Some good points here: and I can be somewhat objective. Being a Pinot fan doesn't mean that I dislike him. Having said that, I have always claimed, I still do, and hopefully in two weeks time you will all see that Thibaut Pinot is a better rider, period.
I wish Romain Bardet the best, and compared to my chouchou, he has some big one-day race results that no one can dismiss, including me. He's a heck of a bike rider! Overrated? That's journo stuff stirring the pot for the most part. The guy goes about his business, trains hard, races hard, and yes '19 is a bad vintage. I tend to smell the rat when a rider is always delivering; excuse me but I have been burnt a few times already. I leave it at that per forum rules.
Yes, his ITT sucks. Yes, AG2R gathers talent but fails to build a team around him. Yes, I agree that the Virenque plan a few posts ago makes absolute sense. But please don't pile-up on him. Romain Bardet didn't climb the Eiffel Tower and scream through a megaphone that he was the best GT rider in the World. He does his best, and his best is not enough to be on or near the top right now. He will bounce back: feeling shame as he said will ignite the fire, he will want revenge, some good may come out of it.
To my last post and my original point, and yes it depends on the design, after years of pressure and Tours, a Giro or Giro/Vuelta year may give him that refresh. Romain needs it. I don't see him bounce back in this year's Tour. So far down with the ITT left, it would take way to many contenders having meltdowns or bad luck to top-5.