In many ways it is hard to believe that French rider Romain Bardet is now one of the peloton’s veterans. After all, for years it seemed, Bardet was one of his country’s eternal hopefuls. After finishing second at the Tour de France in 2016 and third in 2017, some even saw him as a potential Tour winner – the first Frenchman since Bernard Hinault back in 1985. But now at 32, not even Bardet sees Tour victory as a real possibility, yet he remains as motivated as ever.
“It’s funny, 32 is not that old, but I am starting to be seen that way,” Bardet told Rouleur while at Paris-Nice. “It’s really just about people’s perception. A couple of years ago we wouldn’t even talk about age at 32, but there is such a big wave of young riders that suddenly 32 seems rather old. And it is true, this is my 10th Paris-Nice. Time passes and I am aware of that.”
Bardet, who came into his own at the height of Team Sky’s dominance, admits his chances of winning the Tour were always slim at best. But with today’s generation led by Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard, he sees his chances as nearly obsolete.
“Before we had Sky, who was really superior to the rest of us, so winning the Tour would always have been a surprise. It was always going to be difficult. But it was always a pleasure to compete with them and finish on the podium. Today though it is even more difficult. The generation of young riders is just so strong.”
Bardet insists, however, that he has lost no strength. “To be honest, I am even stronger. My numbers are better than ever. I am able to train harder. There is no doubt I am stronger, but I’m not getting the same results.”
In some ways Romain Bardet needs to learn from, well, Romain Bardet. After all, in his prime, Bardet never won bike races on sheer strength alone. Instead, he earned a reputation as an unpredictable rider, willing to take chances and go on the attack. And it was his aggressive style that allowed him to turn the tables on the 2016 Tour de France.
Starting stage 19, Bardet was sitting in fifth place, but he surprised his opponents when he went on the attack in the rain and soloed to victory in Saint-Gervais, a move that catapulted him into second place, and his first podium in the Tour.
“I’ve always been a rider of circumstance,” says Bardet. “Sure, I am still capable of…