Romain Bardet (born 9 November 1990) is a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

professional

racing cyclist Cycle sport is Competition, competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing ...

who currently rides for

UCI WorldTeam A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road cycling, the UCI World Tour or UCI ProTour ...

. Bardet is known for his climbing and descending abilities, which make him one of the top general classification contenders in

Grand Tours In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour is one of the three major European professional cycling stage races: Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, and Vuelta a España. Collectively they are termed the ''Grand Tours'', and all three races are similar in ...

. So far in his career, his best results have primarily come on home soil. He has won three stages in the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

in three separate years running from 2015 to 2017; he placed in the top ten overall for five consecutive years (from

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

and finished on the podium twice: second overall in 2016 and third overall in 2017. He has also worn the Young rider classification jersey, and won the Mountains classification jersey in 2019 as well as the overall

Combativity Award The combativity award is a prize given in road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional sport, professional form of ...

in 2015. Outside of France, he won a stage at the

2021 Vuelta a España The 2021 Vuelta a España was a three-week cycling race which took place in Spain between 14 August and 5 September 2021. It was the 76th edition of the Vuelta a España and the third and final grand tour of the 2021 men's road cycling season. T ...

, and won the general classification at the

2022 Tour of the Alps The 2022 Tour of the Alps was the 45th edition of the Tour of the Alps road cycling stage race and the sixth edition since its renaming from the Giro del Trentino. It was held from 18 to 22 April 2022 in the Austrian state of Tyrol and in the Ita ...

Professional career

AG2R La Mondiale (2012–2020)

2012–2014

Bardet turned professional in 2012. He distinguished himself in that year's

Tour of Turkey The Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey ( tr, Cumhurbaşkanlığı Bisiklet Turu) is a professional road bicycle racing stage race held annually in Turkey since 1963. In 2005 the race became part of the UCI Europe Tour, rated as a 2.2 even ...

especially in the 3rd stage, which was a mountain affair, where he attacked relentlessly to finally take fifth place. He also finished fifth overall in the race. Tour de France 2013, bardet (14867335574)

Tour de France 2013, bardet (14867335574)

The following season, Bardet rode his first

and took his first professional victory at the

Tour de l'Ain Tour de l'Ain, also known as the Prix de l'Amitié, is an annual professional cycling stage race held in eastern France. G.P. de l'Amitié The first edition of the race was in 1970, as the G.P. de l'Amitié (Friendship G.P.). It was held over fo ...

. His next victory came the following year when he won

La Drôme Classic La Drôme Classic ( en, The Drôme Classic) is an elite men's road bicycle racing event held annually in the Drôme region of France, held by the Ruoms Cyclisme Organisation. It is run as part of a weekend of racing in the south Ardèche, known ...

, his first single-day race win. Bardet finished 4th overall at the

Volta a Catalunya The Volta a Catalunya (; en, Tour of Catalonia, es, Vuelta a Cataluña, link=no) is a road bicycle race held annually in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of three World Tour stage races in Spain, together with the Vuelta a España and the Tour of th ...

and also rode his first

Critérium du Dauphiné The Critérium du Dauphiné, before 2010 known as the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, is an annual cycling road race in the Dauphiné region in the southeast of France. The race is run over eight days during the first half of June. It is part ...

where he finished 5th overall. Going into the

, Bardet was team leader together with

Jean-Christophe Péraud Jean-Christophe Péraud (born 22 May 1977) is a retired French cyclist who rode for and during his professional career. He was a member of the French team at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. Career Péraud was European cross-country champ ...

. Bardet climbed to 3rd place overall at the end of the second week, and even had a short stint in the

white jersey Numerous cycling stage races award a white jersey to signify the current leader and overall winner of a certain competition, or to signify the best young rider in the race. The most prominent of these is the Tour de France, where the jersey is kn ...

. Despite losing his podium place in the final week, Bardet still attacked on downhill sections to potentially gain seconds on his rivals. In the end, Bardet finished 6th overall and Péraud finished 2nd overall.

Thibaut Pinot Thibaut Pinot (born 29 May 1990) is a French professional road bicycle racer, who rides for UCI WorldTeam . Once considered one of the most promising talents in French cycling, he finished third overall in the 2014 Tour de France and first in the ...

