Vaujany (France) (AFP)
Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale), twice present on the final podium of the Tour, announced Wednesday to give up the Great Loop in 2020 to focus on the Giro and the two major events of the second half of the season, the Tokyo Olympics and the world championship.
Second in 2016, third in 2017, the 29-year-old Auvergnat explained the stalemate by his desire to open up to "new horizons", during his team's cohesion internship in Vaujany ( Isère).
Last July, he had brought back the polka-dot jersey of best climber but was far from the first, to finish in 15th place overall.
"It was not easy to give up the Tour de France, which brought me so much and which is a race that I deeply love," said Bardet, winner between 2015 and 2017 of three major mountain stages. "But it was beneficial to open a parenthesis in the beautiful story that binds me to this race, to better come back next year."
The Haute-Loire rider, who has not raced in competition since the end of the Tour de France, will resume the competition from the Tour Down Under in Australia, from 21 to 26 January, before racing in France at the Tour du Var and the Alpes-Maritimes (February 20-23) and Boucles Drôme-Ardèche (February 29 and March 1).
He should then participate at the beginning of March in Strade Bianche, the Italian classic which he took the second place in 2018. Subsequently, he would climb on the podium of Liège-Bastogne-Liège (3rd) and the world championship (2nd) , two performances giving substance to his ambitions in the races of a day.
© 2019 AFP