The Colombian surrendered 10 minutes to race leader Primoz Roglic after reaching Villard-de-Lans on Wednesday morning (AEST) and sees no way back in the final week.
“Today I was suffering all day, with back pain and it was increasing,” Bernal said, according to AS.
“In the last climb it switched to my knee.
“I’m f**ked up on all sides.
"If I continue like this, it will be difficult to fight for the stage in the Col de la Loze, which is a very hard climb, with a lot of steep gradients.”
It was believed Bernal would give up more time in order to escape for Ineos Grenadiers’ first stage victory of the Tour, however it was not to be as Lennard Kamna (Bora-Hansgrohe) held on.
The 2020 Tour de France continues with the brutal 170km stage from Grenoble to Méribel (Col de La Loze) - the highest point of this year's Tour. Stage 17 begins via SBS On Demand and the SBS ŠKODA Tour Tracker from 8:05pm (AEST) on Wednesday, with the television broadcast set to start at 9:35pm on SBS.
