There seem to be two winners at this Tour de France. Chris Froome all-but sealed overall victory on Saturday, but such has been the Sky rider's dominance over the past three weeks, it almost felt like a separate race had been taking place behind him. In that respect, Romain Bardet, second overall, felt every bit a winner
Indeed, there were two 'winner's' press conferences in Morzine's Palais des Sports after the penultimate stage; Froome fulfilled his duties but special arrangements were made for Bardet to meet with the media also – as had been the case two years ago when Jean-Christophe Péraud finished second behind Vincenzo Nibali.
That's what happens when you're a Frenchman carrying the hopes of a nation that has been undernourished in terms of success at its flagship sporting event in recent years. There hasn't been a home winner of La Grande Boucle since Bernard Hinault in 1986, and there had been no home stage winner this year until Bardet's pièce de résistance on Friday, which put him into the second place that he was able to defend in Morzine.
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"This was unimaginable for me. I'm struggling to believe it still," said Bardet as he sat down in a room – an ice hockey rink in fact – full of good will. "Everything has gone by so quickly since yesterday and I think it's going to take a bit of time to let it sink in.
"Each year I meet with you before the Tour, and I say I'm going to have a better Tour than last year. I believe it but I can't be certain when I say it. Each year it's happened, and I'm aware of the positive dynamic and of how lucky I am."
'Heroic' yelled L'Equipe's headline on Saturday, the morning after Bardet had reinvigorated what some were labelling a lifeless Tour by launching an instinctive attack that yielded the stage win and a leap from fifth to second overall.
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