Egan Bernal sealed the inaugural Colombia Oro y Paz title with a stunning late attack on the final day in Manizales.
The 21 year old hit out three kilometres from the finish and, helped by Tao Geoghegan Hart and Sebastian Henao, stayed clear of the chasing favourites to seal the title by just nine seconds.
Having crossed the line second on the stage, behind Dayer Quintana (Movistar), Bernal faced an agonising wait to see if he had done enough – and he wasn’t disappointed. Rigoberto Uran (EF Education First-Drapac) led the favourites home 11 seconds later to confirm Bernal’s victory. Sergio Henao finished with Uran and fellow contender Nairo Quintana (Movistar) to wrap up fourth overall.
“I felt very good all day long and I kept telling the guys: ‘I feel good, I feel good!’ but I had to keep calm and wait for the tougher last kilometres”, said Bernal.
“The last three or four kilometres were tougher and I decided to attack. I was fourth on GC so I didn’t have a lot to lose but I had everything to gain. I tried, I gave everything and finally I got a little advantage. I had two teammates in the break and they did an amazing job! I was telling Tao: ‘Tao, Tao, it’s so hard, you have to slow down!’ He helped me almost until the last metres.
“The most important thing was to win the GC and not the stage. Of course, it would have been better to win both but the idea was to win the GC. So, my teammates waited for my attack. That’s why I feel so proud and happy with this team. They supported me and did incredible work.”
Colombia Oro y Paz 2018 – stage 6 results (Armenia – Manizales):
| 1 | Dayer Quintana (Movistar) | 4:22:11 |
| 2 | Egan Bernal (Team Sky) | +10” |
| 3 | Sebastian Henao (Team Sky) | ,, |
| 4 | Angel Gil Sanchez (EPM) | +14” |
| 5 | Daniel Martinez (EF Education First-Drapac) | +18” |
| 6 | Oscar Sevilla (Medellin-Inder) | ,, |
| 7 | Rigoberto Uran (EF Education First-Drapac) | +21” |
| 8 | Nairo Quintana (Movistar) | +22” |
| 9 | Sergio Henao (Team Sky) | ,, |
| 10 | Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) | ,, |
Final general classification:
| 1 | Egan Bernal (Team Sky) | 20:49:03 |
| 2 | Nairo Quintana (Movistar) | +09” |
| 3 | Rigoberto Uran (EF Education First-Drapac) | +11” |
| 4 | Sergio Henao (Team Sky) | +13” |
| 5 | Daniel Martinez (EF Education First-Drapac) | +43” |
| 6 | Ivan Sosa (Androni-Sidermec-Bottecchia) | +46” |
| 7 | Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) | +48” |
| 8 | Aristobulo Cala (Bicicletas Strongman Colombia Coldeportes) | +01’11” |
| 9 | Danny Osorio (Orgullo Paisa) | +01’13” |
| 10 | Rafael Aniba Montiel (Orgullo Paisa) | +01’27” |
