EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW | Romain Bardet begins his final months in the peloton at the Figueira Champions Classic: "Hopefully I can be there at the end"

Team Picnic PostNL rider Romain Bardet is entering the final months of his professional career. Lining up at today’s Figueira Champions Classic, the 34-year-old embraces his last opportunities in road racing before switching to gravel later this year.

When asked by CyclingUpToDate about his decision to start the season in Portugal, Bardet had a simple response. “Why not! It is my only chance left in my career, and I have always heard very good things about this race.” He will use Figueira and the Algarve as the first race days of a 2025 in which he will aim for a strong performance at the Giro d'Italia, and ultimately the Criterium du Dauphiné where he will hang up the wheels.

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Bardet, who finally wore the yellow jersey during last year’s Tour de France, remains uncertain about his form but is eager to race aggressively. “It looks like a really nice race. I don't know how it will be and I don't really know where I stand, but yeah, for sure we'll be straight in. Hopefully I can be there at the end.”

Next week, he will take on an even greater challenge at the Volta ao Algarve, where he will race against top contenders like Jonas Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic, and another set of riders - who will make Bardet's GC aspirations hard in the final time-trial.

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“For me, it is more to get the long stage race in the legs at the start of the season, it is maybe what I missed in the last few years. It is a shame for me that we don’t have two mountain stages, but we have a good team.”

With his final Grand Tour appearance set for the Giro d’Italia, there had been speculation about whether Bardet might test himself on the cobbled classics before he retires. However, he shut down the idea without hesitation. “No, it’s not going to happen!” he said firmly.

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