ANALYSIS
The symbol is strong. Romain Bardet dismounted just before the finish line at La Planche des Belles Filles on Thursday, victim of a mechanical problem. These are a few extra seconds that flew here, for lack of clarity, and envy, perhaps too. It must be said that losing 1'09 "on the outgoing winner, Geraint Thomas, added to the 59 seconds already lost in the team time trial of Brussels, the leader of the team AG2R-La Mondiale has probably said goodbye to the Tour podium.
"I was not at the level today (Thursday) and I made the hard and bitter report," said Romain Bardet on arrival. 'I will try to understand what happened. It's difficult. I'm still very motivated for this Tour, there is still plenty to do, but I have to try to understand what happened, why I stuck like this. "
Heard on europe1:
Romain Bardet is someone who supports extremely well altitude
And among "these things to do", our consultant Thomas Voeckler has a small idea. "We must not hide the truth, it's compromised for the victory in the Tour de France," said the former Yellow Jersey rider. "I'm not saying he will not be there in the third week, but he already has an extremely important disbursement ( 2'08" on Thomas, ed ). But Romain Bardet is someone who supports extremely well the altitude or the lack of oxygen, he works enormously in this direction. And this year there are seven non-category passes of more than 2,000 m, where the points will be doubled (40 instead of 20). The polka dot jersey is something he can aim for with his abilities beyond 2,000 meters. "
It remains to be seen now if Romain Bardet, who has already finished 2nd and 3rd of the Tour by the Tour and won two stages, will embark on this new challenge ...