Romain Bardet Discussion Thread

[Pantani_lives]

Bardet isn't past his peak. He's among the best climbers and he's doing well in one-day races. He has become a more complete rider. However when he finished second in the Tour some people already thought he would be the next French Tour winner, which probably won't happen. His time trial is too weak and he doesn't take much time back in the mountains against his main rivals. He's almost a certainty for the top 7, but winning seems hardly possible.

 

[Red Rick]

Bardet isn't past his peak

His peak is just overrated as hell.

 

[Tonton]

Re:

Bardet isn't past his peak

His peak is just overrated as hell.

In all fairness, we can find many riders who accomplished much less than he did and get way more hype.

Being a perennial top-5 or top-10 Tour guy is nothing to be ashamed off. One has to be exceptional to do it. And fans or journos take it to the next level. It happens all the time. In every sport. To name one and quote Netserk, "Neymar is like the Black Album, really good but way overrated" .

I miss Netserk.

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

Bardet isn't past his peak

His peak is just overrated as hell.

In all fairness, we can find many riders who accomplished much less than he did and get way more hype.

Being a perennial top-5 or top-10 Tour guy is nothing to be ashamed off. One has to be exceptional to do it. And fans or journos take it to the next level. It happens all the time. In every sport. To name one and quote Netserk, "Neymar is like the Black Album, really good but way overrated" .

I miss Netserk.

Some people get over excited when a French grand tour rider comes along : Rolland, Moreau etc.......but he has two podiums albeit one year, behind Uran. He is a good rider no doubt but since his podiums i'm not really convinced he is getting closer to winning one. I didn't expect Yates to win a GT either by now but he has but a Vuelta is not a Tour or Giro for that matter. I think Bardet's level is similar to Pinot's but as usual you only get so many chances in sport before the next generation come along re Bernal etc...this is a good year for Pinot and Bardet to perform well with no Dumoulin or Froome, no Roglic, Thomas not the Thomas of last year by the looks of it, Quintana as convincing as ever, Porte even less convincing pre Tour, Nibali backing up from the Giro, Fuglsang in form but GT riding isn't his strength normally. Usually with this scenario I would expect at least one of the French riders to podium. Their biggest rivals seem to be Bernal, Yates and maybe Thomas. It's a good opportunity to hit the podium again for both of them but I have my usual doubts and once again the time trial looms large.

 

[Robert5091]

That's why he needs to attack Le Tour. He has nothing to prove. He's one that should be inspired by Carapaz.

He needs then a Landa to distract the GC guys.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

Bardet isn't past his peak

His peak is just overrated as hell.

In all fairness, we can find many riders who accomplished much less than he did and get way more hype.

Being a perennial top-5 or top-10 Tour guy is nothing to be ashamed off. One has to be exceptional to do it. And fans or journos take it to the next level. It happens all the time. In every sport. To name one and quote Netserk, "Neymar is like the Black Album, really good but way overrated" .

I miss Netserk.

I believe he decided to stop at 19999 posts.

I shoudl go forth and delete the first 10.000

 

[Alexandre B.]

Re:

Bardet isn't past his peak. He's among the best climbers and he's doing well in one-day races. He has become a more complete rider. However when he finished second in the Tour some people already thought he would be the next French Tour winner, which probably won't happen. His time trial is too weak and he doesn't take much time back in the mountains against his main rivals. He's almost a certainty for the top 7, but winning seems hardly possible.

When I see what Fuglsang (a rider I never believed to be superior) is doing this year, I still have hope.

 

[Simurgh]

I can't say I'm surprised about his performance today, but it is still kind of sad to see him in this state - a state that he has been in since last year really (with the WC as a positive outlier). I hope he considers the polka dots and stage hunting as a more attractive course of action than fighting for a low top-10 spot.

 

[Alexandre B.]

I hope he will shake his moronic team staff once more and set himself more enjoyable objectives.

 

[yaco]

Has been a bit off all year - needs to change his program and ride the Giro in 2020.

 

[ppanther92]

Re:

I can't say I'm surprised about his performance today, but it is still kind of sad to see him in this state - a state that he has been in since last year really (with the WC as a positive outlier). I hope he considers the polka dots and stage hunting as a more attractive course of action than fighting for a low top-10 spot.

Yes, but why though? Sone insights?

 

[Tonton]

Re:

Has been a bit off all year - needs to change his program and ride the Giro in 2020.

