The poster boy for the future of French cycling, Romain Bardet looks to be the man on whose shoulders home hopes will be resting for the next few years. Tour de France organisers ASO have already lauded him for his talents as he grew into the Ag2r-La Mondiale leadership role ahead of Paris-Nice. On that occasion, the 23-year-old missed out, repeatedly missing the splits, but he came back strong to support Carlos Betancur’s victory.
With Betancur not riding the Tour, however, it leaves Bardet as team leader again with fourth place at the Volta a Catalunya and fifth at the Criterium du Dauphine proving his credentials. He will enjoy a strong supporting cast at the Tour too, with last year’s Alpe d’Huez stage winner Christophe Riblon and veteran campaigner Jean-Christophe Peraud both due on the Leeds start-line. Despite being among the youngest riders in the race, Bardet has certainly proved he can be a contender, and the white jersey is not out of his reach.
