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Pope Francis has a new Dogma thanks to Egan Bernal – a Pinarello Dogma F12 bike, that is

Giro winner, who now has all-clear from COVID-19, also gifts Pontiff his maglia rosa

Pope Francis has a new Dogma thanks to Egan Bernal – a Pinarello Dogma F12 type, that is, rather than a fixed set of beliefs – with the Giro d’Italia champion presenting him with the bike at the Vatican this morning as well as the maglia rosa he won in Milan last month.

The bike comes with a striking colour scheme based on the flag of the Pope’s native Argentina – the silver lettering is a nod to the country’s name – as well as the Papal seal, his regnal name, and his birth forenames, Jorge Mario.

There’s a long tradition of bicycles being presented to the Pope, such as a gold-plated Colnago given by Ernesto Colnago to Pope John II in 1979, while in 2016 Peter Sagan gave Pope Francis a Specialized road bike in the Papal colours of yellow and white, which fetched €30,000 when auctioned for charity.

> Pope Francis says road cycling shows value of teamwork – but warns about sport’s dark side

Bernal was accompanied to the Vatican by his girlfriend, María Fernanda Gutiérrez, and Colombia’s ambassador to the Holy See, Jorge Mario Eastman, reports El Tiempo.

The 24 year old, who is a Roman Catholic, described meeting the Pope as a “unique” experience, “the most beautiful I’ve had in my life” and more important than winning the Tour de France or Giro d’Italia.

He also revealed that he had been nervous ahead of the audience, saying it was “more stressful” than riding a key stage of a race.

“This is a thousand times more stressful because you don’t know what you are going to say. You have a few words prepared, but you’re very nervous. At least once we began to speak it was easier.”

The Ineos Grenadiers rider said that once he had presented the Pope with the bicycle and the jersey, the pair began to joke, with the Pope asking him “how many tinto” – the sugar-laced, concentrated black coffee shot found all over Colombia – he had needed to drink “to climb so strongly.”

Bernal and his partner had remained in Italy following his Giro victory after the pair both tested positive for COVID-19, but on Monday he told his followers on Twitter that he had been given the all-clear.

Today at the Vatican, he told journalists that it is his “dream” to win the Vuelta a Espana, which would see him join a select group of just seven riders who have won all three of cycling’s Grand Tours, although he did not confirm whether or not he would be at the start of the Spanish race in Burgos in August.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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3 comments

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0-0 | 3 years ago
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I bet he'll have problems getting his leg over wearing that dress.

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Sriracha replied to 0-0 | 3 years ago
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Well, the Pope is not really supposed to.

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Rendel Harris replied to Sriracha | 3 years ago
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Sriracha wrote:

Well, the Pope is not really supposed to.

That's why he would make such a great cyclist - he never bonks! I'll get me biretta...

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