FRENCH HOPE
HIGHER ADVANTAGE
othing really
worked out as
planned for
Romain Bardet
at last year’s Tour de France.
Second in 2016 and third in
2017, his ambition to win the
2018 title came unstuck in
the first week. He suffered a
mechanical setback at Mûr-
de-Bretagne, punctures on
the cobbles, the abandon
following a crash of his
most faithful lieutenant,
Axel Domont... Then there
was the hammer blow of his
13th place at the summit of
Col du Portet above Saint-
Lary-Soulan, when his final
hopes of a podium position
disappeared. His conviction
that he could one day win
the Tour was shaken.
In all his disappointment,
he did take one positive
from the 2018 race. “Even
though it was the first time
in three years that I hadn’t
won a stage, on certain
days I was stronger than
ever before,” says Bardet.
“I was perhaps a little less
consistent, but I’m getting
to grips with the complexity
and all the science inherent
in our sport. It’s good to
feel better from the physical
standpoint, although this
isn’t a guarantee of a better
result.”
The Frenchman’s initial
plan for 2019 was to make
his debut at the Giro d’Italia.
But when this year’s Tour de
France route was unveiled,
he knew he had to make the
French race his top priority.
At the end of November,
he revealed in L’Équipe: “I
N
54 | TO U R
D E F R A NC E 2019
Bardet has his sights set
on winning in the high
mountains on a route
that suits his strengths.
“IT’S THE MOST BEAUTIFUL TOUR
SINCE I’VE BEEN TRYING TO WIN IT”
think it’s the most beautiful
Tour we’ve had since I’ve
been in the position of trying
to win it.” On paper, the
route is tailor-made for him.
The early mountain stages –
with a La Planche des Belles
Filles summit finish – are
ideal to create uncertainty,
plus the race spends two
days in his native Auvergne,
even heading through
Brioude, where he grew up.
What’s more, three hellish
days in a row at very high
altitude in the Alps perfectly
suit his strengths.
The other thing that really
helped swing it was the
stage 13 individual time
trial. “This will make the race
more open,” says his coach
Jean-Baptiste Quiclet. “A
good rouleur who has lost
time will be forced to try
something to regain on the
stages in the Pyrenees and
Alps. This could well lead
to fortunes changing very
quickly.”
It makes a difference, too,
that AG2R La Mondiale
agreed a partnership with
Eddy Merckx bikes during
the off season. In the
wind tunnel at Belgium
Factory Racing, Bardet
has clearly discovered the
right alchemy for his time
trial position.
The first real proof of
that came in a full-scale
test at Paris-Nice. He had
never finished as close
to the specialists on a
predominantly flat course
(losing just 1’15” on the
winner over 25.5 kilometres).
“We drew satisfaction from
that,” Quiclet says. In the
Tour’s individual time trial
in Pau, Bardet is hoping to
take even greater advantage
of a hilly course that is more
favourable to his style. And
he’ll be able to count on the
solidity of his teammates
to achieve the same in the
team time trial in Brussels.
Although the cohort of
riders around him hasn’t
changed, it’s fair to say that
Bardet has never been as
well supported. During the
second stage at Paris-Nice,
when echelons formed
in the wind, Bardet was
the leader with the most
teammates around him.
As he looks ahead to
his seventh Tour, the
main French contender is
sanguine. “I’m not focusing
on the result in itself, but on
my preparation: how can I
be even more successful?
Victory doesn’t just depend
on me, it also depends on
circumstances. The aim
is to start the race in the
best condition so that I
can offer an even stronger
challenge.” ●
After two consecutive podium finishes, Romain Bardet’s 2018 Tour de France was a
disappointment. But after studying the mountainous route of the 106th Tour, the
French climber believes this could just be his year. B Y J U L I E N C H E S N A I S