He had come back from it a little since his departure from DSM, preferring cycling “by instinct”, geared towards stage victories, rather than aiming at all costs for the general classification of the Tour de France. But Romain Bardet has decided to present himself at the start of the 2023 edition with a status he knows by heart: that of leader of his formation, with the objective of being as high as possible when arriving in Paris. July 23.
“I am very excited to come back to this race, explained the French rider on Tuesday during the presentation of the Dutch team’s season. Last year, we decided to do the Giro. This year we will bet everything on the Tour, we will make sure to achieve the best possible approach. »
The route, with three stages in its Auvergne region, almost under its windows – including the one leading to Puy-de-Dôme, climbed for the first time in thirty-five years – may have weighed in the choice of the one who already experienced twice the joy of finishing on the podium (2nd in 2016 and 3rd in 2017). “I live at the foot of Puy-de-Dôme, it will be one of the big attractions,” he said. In general, the appearance of this 2023 edition suits him, as he said during the presentation: “It’s a super exciting course. The physiognomy will be new, I’ve never seen that, so few lap times and such a muscular start. I think it’s the most difficult first week of a Grand Tour that has ever existed. »
On Paris-Nice at the beginning of March
Last season, Romain Bardet made the Tour of Italy his priority for once. In brilliant form, he had gone there to play for the podium or even victory, the first for a Frenchman in a grand tour since Laurent Jalabert on the Vuelta in 1995, but had to give up after falling ill.
To erase this disappointment, he then lined up at the start of the Tour, which he had finished in 6th place (after the disqualification of Nairo Quintana). A result that did not entirely satisfy him, because he had mainly come to chase stages, he who has already raised his arms three times on the Grande Boucle, in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in 2015, Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc in 2016, and Peyragudes in 2017. To do better, Bardet will participate in Paris-Nice in early March in order to perfect his physical form.