"2018 was a bit of a disappointment internally at AG2R" - Romain Bardet reflects on Tour de France close calls and missed opportunities

In the modern era of the Tour de France, not many French riders have challenged for the Maillot Jaune as closely as Romain Bardet did during his pomp. With his final home Grand Tour done in 2024, the soon to be retiring Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL rider has reflected on his close calls over the years.

A runner-up behind Chris Froome in 2016, 3rd in 2017, Bardet was consistently there or thereabouts during the mid 2010s. Being the French leader and GC challenger of a French team (AG2R La Mondiale ed.), he pretty much had no choice but to focus on the Tour de France though, as he explains in an extensive interview with Eurosport.

"Courageous? Yes, but at one point, I'll be honest, it was also the "royal" path. You're in a French team and a bit of a nerve centre of a project when you can bring these results. It makes a whole team grow, and it's the toughest and most noble competition there is. Ultimately, I didn't really have any other alternatives, or I didn't know how to create them," Bardet reflects. "If I had to do it again, there were some slightly empty years from 2018 where I would have had to get back on track with other grand tour projects, not always for the general but to build up a track record elsewhere."

After the aforementioned podiums in 2016 and 2017, a drop down to 6th overall in 2018 marked the first real sign that the Maillot Jaune may forever remain out of reach for Bardet. "I had an off day in 2018 but I still had a pretty solid Tour. I was close to winning at Alpe d'Huez," the 34-year-old recalls. "It's one of the climbs where I felt the strongest on the Tour de France. 2018 was a bit of a disappointment internally at AG2R. In 2019, I put extra effort into my preparation and it didn't pay off. From then on, when you spend two seasons on the Tour de France being below, it's hard to recover. 2020 started well but it was already the advent of the new generation."

That's not to say Bardet didn't continue having joy at the Tour de France in the years since though. A polka-dot jersey victory in 2019 and most recently, a stage 1 victory in 2024 marked successful moments. "In my career, I fought for what was certainly the most noble, namely the general classifications of the biggest races in the world. But to get there, I had to mute this slightly more basic side of riding on instinct. I denied my nature," he concludes. "I don't regret it, it allowed me to make two podiums on the Tour but I had a physical level that would have allowed me to win more stages and great races by following my impulses."