Romain Bardet to ‘do a Geraint Thomas’ in bid to rival Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard at Tour de France

Team DSM’s Romain Bardet says Geraint Thomas’ “inspiring” Tour de France performance last year could serve as his template to challenge Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard at this year’s race.

Bardet, who was runner-up in the 2016 Tour and third the following year, has significant pedigree at his home race, but the top, coveted step of the podium has so far eluded him.

The 32-year-old finished sixth last year but in reality he was never in contention, given his gap of 18’11” to eventual winner Vingegaard, of Team Jumbo-Visma.

Bardet admits that “cycling is going faster”, and that just to give the best you can give – like Thomas did when he finished third in 2022 – could be his method when the Tour kicks off on July 1.

“I think his [Thomas’] performance was brilliant,” Bardet told reporters at Team DSM’s launch. “He was super fit, super lean, really focused on his own race, just giving his best every day.

“For a guy who already won the Tour, to really fight when the other two guys went, when he was getting dropped every time…he was just like the last survivor of the fight.

“It was a really inspiring performance to see.

“You now have to admit that cycling is going faster. You also have to pick and find your own references in your performance. It’s not only about victory, but doing your best, and you see in the end what result it can bring.

“He showed that, even at 36, he can reach his best.

“For me he was even better than when he won the Tour, but you can’t control how fast the others are going.”

Bardet, a comparative veteran of the sport when considered alongside the likes of Pogacar, 24, and Vingegaard, 26, has been witness to a change in the way Grand Tours are raced over the last decade, and says that he will need “something else” if he wants to finish on the podium again.

The Frenchman said: “Back in the day, when it was Team Sky, for sure they were super strong and I will not say that [Team] Sky in 2016 and 2017 were weaker than Jumbo-Visma today, but nowadays you not only have Jumbo, but also UAE [Team Emirates] and Ineos [Grenadiers] and so on. There’s much more density at the top.

“We also have super talents, like Pogacar, Vingegaard, [Remco] Evenepoel, who can make the race on their own.

“When [Bradley] Wiggins won the Tour, when [Chris] Froome won the Tour, they really relied on their [Sky] team to build their success, but now there are guys who can race around with some crazy attacks because they’re so strong.

“It’s becoming a bit of a game.

“I know on paper when I line up for a mountain-top finish with the guys winning Grand Tours these days, I will be beaten. I need to find another way to gain some time. It’s interesting.

“It will be very difficult to rival Vingegaard and Pogacar, but at the same time, it’ll be about trying to create an opportunity, and find a way. There’s that uncertainty. Given the route and its difficulty, being an outsider on the second rung can make things exciting.

“Even if I’ve been there before, being on the podium would be an enormous achievement. I know I can’t do that by riding the same race as 2017. That leads me to think about different paths.

“Even if I’m at 100% physically, compared to 2016 and 2017 that would not suffice now. I need something else, given the competition.”

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