the essential
The 2024 cycling year, which is coming to an end, was marked by the unchallenged domination of the three-time winner of the Tour de France.
An air of twilight, for Romain Bardet. The French cyclist, 34 years old, former yellow jersey of the Tour de France (2024) and best climber of the 2019 Grande Boucle, is preparing to deliver his last pedal strokes within the professional peloton.
Very popular, the native of Brioude (Haute-Loire) takes a lucid look at the evolution of his sport, and has seen the birth of champions like Tadej Pogacar, the Slovenian revealed in 2020, already holder of three Tours de France at the age of 26 .
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The year 2024 will have been marked by its stamp: 25 victories including the Tour de France, Italy, Lombardy, the title of world champion but also the Strade Bianche or even Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
Asked by Eurosport, Romain Bardet gave his feelings on Tadej Pogacar’s exceptional year. “I don’t know what to answer. I ignore it. Honestly, it’s not the same weight category. I’m surprised but, at the same time, he put together the immense potential that we saw in him. Apparently, he didn’t know how to train. Now he knows” says Bardet.
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He continues: “He puts together a potential that we have seen in recent years on his first two Tour de France which he wins in the class. He is so superior… It’s difficult to explain. I can’t pass not much time looking for explanations, even being contemporary and in the industry, we have the feeling of not really being one of his adversaries.”
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Romain Bardet is then questioned about a practice, used in particular by Pogacar during the last Tour de France and whose contours are still unclear: the inhalation of carbon monoxide. “There is so much research being done with the idea of performance optimization… […] It’s not surprising that there are certain researchers, certain teams, cycling players who look elsewhere. There will always be a desire to seek competitive advantages.”
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Before concluding: “These processes are documented and it is now up to the authorities to decide whether or not to prohibit them, to carry out checks. It is completely vain in such a competitive world with so many economic issues to believe that this “It is the goodwill and impeccable ethics of the riders and teams that will allow healthy regulation of the environment. This is totally illusory.”
