“I don’t want to be that guy who slowly but surely goes down the rankings" - Romain Bardet hints 2024 could be his final season

2024 marks a potentially key year in the career of Romain Bardet. The final year of his contract with Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL, the 33-year-old Frenchman has some questions to answer before deciding if he will carry on.

“It’s completely open. I’m really still enjoying it but I’m now in the position and at a certain age where I have to evaluate and see where it develops,” Bardet has explained of the situation in an interview with GCN from his team's winter training camp. “I don’t want to be that guy who slowly but surely goes down the rankings in the peloton. I need to make sure I still have what it takes to be up there and we’ll see how that develops during the year.”

After initially making a name for himself at AG2R La Mondiale, Bardet has been with DSM since 2021. Although he took overall victory at the 2022 Tour of the Alps, since changing teams, Bardet's Grand Tour challenging days haven't been at the level of previous years.

“I have confidence in the team, so it’s open with what I’ll do. I’ll probably decide on what’s next just before the Tour but for now, I want to focus on the first part of the season and what it takes to be away for such a long period in the year and see what level that I can achieve. At the back of my head, I know it could be my last year but I could also carry on, so it’s pretty open at this point,” he says.

If this is his final year in the professional peloton however, don't expect to see Bardet sticking around as a sports director. “For me, it would be important to fulfil a new role and not just be an ex-pro rider," he explains. "Inside or outside of cycling, I could study and do something outside of cycling even if it means starting from scratch. I’m keen to develop. When I stop it will be the biggest challenge of my life.”

“I’ve been consistent even if it’s harder to see because the first four or five spots are taken by the same really strong guys,” Bardet concludes. “Otherwise, I was top ten a lot but the Tour didn’t develop as expected. The Vuelta was cool but I didn’t underperform this season. I missed that small ingredient that would have converted results into victories.”