Romain Bardet in tears on the eve of his final stage

TOUR DE FRANCE – If Tadej Pogacar left his mark on this 111th Tour de France, winning again this Saturday, July 20 at the Col de la Couillole during the 20th stage, on the French side, it was Romain Bardet who thrilled spectators and television viewers this year.

After the first stage in Italy where he wore the yellow jersey three weeks ago, the 33-year-old cyclist has, so to speak, completed the (big) loop by finishing in the top 10 (10th) of today’s mountainous stage on the heights of Nice.

At the top of the Col de la Couillole after the finish, Romain Bardet kissed his wedding ring and waved goodbye to the Tour de France, before giving an emotional interview to the microphones that were held out to him. A powerful moment to see in video below. “That’s the story of my career, fighting without ever being the best”he said in a trembling voice after having wiped away his tears for a long time, his face buried in a towel.

“My wife told me ‘when it’s hard today, you’ll think of your son, of us, you have the right to treat yourself one last time, to give it your all’, because she knew that it had been weighing on me for 10 years to go to the Tour every year, because I had a hard time being myself.”he explained.

Long presented as a cold and methodical rider while he had focused the first two thirds of his career on conquering the general classification of the Tour, the rider from Brioude cracked the armour like never before, he who had been celebrated in a bend during the 11th stage at the pas de Peyrol.

“It’s addictive”

“13 years of my life, and here it is, over. It’s so hard.”he admitted after arriving 1 min 52 behind Tadej Pogacar. “I’m lucky to be caught up by the best of this Tour, I think it’s like the train passing and my story ending”blew the second of Liège-Bastogne-Liège in the spring.

This Saturday, Romain Bardet spent the day with his hair blowing in the wind, hurting himself on the winding and never flat roads of the Nice hinterland, in an offensive attitude that he has repressed for so long and that he is letting express itself before retiring next June.

Having started in a group of strong guys at the front, Bardet joined in the fight with the other climbers who still had some energy on the final ascent. “Afterwards, it was a fight against the little voice in my head, with the kicks in my legs telling me to stop.”acknowledged the lanky climber.

When Enric Mas and Richard Carapaz became isolated at the front, the former AG2R rider set off in pursuit, managing to catch up before being definitively distanced by yet another attack from the Ecuadorian.

He then saw Pogacar and Vingegaard return, hanging on to their wheels for a while, as if to remember his greatest battles, then let the new generation go. “It’s addictive, you get hurt, you get slapped every day but you come back.”he summed up.

But next year, Romain Bardet will not return, having already left to be himself in his life after.