Romain Bardet achieved one of the greatest feats of his career on Saturday in Rimini by becoming the Yellow Jersey of the Tour de France in the year of his last participation, at the age of 33. Here are some figures to remember about his Grandes Boucles.
196
It took Romain Bardet a lot of perseverance before he wore the yellow jersey for the first time, on Saturday on the podium of the first stage of the Tour, in Rimini. Indeed, to stand out from Raymond Poulidor, never in yellow on the Grande Boucle despite 8 podiums in Paris, the Auvergnat had to compete in 196 stages, he who started in the event at 22 years old, in 2013.
7
Romain Bardet won his 4th stage of the Tour de France on Saturday. But the last time the Brioude native raised his arms in victory was almost 7 years ago (6 years, 11 months and 16 days to be precise). On 13 July 2017, the Auvergne climber dominated all the favourites, starting with Christopher Froome, to win at the top of the terrible ramp leading to the Peyragudes altiport. A tough victory. His most notable on the Tour.
Romain Bardet’s big dates on the Tour de France after his double blow in Rimini
800
This Saturday, June 29, could have been the 800th day without a victory for Romain Bardet, but the leader of the DSM-firmenish defied the odds in Rimini, resisting the return of the peloton with the help of his teammate Frank Van den Broek. The fact remains that the Auvergnat had not won a race since April 22, 2022 and his overall victory at the Tour of the Alps. And his last success in a road race dates back to August 28, 2021, during the 14th stage of the Tour of Spain, at the end of a long breakaway (153 kilometers).
Frank Van den Broek and Romain Bardet (right) scored a rare double on the first stage of the Tour, for Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL, this Saturday in Rimini. PHOTO JASPER JACOBS/AFP
33
In years, the age of Romain Bardet, born November 9, 1990 in Brioude. On Saturday, it was at 33 years old and precisely 232 days old that he found his Holy Grail by winning the first yellow jersey of his long career, which began among the pros at the age of 21, at AG2R La Mondiale.
3
Like the number of years it took to see a Frenchman win the first stage of the Tour again. Before Bardet, it was another Auvergnat who achieved this feat. Julian Alaphilippe won in Landerneau on June 26, 2021 by breaking away from the peloton on the final climb. The next day, Mathieu Van der Poel took the yellow jersey from the Montluçon native of the Deceuninck-Quick-Step. Will Bardet keep his beautiful jersey for longer?
80
In kilometers per hour, the speed of Romain Bardet and Frank Van den Broek, measured by sensors, in the last descent. Not surprising when you know the downhill qualities of the Auvergnat, one of the best in this exercise. Giving their all to resist the return of the peloton launched after them, the leading duo maintained an average of 53 km/h in the last 30 kilometers. And the two DSM riders finally kept only 5 seconds on the finish line out of the minute and a half they still had at the bottom of the descent.
Tour de France: victory and first yellow jersey for Romain Bardet, in Rimini, at the cost of an enormous feat
11
Like the number of Tour de Frances in which Romain Bardet has started. Auvergnat will not go further. He announced a week ago that this 2024 Tour would be his last and that he would end his road career at the end of the next Critérium du Dauphiné, his favorite race, in June 2025. He will devote the second part of his last season at the Gravel races, with the ambition of competing in the world championships of the discipline, in Nice.
Romain Bardet congratulates his young teammate Frank Van den Broek, after their feat achieved in Rimini, on the first stage of the 2024 Tour. PHOTO POOL LUCA BETTINI/ SPRINT CYCLING AGENCY
2
Romain Bardet has twice stood on the podium of the general classification of the Tour, on the Champs-Élysées. In 2016, the year of his 2nd place, 4 minutes behind Chris Froome. Then during the following edition, when he finished 3rd, beaten again by Froome and also beaten by the Colombian Rigoreto Uran, runner-up to the Briton. The climber from Haute-Loire returned to the final podium of the Tour in 2019, when he won the polka dot jersey. He had first stood there in 2014 to receive the team winner’s prize, with AG2R La Mondiale and he returned in 2015, after being named super combative of the Tour.
Raphael Rochette
