Revered as much for his erudition as his élan, Romain Bardet is on a mission to change cycling for the better, as Chris Marshall-Bell finds out
"You’ve been at the top of the sport for more than a decade," I begin softly, aiming to warm Romain Bardet to my theme before coaxing him to reflect on his long career at the sharp end. So I’m shocked to get knocked back so soon. “At the top?” he interrupts, taking issue with my premise. His longevity at the top is objectively true: he’s a two-time podium finisher at the Tour de France and runner-up at this year’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège – but he has a point to make about the fact he hasn’t won any of cycling’s biggest races. “The most organised team or best riders win almost every race they target and it means the sport has become less entertaining,” he says. “Nowadays, you can bet that the next three Grand Tours will be won by the same one or two teams.”
I’m speaking to Bardet at his winter training camp in January, but fast-forward to May and his point has a particular resonance: at the time of writing, Tadej Pogačar of UAE-Team Emirates is sitting pretty at the top of the Giro d’Italia’s GC standings. I’d intended to focus on the Frenchman’s 2024 season before possibly broaching the subject of whether he’s considering retirement – but his interjection has thrown my plans out of the proverbial window. I sense that the 33-year-old, who alongside Julian Alaphilippe and Thibaut Pinot has sustained the glow in the embers of French cycling, is in pensive mood.
I probe a little deeper. “Is cycling in a better position than 10 years ago?” I ask, slightly leadingly. “What do you mean?” he answers. “Can we trust the sport?” I spell it out. Sitting opposite me, his legs crossed in a formal, slightly defensive manner, he takes a swig of water. “OK, I know what you mean. It’s a hard question,” he pauses, and I fill the silence by reassuring him that he doesn’t have to respond if he’s uncomfortable with the question. “No,” he cuts across me, “I do feel comfortable.”
Within a few minutes I realise that he is not just comfortable and willing to speak openly and directly; he has a lot to get off his chest. In fact, it becomes clear that Bardet is itching to share his manifesto for the sport, an agenda that he might just be the man to steer into action after he retires – with the core objective being to make cycling more competitive, entertaining and trustworthy. “I want to stay in cycling to really have a positive impact on the future,” he begins, “and this is why I have some projects, but they will take time to really take shape.”
Predictable podiums
Romain Bardet is a respected savant of the sport, at least in his native France
