VAL THORENS, France — Perpetuating the tradition of great Colombian climbers, Egan Bernal left his mark on the Tour de France in the mountains. But unlike his flashy predecessors, he is also poised to win cycling’s biggest race. At just 22.

Bernal kept the yellow jersey Saturday after the final Alpine stage, and barring a crash or a last-minute health issue, he will become the first Colombian to win the Tour when it ends on Paris’s Champs-Élysées with a largely processional stage on Sunday. Bernal will also become the youngest post-World War II winner of the Tour.

“Colombia always had great climbers,” Bernal said. “We won the Giro, the Vuelta, but it never happened before on the Tour. For many years, we had great cyclists. We never managed to win. It did not work out on the Tour de France. Now we have it.”

Long before Bernal was born, Colombian riders like Luis Herrera and Fabio Parra conquered the hearts of cycling fans with long and spectacular raids in the Tour mountains. But for all their brilliance, they never came close to winning the race. More recently, Nairo Quintana ended up runner-up twice behind Chris Froome of Britain, a four-time champion, but lacked the time trialing abilities to overcome him.