() took the win in the white jersey standings, in front of Bardet in 2nd place.

2015

After a spring campaign which included a 6th place at

Liège–Bastogne–Liège Liège–Bastogne–Liège, also known as ''La Doyenne'' ("The Old Lady"), is a one-day classic cycling race in Belgium.Cycling Weekly, UK, 13 March 1993 First run in 1892, it is the oldest of the five ''Monuments'' of the European professional r ...

and 9th overall at the

Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. I ...

, Bardet was regarded as one of the outsiders for a podium spot in the

. In his final stage race before the Tour, the

, Bardet went on the attack on the downhill section before the last climb on stage 5. He gained a minute on the technical descent, then climbed up to the ski resort of

Pra-Loup Pra-Loup is a ski resort in France, at Uvernet-Fours in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, from the town of Barcelonnette. Geography Ski area The ski station has two separate base areas, 2 km apart: * Pra-Loup 1600 - primary base area at above ...

to win the stage solo, 36 seconds ahead of second-placed

Tejay van Garderen Tejay van Garderen (born August 12, 1988) is an American former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2008 and 2021 for the , , and . Following his retirement as a cyclist, van Garderen became a directeur sportif for ...

. He went on to finish 6th overall at the race. At the Tour de France, Bardet lost time in the crosswinds in the Netherlands and the

team time trial A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ( ...

in the first week. When the mountains finally arrived, Bardet lost even more time and with almost half of the race done, out of general classification contention. On the last day in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

, he went into the breakaway and finished third in the stage to

Plateau de Beille Plateau de Beille (Occitan language, Occitan: ''Plan de Belha'') is a ski resort in the Pyrenees. It is situated in the Ariège (department), Ariège Departments of France, department, and in the Regions of France, region of the Occitania (administ ...

. Bardet and

were part of a breakaway and led over the top of the final Côte de la Croix Neuve climb of Stage 14. However, the pair were caught and overtaken by

Steve Cummings Stephen Philip Cummings (born 19 March 1981) is an English former racing cyclist Cycle sport is Competition, competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, ...

() on the short descent to the finish at Mende Aerodrome, and Bardet finished third in the stage. On 23 July 2015, after a solo breakaway, Bardet won Stage 18, a mountain stage for his first Tour de France

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

victory. The next day, he claimed the

polka dot jersey Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas. History Etymology The term ...

for the first time, after finishing fifth in Stage 19, another mountain stage. However, he lost the polka dot jersey to

Chris Froome Christopher Clive Froome ɹɪs fɹuːm (born 20 May 1985) is a Kenyan/British Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He has won seven Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours: four editions of the Tour de ...

on Stage 20. Bardet finished in ninth place in the final general classification and won the

combativity award The combativity award is a prize given in road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional sport, professional form of ...

of the Tour.

2016

In February 2016, Bardet repeatedly attacked

Vincenzo Nibali ), The Nibbler , birth_date = , birth_place = Messina, Sicily, Italy , height = , weight = , currentteam = , discipline = Road , role = Rider , ridertype = Climber , proyears1 = 2005 , proteam1 = , proyears2 = 2006–2012 , protea ...

() during Stage 4 of the

Tour of Oman The Tour of Oman is an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in Oman since 2010 as part of the UCI Asia Tour. It was scheduled to become part of the new UCI ProSeries in 2020, but both the 2020 and 2021 editions were cancelled d ...

and ultimately finished the stage in second position, 9 seconds behind him. Bardet finished the Tour of Oman second overall, 15 seconds behind Nibali. In June, Bardet attacked during Stage 6 of

and ultimately finished second in the stage after being outsprinted by

to the finish line in

Méribel Méribel () is a ski resort in the Tarentaise Valley in the French Alps. Méribel refers to three neighbouring villages in the Les Allues commune of the Savoie department of France, near the town of Moûtiers (), called Méribel Centre, Méribel-Mo ...

