Romain Bardet Discussion Thread

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

Bardet has no reason to be angry at Urán really, its up to Bardet and Ag2R to win this race. Urán can follow and pull pull a rabbit in the TT, 2014 style. Bardet can't and is the bigger rider who is expected to do something

Jean-Christophe Péraud wasn't an exciting rider, was probably one of the weakest 2nd in history, but he did attack uphill.

I'm still waiting (even hoping) for Uran.

Urán thinks this is his win conditions and I can't blame him. If he begins to attack he will expose himself unless he feels really well. I think Bardet is just frustrated that the chances to do something are now just 1 stage and he passed the biggest one on stage 15 in Massif Central.

 

[Tonton]

Re: Re:

Romain irritated on French TV because of the climbing version of Simon Gerrans.

So he's irritated, really? That's good. Should be more irritated at himself for not pushing to the limit on stage 15. That was a proper chance.

Yes, pointing fingers is useless. Romain is now placing fake attacks to"wow" the July fans. That's all excuses. Besides the AG2R attack that you mention, the rest was BS. He's not attacking Froome: talks like Tarzan, rides like Jane. He's riding for second. I'm disappointed. Maybe he saved the best for last...I hope. Otherwise, this TdF will still be a great performance, but one that will not answer the question: is Romain Bardet a true top-tier GT rider?

He's so close...he can't hold back any longer. When you're this close, you got to give it all. I thought that he was this kind of guy. The kamikaze image was misleading: kamikaze when you're five minutes down in the GC is one thing. When you're close, it's a different story...Dawg will chase you. I hope that I'm wrong, but right now I see brilliant PR, to be fair excellent riding, but I don't see Vino .

 

[vedrafjord]

The last two Tours have been weird - close yet anticlimactic, and I think Bardet is indirectly responsible. ASO want to give someone a chance of beating Froome, and nobody else can time trial (except now Dumoulin, so next year might see some changes) so they've put in few time trial km and lots of descent finishes after the final climb to help him out. This also means small gaps and GC groups arriving at the line together. There's nowhere for big gaps to come from - it's like 2011 all over again. It doesn't help that the 'heads of state' (© Liggett) are at a similar climbing level to each other.

 

[KyoGrey]

If Bardet wanted to win Tour de France, he should've attacked earlier in the Galibier or even before with a plan involving teammates.

His attacks today (and other days) are good but not champions attacks.

 

[IndianCyclist]

Re: Re:

Romain irritated on French TV because of the climbing version of Simon Gerrans.

So he's irritated, really? That's good. Should be more irritated at himself for not pushing to the limit on stage 15. That was a proper chance.

Yes, pointing fingers is useless. Romain is now placing fake attacks to"wow" the July fans. That's all excuses. Besides the AG2R attack that you mention, the rest was BS. He's not attacking Froome: talks like Tarzan, rides like Jane. He's riding for second. I'm disappointed. Maybe he saved the best for last...I hope. Otherwise, this TdF will still be a great performance, but one that will not answer the question: is Romain Bardet a true top-tier GT rider?

He's so close...he can't hold back any longer. When you're this close, you got to give it all. I thought that he was this kind of guy. The kamikaze image was misleading: kamikaze when you're five minutes down in the GC is one thing. When you're close, it's a different story...Dawg will chase you. I hope that I'm wrong, but right now I see brilliant PR, to be fair excellent riding, but I don't see Vino .

I cant believe that i am defending him but if there is anything to be blame, it the parcours or whoever designed them. Bardet's strength are his climbing and his descending and his knowledge of local French roads. He did do a demon descent on stage 9 and gained the maximum time of 30s on Froome ever in this tdf without a mechanical but some idiot probably due to commercial interests did not want to finish at the end of the downhill and therefore put 10k of flat to reach a point of significance for the town.Net result a rude shock for Bardet and Ag2R when they were chased down by Vino's team and after that the vino went out of all their plans. They had Froome on the ropes in stage 12 so probably if stage 13 had an MTF, it may have finished him off but once again a slow downhill put paid to any efforts that could be made. IMO this tour was lost before it even began because of the design

 

[IndianCyclist]

Re:

The last two Tours have been weird - close yet anticlimactic, and I think Bardet is indirectly responsible. ASO want to give someone a chance of beating Froome, and nobody else can time trial (except now Dumoulin, so next year might see some changes) so they've put in few time trial km and lots of descent finishes after the final climb to help him out. This also means small gaps and GC groups arriving at the line together. There's nowhere for big gaps to come from - it's like 2011 all over again. It doesn't help that the 'heads of state' (© Liggett) are at a similar climbing level to each other.

