Egan Bernal (Team Ineos), who considers Primoš Roglic (Jumbo Visma) his biggest rival for the 2020 Tour de France, stressed the need to attack early in the race to create a buffer for the final time trial.

Bernal won last year's Tour de France, taking the yellow jersey from Julien Alaphilippe in the final week in the Alps. Roglic did not compete in the Tour, but he was third in the Giro d'Italia before winning the Vuelta a España, giving him his breakthrough as a Grand Tour rider.

The two will clash at this summer's Tour as the spearhead of a battle between Bernal's Team Ineos and a strengthened Jumbo Visma.

"He is a rider who is respected by everyone in the peloton," Bernal said in an interview with the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo (opens in new tab) ahead of Tour Colombia 2.1.

"He was number one in the ranking last year, he won the Vuelta, he was on the podium in the Giro, he's good in time trials, he climbs well, he's very consistent.

"No one can write him off. Last year, Alaphilippe almost won the Tour. Anything can happen, but for me Logric is the strongest rider."

Just as Bernal is one of three leaders on Team Ineos, along with Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome, for Jumbo Visma, which has 2017 Giro winner Tom Dumoulin and last year's Tour third-place finisher Stephen Kruijswijk, Roglic is one of several options.

Frenchmen Alaphilippe and Thibaut Pinot came close to winning last year's Tour, but Bernal predicted that a battle between Ineos and Jumbo would shape the race.

"It will be interesting to see. It will be a more intense battle. Every year the Tour is won by a narrow margin because there are more rivals and they are better prepared. This year we have Jumbo, which is good for the race."

"Dumoulin will be an important rider. He is more than a climber when he is in shape. He has to be respected. I don't know how he will be after his injury, but I think he will be a good racer and we have to respect him."

Roglic and Dumoulin are among the world's best time triallists, and Bernal knows that the tactical aspect of the race will be shaped by the time trial to the summit of La Planche des Belles Fills on the final day.

This 6km climb favors the climbers, but the remaining 30km is mostly flat, and Bernal himself is by no means a weak time trialist, but he is already aware of the need to make room for yellow.

"When each rider sets off, you know how much time they need. On the last stage, which is practically the last stage, you predict the time you need to win the Tour."

"The last 6 km are uphill, but still suitable for experts. To win the Tour, you need more or less a minute or 90 seconds--not exactly--to win the Tour. That's the difference in the last stages of the race."

"To gain an advantage in the time trial and not lose the Tour that day, you have to gain time from the start.