. After Stage 6, Bardet rose to third overall in the general classification, 21 seconds behind the leader

. Bardet finished second overall in the Critérium du Dauphiné final general classification, 12 seconds behind Froome. On Stage 19 of the

, Bardet and his team mate

Mikaël Cherel Mikaël Cherel (born 17 March 1986) is a French professional road bicycle racer, who rides for UCI WorldTeam . Major results Source: ;2003 : 1st Road race, National Junior Road Championships : 8th Road race, UCI Junior Road World Championsh ...

attacked together on a wet descent before the penultimate climb. Bardet escaped the yellow jersey group on the lower slopes of

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and i ...

with to go. Bardet caught the breakaway survivor

Rui Costa Rui Manuel César Costa (; born 29 March 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who is the 34th president of sports club S.L. Benfica. He also succeeded Luís Filipe Vieira as president of the club's SAD board of directors. ...

with to go, dropped him on the steepest pitches of the final climb with remaining and won the stage by 23 seconds over second-placed

Joaquim Rodríguez Joaquim Rodríguez Oliver (born 12 May 1979) is a former Spanish professional road racing cyclist, who competed between 2001 and 2016 for the , , and teams. Rodríguez recorded notable results included fourteen Grand Tour stage victories, an ...

; ultimately, he was the only Frenchman to win a stage in the 2016 Tour de France. After winning Stage 19, Bardet rose from fifth to second overall in the general classification. He finished the Tour in second position in the final general classification, 4:05 behind

, becoming the sixth Frenchman to finish in the top three in the final general classification over the previous 30 editions; the other five were Pinot and

(both 2014),

Richard Virenque Richard VirenqueRichard Virenque's name is pronounced Ree-shah Vee-rahnk. Virenque considers himself a man of the South but pronounces his name in standard French. Confusion is caused by the southern habit of pronouncing "en" as "ang" or "eng", ...

(1996, 1997),

Laurent Fignon Laurent Patrick Fignon (; 12 August 1960 – 31 August 2010) was a French professional road bicycle racer who won the Tour de France in 1983 and 1984 and the Giro d'Italia in 1989. He is former FICP World No. 1 in 1989. He nearly captured t ...

(1989) and

Jean-François Bernard Jean-François Bernard (born 2 May 1962) is a French former professional road bicycle racer. Career He turned professional in 1984 for La Vie Claire, led by Bernard Hinault. He was seen as Hinault’s successor as a winner of stage races from ...

(1987). Bardet was selected to represent

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

in the individual road race, finishing 24th.

2017

After crashing on stage 1 of

Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the Col d'Èze overlookin ...

, Bardet was thrown out of the race after he had been towed by his team car. Bardet won stage 12 of the

, with an acceleration near the finishing line in

Peyragudes Peyragudes is a large ski resort in the French Pyrenees, situated in the departments of Hautes-Pyrénées and Haute-Garonne, in the Region of Occitanie. The resort was created in 1988, when the Peyresourde and Agudes resorts were joined. Skii ...

in the French

, going clear with less than to go to take his third stage win in as many years. Bardet struggled throughout the penultimate stage, a

individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' "stopwatch stage"). There are also track-b ...

, that started and finished in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

; he finished in 52nd position, 2 minutes 3 seconds behind its winner

Maciej Bodnar Maciej Bodnar (born 7 March 1985, in Oława) is a Polish professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . He is the brother of fellow racing cyclist Łukasz Bodnar. Bodnar has been a team-mate of Peter Sagan throughout Saga ...

. Bardet dropped from second to third in the general classification going into the

final stage Final stage or The Final Stage may refer to: * '' The Final Stage'', 1995 film directed by Frank Howson * Fifth stage of a bill's passage through a legislative chamber * In a multi-stage tournament: ** knockout stage ** playoffs * Champs-Élysées s ...

, with a one-second lead over fourth-placed

Mikel Landa Mikel Landa Meana (born 13 December 1989) is a Spanish professional road cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam . His career breakthrough came at the 2015 Giro d'Italia where he won two stages and finished third overall. Career Early career Lan ...

. Bardet managed to hold on to his advantage, completing the podium behind

and

Rigoberto Urán Rigoberto Urán Urán, ODB (born 26 January 1987) is a Colombian professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he won a silver medal in the road race. He became the first Colombian ever ...

