Following his victory in the first stage of the Tour de France on Saturday 29 June in Rimini (Italy), and therefore his taking of the yellow jersey, Romain Bardet (dsm-firmenich PostNL) answered questions from journalists at a press conference.
What does this victory mean to you?
She represents the glorious uncertainty of sport. No matter how hard we work, no matter how hard we work… Above all, I believe that there are sometimes lovely signs from destiny. This success comes at a time when I have mourned all ambition in general. I’ll let you know, my swimsuit won’t change anything for the future (smile). This morning, I was in a totally different spirit from the one that accompanied me on my first ten Tour starts. There, I was released. I didn’t think I would turn earth and sky if it didn’t work… With these many big contested loops, I gained experience and learned to put the issues into perspective. This victory is the crowning achievement of maturity.
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“I saw that everyone was suffering…”
In the past, you would certainly not have undertaken such an attack. How did it come to you?
I felt good all day, I had no stress. I could see that everyone in the peloton was suffering because of the heat. For my part, I have been training in these conditions recently. So, when I saw that we were one minute away and that we were on the difficulty with the most percentages, I knew that I was in a position to get in. I played my best.
Your first three successes on the Grande Boucle were solo. This time, you shared it with a teammate. What does this change?
It brings something extra. Today, Frank (Van Den Broek) won, as did I. We share this jersey! To think that this is his first Tour de France and that it was not planned at the beginning of the year. Without him, I would not have been able to achieve all this. I owe him a lot…
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The yellow jersey? “No real hope of keeping it”
Once you crossed the finish line, we saw that you had difficulty achieving. Is this still the case?
I feel like I’m in a washing machine. I only had five minutes to change. I think I need to call my family to realize what just happened. It was just pure cycling, something you couldn’t really hope for.
You said that this taking of the yellow jersey does not change your ambition on this Tour. How far do you think you’ll be able to keep it?
I ran like it was a classic today. I know the San Luca hill, which we have to climb twice in the finale tomorrow. I don’t really have any hope of keeping it. We’ll see…
Could this success call into question your decision to stop cycling in June 2025?
No, it’s the opposite. I had a hard time on the bike. Liège-Bastogne-Liège (where he finished second) was a beautiful moment. This is a second one this year. It was a dream to wear the yellow jersey.
