"It's engaging for me": Romain Bardet finds new balance in life on gravel and wins his first race of 2026!

Romain Bardet's road career came its conclusion last June at the home stage race Critérium du Dauphiné (now known as Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes). However the 35-year-old climber who stood on a Tour de France podium twice in his career still feels too fresh to simply sit idly and enjoy his retirement. Instead, Bardet immediately turned his attention to the growing market of gravel and ahead of this season joined the Factor Racing team backed by the bike manufacturer.

That Bardet hardly lost any of his talent while crossing over from another discipline was clear from the first moments as he won two World Series races already in 2025. However the World Championships in Maastricht weren't Bardet's ideal race.

Rather than resentment, this "failure" visibly gave Bardet new motivation into training as he kicked off 2026 with a dominant victory in Australia's RADL GRVL where he took on the best local riders as well as some of the US gravel scene stars including fellow ex-pros Alexey Vermeulen and Ian Boswell.

Bardet gave neither of them the slightest glimpse of chance as he crossed the line with nearly full minute of advantage over runner-up Cameron Jones (New Zealand). Former Visma rider Vermeulen completed the podium further minute down the road.

In a team interview following signing his contract to Factor Racing, Bardet said he would be treating gravel with respect, "otherwise you get your ass kicked every weekend". Equally, he said he was looking forward to rediscovering the joy in riding, and racing, a bike, following the pressures of the WorldTour.

"I wanted to get the balance back," he said. "I ride bikes for myself first, because I enjoy it. I am really happy to be lining up at the races this year because it’s engaging for me. I am looking forward to travelling to some different places to explore and enjoy the different things that come along when you are riding your bike."