You correctly said it. ASO, journalists, TV pundits and even former riders are waxing lyrical about the closeness of this Tour but what they forget is that closeness necessarily does not mean exciting without good attacking racing. For an example of close yet exciting just look at Vuelta 2012

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

The last two Tours have been weird - close yet anticlimactic, and I think Bardet is indirectly responsible. ASO want to give someone a chance of beating Froome, and nobody else can time trial (except now Dumoulin, so next year might see some changes) so they've put in few time trial km and lots of descent finishes after the final climb to help him out. This also means small gaps and GC groups arriving at the line together. There's nowhere for big gaps to come from - it's like 2011 all over again. It doesn't help that the 'heads of state' (© Liggett) are at a similar climbing level to each other.

I agree that the ASO has tried to deliver the anti Froome course but they never usually do the same thing two years in a row so next year I think the TTs become longer and once again, Prudhomme will prefer to see Dumoulin win, than Froome. I think the Sky hate is not going anywhere especially after the Wiggins fiasco and Brailsford's behavior. I wouldn't say it is reaching US Postal heights but the controversy about Sky and their success continues to simmer. Prudhomme looked incredibly happy after Evans won in 2011 and his reasoning was obvious rightly or wrongly and I think he would feel the same way now if Froome was beaten. Armstrong's success became stale for many reasons and Froome's has become the same for many fans and other teams. But I don't see this Tour having much in common with the 2011 race apart from some of the GC riders crashing out. The routes were very different and the Schlecks only had themselves to blame for not putting Evans under more pressure. They achieved their goal of putting both of themselves on the podium but in doing so missed the win.

Froome has had an off year by his standards and that plus the route have made the race closer. I don't think the other riders have improved so much except for Uran returning to what he used to be able to do but normally that wouldn't be enough to beat Froome but here he is very close on GC. What will be interesting is seeing how Froome performs in the Vuelta and how he goes next year. Is this the beginning of Froome's decline or does the old Froome reappear next year ? The Dauphine showed some cracks and how much has Froome really improved since the Dauphine ? Not much I don't think but Porte and Fuglsang are gone so you can't compare them, Aru had an interrupted preparation and was supposed to ride the Giro and Bardet seems to be at a similar level to last year which makes me think it's more about Froome being off his game than anyone else really improving except for Uran.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

The last two Tours have been weird - close yet anticlimactic, and I think Bardet is indirectly responsible. ASO want to give someone a chance of beating Froome, and nobody else can time trial (except now Dumoulin, so next year might see some changes) so they've put in few time trial km and lots of descent finishes after the final climb to help him out. This also means small gaps and GC groups arriving at the line together. There's nowhere for big gaps to come from - it's like 2011 all over again. It doesn't help that the 'heads of state' (© Liggett) are at a similar climbing level to each other.

You correctly said it. ASO, journalists, TV pundits and even former riders are waxing lyrical about the closeness of this Tour but what they forget is that closeness necessarily does not mean exciting without good attacking racing. For an example of close yet exciting just look at Vuelta 2012

Indeed. Much rather a race thats effectively over but with great and exciting racing than a close race where riders ride for seconds.

 

[hrotha]

TV pundits and journos are one of the biggest problems in the sport IMO.

 

[Red Rick]

Let's havef 21 bunch sprints and no bonifications. Gon b so clowse

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

TV pundits and journos are one of the biggest problems in the sport IMO.

