Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) returns to racing for the first time since winning the Giro d’Italia in May with the Donostia San Sebastian Klasikoa on Saturday.
The Colombian leads the line for an impressively strong Ineos Grenadiers team that includes Adam Yates, Daniel Martinez, Carlos Rodriguez, Andrey Amador, and Gianni Moscon.
A number of the team heading to the Spanish WorldTour race will also line up for the Vuelta a Espana in August with both Bernal and Yates expected to mount GC bids as Ineos look to bounce back after a bruising Tour de France in July.
Bernal, now fully recovered from the back injury that wrecked his 2020 campaign, won two stages and the overall at the Giro d’Italia in May. It was the 24-year-old’s second Grand Tour after winning the 2019 Tour de France but he took an extended break from racing after his victory in Milan.
The Donostia San Sebastian Klasikoa marks the beginning of Bernal’s second phase of the campaign with next week’s Vuelta a Burgos also on the Colombian’s plan as he dials up his preparation ahead of his Vuelta a Espana debut.
He has raced the Donostia San Sebastian Klasikoa twice during his career but failed to finish on both occasions but Yates is a former winner having taken the title back in 2015.Like Bernal, Yates took an extended break after the spring.
The 28-year-old raced two of the three Ardennes Classics after winning a stage and the overall at the Volta a Catalunya in March. He returned to racing this summer with the Olympic Games in Tokyo and finished strongly to take ninth in the men’s road race, which was won by his trade teammate, Richard Carapaz.
Places are still up for grabs within the Ineos Grenadiers line-up for the Vuelta a Espana with Tom Pidcock and Pavel Sivakov also in the running as the team search for their second Grand Tour win of the year and their third Vuelta title after wins for Chris Froome in 2017 and 2011.
Ineos Grenadiers for Donostia San Sebastian Klasikoa: Egan Bernal, Andrey Amador, Carlos Rodriguez, Daniel Martinez, Gianni Moscon, Adam Yates and Salvatore Puccio.
