Egan Bernal’s attainable participation within the Tour of Norway, which begins Friday, will lastly not materialize, his Ineos Grenadiers group have confirmed.
The 2019 Tour de France winner had been introduced by Tour of Norway organisers as one of many headline members within the four-day 2.HC stage race.
Nevertheless, Ineos Grenadiers advised Cyclingnews on Thursday that Bernal had solely ever been on the ‘lengthy record’ for Norway as a attainable starter, reasonably than a confirmed rider of their six-rider line-up.
The group additionally defined that as Bernal was not utterly prepared to participate, his participation had been lastly dominated out.
Though the race had by no means been definitively on Bernal’s program, his eventual absence had been made all of the extra noticeable after the organisers ran a press launch just a few days in the past, saying the previous Tour de France winner could be current.Â
Ineos Grenadiers will probably be fielding a squad dominated by their younger up-and-coming riders, together with present Australian Nationwide Street Champion Luke Plapp, who ran third in Norway final 12 months and who’s returning to racing after a foul crash within the Tour de Hongrie. Additionally current for Ineos are Connor Swift, Josh Tarling, Magnus Sheffield, Leo Hayter – whose brother Ethan received the race outright in 2021 – and Ben Tulett.
Apart from Plapp, stand-out names from Norway’s earlier editions additionally current this 12 months embrace native star Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X) and Edu Prades (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA),  each former winners.
Bernal most up-to-date race outcomes have been the Tour de Hongrie in mid-Might, the place he completed eighth general regardless of a crash on stage 1, and the Tour de Romandie, the place he additionally claimed eighth on GC.
He’s anticipated to go to the Criterium du Dauphine in early June, though a definitive line-up has but to be launched.
In the meantime, the Tour of Norway begins on Friday in Bergen with a brief prologue and finishes Monday with a hilly stage in Stavanger.
