Reigning champion Egan Bernal withdraws from Tour de France

Egan Bernal has withdrawn from the Tour de France (Marco Bertorello/AP/PA)

Egan Bernal has withdrawn from the Tour de France five days short of Paris after injury wrecked his title defence.

The 23-year-old Colombian had remained in contention until Sunday’s stage on the Grand Colombier, when he shipped more than seven minutes on the unforgiving gradients to tumble out of the top 10 in the general classification.