After a second and third place overall in the Tour de France, the Frenchman had a right to dream.
AG2R’s Romain Bardet had been on the podium in 2016 and 2017 and with another year of experience and intense commitment perhaps this season would find him at the top step — ahead of Chris Froome and Team Sky.
Sadly, the answer was a short, clipped French “non,” pas de tout.”
The talented pure climber never really looked in the mix in his home tour and French fans were left to shrug their shoulders and try to recall the distant memory of a better time: Bernard Hinault winning his final Tour in 1985.
While most of France might be depressed over the lack of a new French champion, Hinault is probably happy to still claim the spotlight after 33 years. The Badger doesn’t mind all the attention.
In this year’s Tour, Bardet never seemed a threat. He had bad luck and mechanicals, flat tires at inopportune moments and teammates that crashed out. To quote the cycling cliche, he was unable to “animate” the race.
Even worse, he never showed his prowess in the Alps and Pyrenees, where he was expected, as always, to shine. He made the final selections and the front groups, but rarely had the force or willingness to attack. That was a surprise as Bardet had often proven he was unafraid of making his own opportunities.
While Nairo Quintana, another pint-sized climber saddled with massive expectations, at least won stage 17 on the Col du Portet, Bardet had no such redemption. He seemed resigned to plug along, hoping for an overabundance of jours days from all the riders in front of him.
We can’t help but think that the likable Bardet had a Thibault Pinot moment at this year’s Tour. Like Bardet, Pinot had a magical Tour back in 2014, finishing third to winner Vincenzo Nibali in what was a rare Froome-free event. Pinot then endured two miserable Tours before deciding he was more suited — physically and psychologically — to the Giro d’Italia. Perhaps reality began to sink in as Bardet dragged himself through the mountains, a well-placed spectator to Geraint Thomas’ surprising but well deserved victory.
As renowned America cycling journalist Samuel Abt noted in Velonews, the route of this Tour was custom-designed for Bardet. He couldn’t have been happier with the lack of time trial kilometers or the excess of mountains. Despite that, he’d finish sixth in a performance that felt largely invisible.
Will Bardet follow Pinot’s wheels and skip the 2019 Tour for a shot at the Giro d’Italia? Hard to say and it seems unlikely. Bardet went into this years tour with a “humble” attitude and exited with a hard-won conclusion: he might never overcome Sky, Froome and Thomas.
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