Tour de France could be make or break for Romain Bardet's career: "I don't want to be a rider who slowly but surely slips away"

Romain Bardet will enter contract year, and it may be his last. The 33-year old admits that he is considering retiring from cycling, however he will first see how the first part of the 2024 will go.

“It is still completely open. I still enjoy what I do, but I have now reached an age where I have to evaluate and see what is still in store. I don't want to be a rider who slowly but surely slips away," Bardet admitted in words to GCN. "I have to make sure that I am still able to perform, I still want to compete with the better riders. We'll see how it all goes in the new year.”

Bardet is a rider that reached his best results in the 2010's, twice finishing on the podium, but also winning three stages in three different editions and winning the KOM classification in one. Although his performances have not lowered in any way, he has not been able to replicate the same over the past few years as the level has risen significantly in the Grand Tours. He's still net a few Grand Tour Top 10's in recent years, but the prospect of returning to a podium is close to null.

Hence, he puts forward the question of whether he will continue his career beyond 2024. “I will decide before the Tour [de France] what the next step is, but for now I want to focus on the first part of my season," the Frenchman continues. "I first want to see what I can still achieve, how well I can still perform. In the back of my mind I know this could be my last year, but I might just keep going. That is still open at the moment.”