What an achievement of Romain Bardet (dsm-firmenich PostNL) on the first stage of the Tour de France. Having started out of time, the Frenchman returned to the breakaway. He then let go of all his companions except his teammate Frank Van den Broek. The duo of dsm-firmenich PostNL resisted the return of the peloton, and the young Dutchman took Romain Bardet until victory. For his last Tour, The bard offers himself a fourth stage victory and will wear the yellow jersey on Sunday.
The joy and reaction of Romain Bardet after his victory
“He deserves it as much as I do.”
The stage winner first returned to the moment when he decided to attack: “I had instinct, I didn’t really know the course, I saw a lot of riders suffering, I knew we had Frank (Van den Broek), who is very strong, in front. I went for it, I had nothing to lose, at worst I would lose 20 minutes and it’s over.” The duo from the Dutch team then had to resist the peloton. “Honestly, he deserves it as much as I do because he pulled me on the flat at the end, he really is a great talent, I don’t have the words, I still can’t believe it. With the headwind at the end we were struggling, it was hell. The scenario is incredible, I would never have allowed myself to dream of such a scenario” said The bardall smiles upon arrival.
The Frenchman believes he has changed his mentality and his way of approaching the Grande Boucle: “We started the Tour with a great state of mind, it’s the first time I’ve smiled before the start of a Tour de France, not to be in the general classification, it takes a huge amount of pressure off me. I’m finally myself, racing without ulterior motives, it was fabulous.” For the first time in his career, the Frenchman will wear the yellow jersey. “Wearing the yellow jersey has always been a career goal and honestly I had mourned a little bit. It’s sublime” he concluded.
