Romain Bardet has eased through the first three days of the Critérium du Dauphiné, which he has said marks the start of a "new season" after a disappointing start to his 2016 campaign. But after a trio of stages for the sprinters and breakaway men, where he has basked in the home support of his Auvergne region, things get serious for the AG2R La Mondiale rider on Wednesday with the stage 4 time trial.
And Bardet has plenty to prove against the clock. Far from his natural strength, his one time trial this year on the new Factor Slick bike saw him drop from third to 15th overall on the final day of the Vuelta al País Vasco. He lost 2:10 to fellow Dauphiné contender Alejandro Valverde over 27.7km, just four kilometres longer than Wednesday's test in Isère.
That has been chalked down as a one-off, with suggestions he warmed up too vigorously. In any case, the Frenchman deemed it wise to head out on the Friday before the start of the Dauphiné to recon the course.
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"I'm not the best person to ask about courses, but there are no great surprises. There are plenty of false flats, especially downhill, so it's not what I prefer – it's one for the big rouleurs, which is going to create a hierarchy," he said.
"But I've had a good look at it and have done a lot of work on my time trialling since the start of the year."
Bardet concedes he will simply be trying to "limit the losses" and knows that, despite his favoured mountainous terrain coming towards the end of the race, he'll be heading there on the back foot. Chris Froome, Richie Porte, and Alejandro Valverde, for starters, are all expected to go considerably quicker.
'I'm not scared of being in top shape at the Dauphiné'
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