The reaction to the France 2 microphone from Romain Bardet, winner of the first stage and first wearer of the yellow jersey in this 2024 Tour de France: “I really find it hard to believe it. It wasn’t premeditated at all. I ran without any stress. In the peloton, it was difficult, but I was able to reap the benefits of my training in the heat in recent weeks.
It was very hard until the end. I owe a lot to Frank (Van Den Broek). This jersey is shared. I had this stage in mind for a very long time, in the team we had given up on it. I’m very lucky that it was successful. I attacked on the hardest difficulty of the day, but Frank was huge behind. This is his first year as a pro. What a dream scenario. It’s incredible that it could have worked.
Every time I came to the Tour, I was in a tunnel because of the pressure and expectations linked to the general classification. It ate away at me. I’m lucky, as the leader of this team, that I’m allowed to go hard one day and do the gruppetto the next day to recover. At 33, it’s never too late. I want to finish at the top, but this achievement is another sign that it’s the right time to stop. It crowns my journey on the Tour for so many years, despite many frustrations. I rode the bike I love, with a great team, and you have to take advantage of it. »
