Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) admitted that the echelon of Friday's Tour de France stage 7 made for a very hectic day, but insisted that as a Colombian rider, he could not let this opportunity pass him by.

Last year's pre-Pyrenean stage also saw a major split when Bernal and his teammates forced an echelon in the final hour of the race.

However, the race fell apart from the first climb prior to a group attack at the front.

After Tadey Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates) lost over a minute, Bernal, wearing the white jersey of best young rider, said, "The Tour is not won on a day like this.

"It was a very fast stage and I knew it would be tense, but not like that. We didn't stop all day

"In the end we were able to split the group. The team did a good job and we were on top all the way to the end. [11th] [12th] "I knew it was going to be a hard race, but from the first climb I had to go to the front.

Bernal, who was eighth in this stage, moved up in the GC and is now fourth overall in the Pyrenees tomorrow, 13 seconds back. But despite the improved position, he insisted that his relatively conservative strategy remains unchanged.

"With two very complicated stages coming up, I'll try not to lose time as I have in the past and take as many chances as I can.

"I'm honored to wear the white jersey again, which I won with yellow in 2019, and I will defend it, but there is still a long way to go."

On stage 7, Richard Calapaz suffered a puncture at a crucial moment in the closing stages, and despite the hard work of Jonathan Castroviejo, the Ecuadorian lost 81 seconds. Combined with the 28 seconds lost in the Orciere Melet stage, the 2019 Giro d'Italia winner is now more than two minutes behind race leader Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott).

Asked which of the two Pyrenees stages he knows best, Bernal said Saturday's stage has several climbs he is familiar with from his time in the area on the Route d'Occitanie, which he won, and the final climb of stage 8 Peyresourde replied that he knew it from the Tour two years ago.

"It will all be very tough for the overall contenders. You're going to feel tomorrow's stage in your legs."