Some are just downright stupid, other needs to say what they say in order to keep their job I think. Cant have a commentator who is negative all the time.

But in the end, Prudhomme got what he wanted and it went as many had predicted. Make an easy route so the race at least will seem to be closer and more unpredictable, but with the same outcome. The media, most of it, will applaud Tour de France for that and we could see the same formula next year.

 

[Alexandre B.]

Bardet was really exhausted at the finish line.

Armchair climbers wanted him to do more than his legs could do, but Froome showed he was unbreakable and his team simply stronger. No shame in that.

 

[Matteo.]

In the last two days he did what he could. Tried it but it was not enough. There is no shame on this

 

[hrotha]

Was he ever going to put the 1:30-2:00 he needed on Froome even in a best case scenario by attacking when he did? Nope.

Therefore, he didn't really try.

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

Was he ever going to put the 1:30-2:00 he needed on Froome even in a best case scenario by attacking when he did? Nope.

Therefore, he didn't really try.

So he exhausted himself by not trying...........

 

[Tonton]

Re:

Bardet was really exhausted at the finish line.

Armchair climbers wanted him to do more than his legs could do, but Froome showed he was unbreakable and his team simply stronger. No shame in that.

Armchair climbers? If you refer to the expectations that Romain would win or try dying, well, it's Bardet and Lavenu who ran their mouth...and in the end that's what makes it disappointing.

AG2R went to the front today and the July fans and armchair climbers will remember it as an "attack"...it wasn't an attack. And they accomplished nothing, ran themselves to the ground.

I agree that Froome is stronger than Bardet and the rest, but not that he was unbreakable. He's not a great vintage of Froome...

 

[DFA123]

Re:

Bardet was really exhausted at the finish line.

Armchair climbers wanted him to do more than his legs could do, but Froome showed he was unbreakable and his team simply stronger. No shame in that.

This is just nonsense. Of course he was exhausted at the finish, he'd just sprinted for the last 300m following a threshold effort. Froome showed he was unbreakable to a weak attack 3km from the finish, that's all. No-one tested him from 8km for example, giving themselves the chance to isolate him and then attack again later. Even though Bardet's team set it up perfectly to do that. A really cowardly performance today.

 

[Netserk]

I guess if riders are exhausted after the Ans sprint in Liege, it's unreasonable to expect any kinds of attacks before that...

 

[Alexandre B.]

Re: Re:

Bardet was really exhausted at the finish line.

Armchair climbers wanted him to do more than his legs could do, but Froome showed he was unbreakable and his team simply stronger. No shame in that.

This is just nonsense. Of course he was exhausted at the finish, he'd just sprinted for the last 300m following a threshold effort. Froome showed he was unbreakable to a weak attack 3km from the finish, that's all. No-one tested him from 8km for example, giving themselves the chance to isolate him and then attack again later. Even though Bardet's team set it up perfectly to do that. A really cowardly performance today.

A cowardly performance... You're laughable, really. Pro cycling isn't a videogame, I'm sure you're aware of that.

What should've he done? Exploding himself up to the climb while being chased by 4 Sky and the climbing version of Simon Gerrans? His attack 3km from the finish was is level. Acknowledge that, once and for all.

 

[staubsauger]

Time to win the Giro next year!

 

[Matteo.]

As we have said more times, the chance had come to stage 15 and he lost the race there. For me if he had attacked before it would have changed little or nothing. Froome was superior: you saw that when the dawg has attacked, bardet was in trouble to recover and only the help of uran he has come back

 

[Son of Amsterhammer]

I often wonder if some people that post here actually ride bikes up hills? You cannot go balls to the wall whenever the mood strikes you.

 

[Arked]

Re:

I often wonder if some people that post here actually ride bikes up hills? You cannot go balls to the wall whenever the mood strikes you.

That's exactly what I think every time I read any mountain stage thread.

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

I often wonder if some people that post here actually ride bikes up hills? You cannot go balls to the wall whenever the mood strikes you.

Good point'

Dare I say great point

Need I mention https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcasm

 

[RedheadDane]

Sometimes you just aren't strong enough.