Pogacar and Evenepoel "have something extra", Romain Bardet assures

Romain Bardet is part of an older generation, and one of the few riders who has stayed on top from the mid-2010's all the way into the current period when it comes to Grand Tours. On the evolution of some riders from the new generation, he's had nothing but good words to say.

In an interview with Eurosport France, Bardet admitted: "They have something extra, they are cycling geniuses. When they are at 100 percent, nobody can compete, they race each other. They don’t care about us, the runners-up." Having been perhaps the two most successful riders in 2022, with countless wins in Grand Tours, monuments and World Tour stage-races, at only 22 and 24 years of age both Pogacar and Evenepoel stand at the very top of the cycling world.

Bardet has commented on how he is currently at his best ever level, but cannot compete for the results he has in the past - including two podium finishes at the Tour de France recently. The change is visible, as many riders share the same struggle, whilst the top of the sport becomes younger and younger due to professional training methods being adopted earlier and riders reaching their best level at much younger ages.

“Everyone sees that the pace is higher than before. On the climbs, the pace is incredible. The structuring of the teams has changed the situation. When you see the Jumbo or UAE teams in the grand tours, five or six of the eight guys could be leaders," Bardet continued.

"For us, as direct opponents, it gets complicated very quickly. We have to try to keep a cool head and calibrate our forces to survive it," he concluded. Such statement justifies the frequent lack of aggressive racing for example at the Tour de France, where Bardet finished sixth, and virtually all mountain stages saw a battle between Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar whilst the rest battled for the remaining spots.