Egan Bernal (Team Ineos) wants to win the Tour de France multiple times and said being the defending champion will neither help nor hinder his chances in this year's race.

The 23-year-old will compete in the rescheduled 2020 Tour as part of the Ineos team, which includes 2018 champion Geraint Thomas and four-time winner Chris Froome, unless the Briton makes a mid-season move to avoid a leadership battle with Bernal They are.

This will be Bernal's third Tour appearance, having debuted as a deluxe domestique two years ago, finishing 15th overall.

In an interview with France TV Sport's Stade 2 program (open in new tab), filmed earlier this year in Zipaquira, Colombia, Bernal admitted that he will start the Tour tougher than ever.

"There is no surprise effect this year. The public, the riders, everyone will be watching me a little more carefully," Bernal said. 'But it doesn't matter if I'm a contender for the win or not. In a race like the Tour de France, the strongest rider always wins."

Bernal, who began his professional career in Italy with Gianni Savio's Androni Giocattoli team, has hinted that he will make his Giro d'Italia debut in 2021, but his overarching ambition is to win more events in the Tour de France he told Stade 2.

"There is nothing bigger than winning the Tour de France.

"It's like a drug. Once you try it, you want more and more. It's never enough. If you win the Tour, you win the second, third, fourth ...... I want to win more, I want to set records.

Bernal will fly to Madrid on July 19 on a chartered flight with fellow Colombian professional riders for La Route d'Occitanie (August 1-4) and the Tour de l'Ain (August 7-9) before the Tour Grande Pearl in Nice on August 29, Criterium du Dauphiné (August 12-16), three stage races in France that will be run.

"I want to provide the spectacle that the spectators are waiting for and match the level of the race," Bernal said.