I think that you hit it on the head. Romain needs to hit the refresh.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Predictable result. Normally he is a good climber with a bad TT who is incredible consistent, now just a mediocre climber. The only time he was somewhat close to the win was in 2017 which had a horrible field considering all the abandons. Simply doesn't have the top level and never has, unfortunately.

 

[Simurgh]

Re: Re:

I can't say I'm surprised about his performance today, but it is still kind of sad to see him in this state - a state that he has been in since last year really (with the WC as a positive outlier). I hope he considers the polka dots and stage hunting as a more attractive course of action than fighting for a low top-10 spot.

Yes, but why though? Sone insights?

I just saw on the website (cyclingnews), that he got himself an infection in the Dauphine, which affected his preparation. He says he has a "leg problem", which in this case means "I don't have the legs" rather than in injury. http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bardet-slips-on-first-tour-de-france-mountain-test/

Either way, the infection doesn't help explain what happened before the Dauphine. I think, that it is partly that Bardet has been overrated. He is a solid top-5 contender (always thereabouts), and on his good days close to the very best, but I think that his podiums in 2016 and 2017 made some people consider him something he is not; a potential Grand Tour winner. He is too one-dimensional for that. I just looked up the 2016 Tour results, and in the time trial he lost a whopping 3 minutes to Froome! And I think we all remember the 2017 time trial in Marseille, where he was so horrible, that he almost threw was podium placing away. In hindsight, I think his best chance of winning a GT was that Tour in 2017, where the level was rather low - he couldn't beat a sub-par Froome, who was riding on 85-90% that Tour. He couldn't beat him in the mountains, and certainly not in the time trial, which he didn't bother to practice. I don't think that what we saw yesterday was his ceiling nor his true level. But I also don't think that he will podium the Tour, and perhaps not even a GT at all, because he is 2nd tier on the climbs, and has always been several levels below the best in the time trials.

Partly I also think it is because of the increasing depth of the GC field. A couple of years ago you had the big 4 (Froome, Contador, Nibali and Quintana) and then the best of the rest (a level or two below like Bardet, Pinot, Valverde, Aru, Purito and so on). Now Froome is/was still on top, but there are so many podium contenders now. Some of them young guns (Yates bros, Carapaz, Buchmann, Bernal soon enough), others that have kicked it up a notch (Kruijswijk, Landa, Fuglsang, Thomas!, even Pinot it seems). Bardet haven't taken a step up, but has been standing still. As yaco and Tonton have said, he needs to spice things up a bit and ride the Giro - sometimes change in itself can be reinvigorating!

 

[Alexandre B.]

Re:

Predictable result. Normally he is a good climber with a bad TT who is incredible consistent, now just a mediocre climber. The only time he was somewhat close to the win was in 2017 which had a horrible field considering all the abandons. Simply doesn't have the top level and never has, unfortunately.

His 2018 was incredibly consistent at high-level.

 

[staubsauger]

Nah, he's not that bad. His 2015 - 2017 level was quite good, although he lost precious time due to his heat stroke in 2015 and couldn't compete for the top 5.

He's a handy climber. Great punch as well, since hestarted off as a hilly classics contender. Very stylish on the bike as well. Dancing on the pedals uphill! Good descender. It's only his time trial that's horrible.

Which indicates that Bardet just shouldn't be a general classification rider in first instance. He should ride for the polka dot jersey, solo mountain stage victories and then get a 2-5th spot with panache along the way! :geek: Just like Virenque used to do back in the 90s. Bardet should work on his climbing again and forget all about the TT. Now, he's got this two podium placements, but despite 2 stage victories as well none of these archivements come along with any kind of legacy. They're kinda lame successes compared to for example Virenque. That's where I strongly disagree with Tonton. Bardet has no legend status already.

I said it multiple times before, but again. Prudhomme & Gouvenou have not only ruined the whole Tour de France with their stupid routes, but also Bardet's career in some way. Yes, he's got two rather meaningless podiums and thus has been hyped up as a potential winner. But that's it. Include two real time trials. Make Bardet lose up to 7 minutes before the race has even entered the high mountains. Now, the petit Frenchman needs to go on longe range attacks like Rasmussen and snatch epic stage wins, because Sky / Ineos doesn't need to keep him under control. He won't ever win the Tour de France anyway. But that way he earns the polka dot jersey and a top 5 spot with legendary performances in the Alps & Pyrenees! Entertains us. Builds up a legacy. Instead of keeping this fake close to win yellow narrative by including less than 30 kilometers of time trialing.


