overall classification of the Giro. Now the big question is whether it was simply an isolated bad day or if the Colombian is carrying some physical problem after such an unusual performance for him. "I hope to be able to fight with the best climbers from now on," he concluded.