Defending champion Egan Bernal was at a loss to explain the brutal failure that ruled him out of contention on the Tour de France in the 15th stage on Sunday. The 23-year-old Colombian was suddenly dropped by the main group of favourites in the ascent to the Col du Grand Colombier, a 17.4-km effort at an average gradient of 7.1%, and he never managed to fight his way back, losing 7:20 on the line. "I really don't think the podium is an option, I don't even know how far behind I finished," an exhausted Bernal told reporters after his 174.5-km ordeal in the Jura mountains.