This year his shape is atrocious so far, but that might chance right in time for the Pyrenees & Alps! A stage win either on the Tourmalet or the Galibier stage should save his season and set a successful new pattern. Most likely he would win a second stage elsewhere as well then. But Bardet really needs to ship additional time, up to 6-7 minutes in the TT and before now and forget about the GC in first instance. Because he's gonna get a top 5 nevertheless with 2 successful escapes. Better than the 6th spot from last years Tour.

But can he understand? Maybe Michael Rasmussen needs to have a little coffee chat with Romain and explain him how you ride a Tour de France if your TT is atrocious and you've already lost time in the first week. AG2R also have a good team to send additional 2-3 guys up the road with Bardet!

First Bardet needs to overcome his problems anyway. Don't hesitate. Keep calm and relax. The polka dot jersey is still up for grabs. Bardet only needs to chill and needs to be back at his peak level for the Pyrenees & Alps to outclimb Barguil! Otherwise it's a lost year indeed.

 

[IndianCyclist]

The TDF is actually a curse for the French GC riders. There were no wins in the first half of the season because u were training for the Grand Boucle and if u put in too much effort u will be tired for the TDF. If something goes wrong during the TDF, u cant quit becos this was the main goal of the season, ur french, ur sponsors are french. After the TDF u have no results becos u were too tired. As a result the whole season is kaput.

 

[Chrispol]

https://www.lequipe.fr/Cyclisme-sur-route/Actualites/Tour-de-france-romain-bardet-a-eu-un-sentiment-de-honte-vis-a-vis-de-ses-equipiers/1039280

In this article we learn something interesting.

L'encadrement d'AG2R, qui peaufine un plan B où Bardet sera encouragé à passer à l'attaque dans les massifs intermédiaires dès ce week-end

The management of AG2R, refines a plan B where Bardet will be encouraged to go on the attack in the medium mountains, starting this week-end

I don't believe much AG2R but Allez Romain !

 

[staubsauger]

https://www.lequipe.fr/Cyclisme-sur-route/Actualites/Tour-de-france-romain-bardet-a-eu-un-sentiment-de-honte-vis-a-vis-de-ses-equipiers/1039280

In this article we learn something interesting.

L'encadrement d'AG2R, qui peaufine un plan B où Bardet sera encouragé à passer à l'attaque dans les massifs intermédiaires dès ce week-end

The management of AG2R, refines a plan B where Bardet will be encouraged to go on the attack in the medium mountains, starting this week-end

I don't believe much AG2R but Allez Romain !

That plan maybe should have included "accidentally" getting caught-out on todays crosswinds to lose more time.

Most likely it's mainly for some KOM points already.

Lavenu better has a chat with Portal whether they let go a group to Tourmalet the stage after the time trial!

AG2R isn't that inept actually. It only looks as if they make all the mistakes recently that Madiot finally learned from!

 

[Tonton]

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.

 

[fantomas]

Chris Anker Soerensen on Bardet and TT: "Training on a TT bike matters. He should be ashamed of himself."

Just rewatched the stage. He did a bike change!? Oh, boy.

 

[movingtarget]

Bardet looks hapless in the TT these days like he doesn't want to be there at all. He loses time early and then it gets worse. Doesn't get any easier for him and like last year he doesn't have the condition he had when he podiumed twice. Maybe like Quintana he could do with a team change to shake things up.

 

[silvergrenade]

LA on Vincent Lavenu:
"If I'm Vincent, I would stop complaining about Ketones and start making better decisions for my GC rider aka a bike change on a 27 Km rolling time trial. No, you are focussed on the wrong things Vincent!"

 

[HelloDolly]

Re:

LA on Vincent Lavenu:
"If I'm Vincent, I would stop complaining about Ketones and start making better decisions for my GC rider aka a bike change on a 27 Km rolling time trial. No, you are focussed on the wrong things Vincent!"

Sure If it was Armstrong he's take out the epo...christ that he should tell a rider like Bardet and clean team like Ag2r what to do

Bardet can win classics as long stages

 

[roundabout]

A 'clean' team where 3 riders tested positive in the space of 3 years not that long ago.