Egan Bernal had "his best 40 minutes" and still lost almost three minutes to Vingegaard

Egan Bernal left Blockhaus with almost three minutes lost compared to Jonas Vingegaard and dropped from sixth to fifteenth place in the overall standings of the Giro d'Italia, but the Colombian assures that, despite the blow in the classification, he finished the climb with one of the best feelings of his entire career.

Blockhaus leaves a brutal reflection from Bernal on the current level of the Giro

The leader of INEOS Grenadiers faced the first major mountain finish of the Giro as one of the riders expected to measure his true level in the mountains. However, the pace set by Jonas Vingegaard at Blockhaus ended up breaking the group of favorites, and Bernal ended up conceding 2:57 minutes at the finish.

Despite the result, the Colombian surprised by analyzing his feelings from the day before the start of stage 8. “I felt good, really good, during the stage and during the climb. I was pushing and looking not only at the numbers but also at the feelings, and I felt super good,” Bernal explained. “But at the same time, I lost minutes. So it’s something strange.”

The 2021 Giro winner insisted that, in terms of pure performance, the ascent was among the best efforts of his entire professional career. “I don’t want to talk too much about numbers because in the end, I lost three minutes, but at the same time, I think I did my best 40 minutes ever,” he assured.

RECOMENDADO

From struggling to enjoying it: tips to build confidence on descents

Are you properly positioned on your bike? These are the measurements you should check

The 2026 MTB World Championships get underway: dates, schedules and where to watch

Free aerodynamics for your bike: small changes that make you faster

Is your bike slow, nervous or hard to handle? The wheels might be causing it

The 2026 XCO World Cup calendar enters its final stage: dates, venues, and key details

Bernal even detailed the data he was managing during the climb. “I climbed at six watts per kilo, and for me, those are good numbers for 40 minutes. For me, they are good numbers, and even so, I’m still losing a lot of time,”.

The statements reflect how much the level of current cycling in grand tours has changed. Just a few years ago, maintaining six watts per kilo for forty minutes was enough to fight for stage victories or even make differences among favorites. In this Giro's Blockhaus, however, Bernal finished completely out of the fight despite recording, according to him, the best long effort of his career.

The Colombian acknowledges that the blow in the overall standings is tough. He is now 6:18 behind the leader, Afonso Eulálio, but made it clear that he does not intend to sink mentally after such a demanding stage.

“Obviously, it’s hard to lose three minutes like that in a single climb, but at the same time, it’s something I can’t control. Now it’s another day; I want to reset, be positive, and try to take it as an opportunity,” he stated.

Bernal also explained the difficulties he had shown earlier in stage 4 when he got dropped on the climb to Cozzo Tunno before returning to the peloton thanks to the work of his teammate Ben Turner. The Colombian believes that several factors combined in those early days of the race.

“I think it was the heat and that the day before had been a rest day. Also, the first days in Bulgaria were relatively easy,” he commented. “I arrived at the race without having done too much; I hadn’t competed much in the first part of the season, so I think it was a combination of different situations.”