In the penultimate road race of his 14-year professional career, Romain Bardet once again went on the attack, jumping away from the break not just in pursuit of a perhaps unlikely victory, but to enjoy the thrill of leading the race one more time. And what a stage to do it on, with three hors-catégorie ascents packed into 131.6km of racing on stage 7 of the Critérium du Dauphiné.
“I don’t know if it was panache, I think it was more of a desperate move. But when you can enjoy yourself, you have to seize these moments. Being at the front of the race was also a way of thanking everyone for the affection I’ve received, both this week and over many years,” Bardet said after the stage.
Bardet, with his Picnic-PostNL teammate Juan Martinez, joined the flurry of attacks on the first climb of the day, the Col de la Madeleine, to make their way into a 15-rider breakaway. The break had established a one-minute gap to the peloton by the time they crested the iconic ascent. However, by the time they neared the top of the Col de la Croix de Fer, the break had been whittled down to nine riders, with their advantage reduced to just 10 seconds.
“It was a good stage route for me today and I felt better than I did yesterday. I really wanted to go for it and go all-in, and have some fun, but I knew from the beginning that it was going to be a super hard day. It was good to have Juan in the group with me but we never got too much of a gap. When it was close I attacked on the top of Croix Fer. I wanted to allow myself to get carried away by the pleasure of pushing my limits and riding alone for one last time on these roads.”
In typical Bardet fashion, he made his move to continue solo on the descent. After all, that is how he claimed his first Tour de France stage victory.
“To pass alone in the lead at Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne meant a lot to me, that’s where I won my first stage at the Tour de France, in 2015.”
The 34-year-old Frenchman continued on solo, cheered on by fans, until he was reeled in with 13km to go. He would ultimately cross the line over 12 minutes behind stage winner and race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) but the result was beside the point.
“With my current level, I couldn’t have done much more in this Dauphiné, but I like the way I gave it my all. I’ve never raced to be on the podium, it’s more of a personal quest. In any case, I feel good about what I achieved today, and I’ll feel good on Monday morning too.”
Joined by his father Philippe on the podium, Bardet was presented with the most combative rider award for his efforts.
While Bardet will officially retire from racing after Sunday’s final stage at the Dauphiné, he’s not stepping away from the sport. He’ll be at the Tour de France, this time on a moto, providing his expertise to Eurosport in the second week.