Romain Bardet to head towards Vuelta a Espana after Tour de France crash

The plans have not come along as Romain Bardet expected at this Tour de France, the leader of Team DSM-Firmenich was sitting just outside the Top10 but a crash on stage 14 took him out of the race. He now looks towards the Vuelta a Espana.

According to L'Équipe the decision is close to confirmed. Bardet did his preparation for the Tour, but alongside other riders who were forced to abandon the Tour such as Enric Mas and Richard Carapaz, will now set his sights on the Vuelta. It is not an uncommon situation, the Spanish stage-race often sees riders take a second chance at the GC after not having their goals achieved throughout the Tour.

The Dutch team has not been in the spotlight of the race with Sam Welsford only once finishing in the Top10. Bardet crashed out, he now could be doing the Vuelta for the third time in his career. Previously, Bardet rode the Vuelta in 2017 and 2021, winning a mountain stage in the latter.