"I won't be cycling for long" - A disheartened Romain Bardet threatens retirement if results don't improve

Romain Bardet has not begun the 2023 season in the kind of form he would have liked and it would seem that the Frenchman is beginning to feel disheartened.

"I'm not even disappointed, because I'm in my place," the former Tour de France runner up had admitted in an interview directly after Paris-Nice. "I have to undergo the competition and that is difficult. If Tadej Pogacar accelerates, I just can't keep up. I hope there is still room for improvement, because otherwise I won't be cycling for long."

Losing one of the stars of modern French cycling would undoubtedly be a blow for the whole peloton not just Team DSM but it seems a very real possibility unless Bardet sees an improvement in results and in turn regains his enjoyment of riding. He has now further explained what he meant at the time as well as tackling the subject in a calmer way.

"Before this time we had Team Sky, which was superior to the rest. So winning the Tour would always have been difficult. At the same time, it was cool to compete against them and finish on the podium. That is more difficult today, the younger generation is just so strong," says Bardet, who just raced the Volta a Catalunya, abandoning with illness.

"To be honest, I'm stronger than I was then. My values ​​are better than ever and I can train harder. However, I get the same results. I can still finish on the podium, but then everything really has to come together perfectly. I will have to race more opportunistically, because I have nothing left to prove at this point in my career. I enjoy it more because of that, although I also know that I don't see myself racing until I'm 38. The point to stop will come someday," he concluded.