Romain Bardet will ride two Grand Tours in the same season for the first time in his career in 2017. While the Frenchman has underlined his desire to have a crack at the Giro d’Italia before heading to the Tour de France, the AG2R-La Mondiale team management are leaning towards the Vuelta a España.
Sitting down with a group of reporters, including Cyclingnews, above an ice rink in the Alpine town of Vaujany, where the AG2R-La Mondiale team has gathered for its first off-season camp, Bardet spoke of his desire to “stimulate myself to continue progressing and avoid falling into a certain routine.”
The Tour de France is the only Grand Tour Bardet has known. Now 26, he has ridden every edition since his second year as a professional in 2013 and has progressed steadily, making a significant breakthrough this year by finishing runner-up behind Chris Froome. That performance raised expectations among supporters French hungry for a successor to Bernard Hinault even if he recently claimed he’s not yet ready to win it.
As a French rider on a French team with a French sponsor, missing the Tour de France isn’t a viable option for Bardet, at least for now. The question is which Grand Tour will be chosen to complement it.
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“I really want to go to the Giro,” said Bardet, stressing that it’s “50-50” at this moment in time and that a final decision will be taken in December.
“It would mean lots of reconnaissance and training camps and it remains to be seen whether it’s compatible with the Tour. I know what I owe to the Tour and the love that I have for the race, so it’s tough to say to myself that I might be below my best there. It’s a tough one.”
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