NEW BLOOD

Tour De France Winner Egan Bernal Is Youngest Champion in Post-World War II Era

The 22-year-old is also the first South American to ever win the fabled bike race.

Egan Bernal became the youngest person to win the Tour de France since World War II on Sunday. The 22-year-old from Colombia also became South America’s first winner of cycling’s greatest race. “I cannot believe it. It’s just incredible. I am sorry. I have no words,” Bernal said through a translator. “I still can’t understand what is happening to me.” Bernal outrode the 176 other cyclists over the grueling 2,092-mile race, delivering one of the most drama-packed Tour in the n the 116-year history of the race. The top three riders were separated by just one minute, 31 seconds after three weeks of racing. The sun set as Bernal and the pack sped to the finish, bathing Paris’ Champs-Elysees in a golden light. Speaking in French, Bernal thanked “France for organizing the most beautiful race in the world, and the most beautiful victory of my life.”