"It feels like my season is truly starting now" - Romain Bardet throws himself into battle at the Tour of the Alps

Romain Bardet is in the final months of his career but he is still looking to make an impact. The Team Picnic PostNL rider has not taken a pro win since last year's Tour de France, but he is quite eager to try and grab his first of 2025 at the Tour of the Alps.

"For the first day back, it's quite okay. It's pretty good, but it's true that I was missing a bit of punch. I was happy that together with Max [Poole] we were up in the front," Bardet said in words to Cyclingnews after the end of stage 1.

The stage profile didn't end up selecting the GC bunch a lot - Derek Gee and Antonio Tiberi were surprisingly distanced in the final kilometer, but Bardet finished amongst the best with Giulio Ciccone taking the stage win. "For me, it's a bit of a shock, because I haven't been racing since mid-February (he refers to stage-races, ed.), so I hope I can step up during the week".

The next stages will allow for a better test of the Frenchman's form, as well as bigger differences in the overall classification, however it was already possible to see that with a fourth and eight spot at the finish in San Lorenzo Dorsino, the Dutch team will be a real tough rival for those who want to win the overall classification. The team is also in dire need of UCI points, as it looks to defend itself against XDS Astana Team and Uno-X Mobility.

On the team's website, the Frenchman detailed his feelings further: "I’m really happy to be back racing. It feels like my season is truly starting now. Today’s finish was pretty punchy, so it was great to be up there with Max in the front group. It wasn’t easy to come into such an explosive finale after more than two months without being in the peloton, but it’s a good first step. There are four tough stages still to come, but it’s a solid way to start the week!”