For the first time in his career, Romain Bardet will wear the yellow jersey of the leader of the Tour de France. This, thanks to the major feat he achieved alongside his teammate Frank Van den Broek to pocket the first stage of this Grande Boucle 2024, this Saturday, in Rimini. The Brivadois had trouble containing his emotion at the finish.
Romain Bardet after his victory during the 1st stage of the Tour de France 2024: “It just goes to show that there are still unexpected and sublime moments happening. We attacked the Tour de France in a great state of mind, it was the first time I smiled before a big start. Not playing for the general classification takes enormous pressure off me. I was finally running myself without a second thought, it was fabulous. I had the instinct. I didn’t really know the course, but I saw a lot of runners suffering while I felt really good. I knew that up front, we had Frank Van den Broek. I had nothing to lose, at worst I would lose 20 minutes, so I went for it. Frank was super strong. It also re-motivated him that I was back in front. We both stayed and honestly, he deserves the victory as much as I do because he pulled me to the flat at the end, he’s really a great talent. It was crazy with the headwind at the end. We were hitting 46-47 km/h on the dual carriageway. It was hellish. But the scenario is incredible, I would never have allowed myself to dream of such a scenario.
Tour de France: a victory and a first yellow jersey for Romain Bardet, in Rimini, at the cost of an enormous feat
The yellow jersey ? It has always been one of the goals of my career. Honestly, I had mourned it a little bit because I was often too close to be let go. Afterwards, I really targeted today’s stage (this Saturday), with the idea of going all out. I just didn’t think about it. Every time I’ve followed my instinct on a bike, it’s worked out pretty well for me. »