2018

Bardet missed the

Vuelta a Andalucía The Vuelta a Andalucía (Tour of Andalusia) or Ruta del Sol (Route of the Sun) is a regional Spanish road bicycle race first held in 1925. Since 2005, it has been a 2.1 category race on the UCI Europe Tour. The race became a part of the new UCI P ...

after injuring his right arm in a domestic accident. He returned to action with a victory in the

Classic Sud-Ardèche Classic Sud-Ardèche (also known as the Souvenir Francis Delpech) is a road bicycle race held annually in late-February in the Ardèche department of France. The race was a National Event from its inception in 2001 until 2007, before joining the ...

in February. In March, Bardet rode the

Strade Bianche The Strade Bianche is a road bicycle race in Tuscany, Central Italy, starting and finishing in Siena. First held in 2007, it is raced annually on the first or second Saturday of March. The name ''Strade Bianche'' (Italian for ''White Roads'') st ...

one day classic, held partly on gravel roads in torrential rain. He broke away with the world cyclocross champion

Wout van Aert Wout van Aert (born 15 September 1994) is a Belgian professional road and cyclo-cross racer who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He won the men's elite race at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in 2016, 2017 and 2018. He joined in ...

and the pair led the race for much of the final before

Tiesj Benoot Tiesj Benoot (born 11 March 1994) is a Belgian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Lotto–Soudal (2015–19) Benoot turned professional with the Belgian UCI World Tour team in 2015, after riding for the outfit in 2013 and ...

() attacked from a chasing group to catch and then drop them in the final sector of dirt roads. Benoot soloed to victory by 39 seconds ahead of Bardet, who dropped van Aert in the final kilometre. At

, Bardet finished 3rd – his first podium at a

Cycling monument The Monuments are five classic cycle races generally considered to be the oldest, hardest and most prestigious one-day events in men's road cycling. They each have a long history and specific individual characteristics. They are currently the one-d ...

– after losing the 2nd place sprint to

Michael Woods Michael Woods may refer to: * Michael Woods (Australian politician) (1857–1934), member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Michael Woods (comics), American writer/editor of comic books * Michael Woods (cyclist) (born 1986), Canadian cyclist ...

. When riding the

, Bardet never challenged for the overall win and only entered the top 3 inside the last two days. When he arrived at the start of the

, Bardet had a troubled first week with mechanicals and punctures. He lost time on multiple occasions during the first week and was almost two minutes behind when they started the 10th stage. On stage 12 to

Alpe d'Huez L'Alpe d'Huez () is a ski resort in southeastern France at . It is a mountain pasture in the Central French Western Alps, in the commune of Huez, which is part of the department of Isère in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is part of th ...

, Bardet attacked and rode away from the other contenders. He was later joined by

Geraint Thomas Geraint Howell Thomas, (; born 25 May 1986) is a Welsh professional racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam , Wales and Great Britain. He is one of the few riders in the modern era to achieve significant elite success as both a tra ...

and

Tom Dumoulin Tom Dumoulin (; born 11 November 1990) is a retired Dutch professional road bicycle racer who last rode for UCI WorldTeam . He has won nine stages across the three Grand Tours, five medals in three different World Championships and two Olympic s ...

, but decided to test the contenders with numerous accelerations. He ended the stage in 3rd place and rose to 6th place in the general classification. With Bardet only being 8th in the general classification before stage 19, he and several other contenders attacked on the

Col du Tourmalet Col du Tourmalet (; elevation ) is one of the highest paved mountain passes in the French Pyrenees, in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées. Sainte-Marie-de-Campan is at the foot on the eastern side and the ski station La Mongie two-thirds of th ...

with almost to the finish line. Despite being caught on the last climb, Bardet finished third in the sprint to the finish line. He moved up to a final placing of sixth overall after the penultimate stage, an

– his fifth consecutive top-ten finish at the race. 20180930 UCI Road World Championships Innsbruck Men Elite Road Race Award Ceremony 850 2143

In September, Bardet finished 2nd in the road race at the

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and a mixed team relay. Events ...

, after having attacked with

Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (born 25 April 1980) is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist, who last rode for UCI WorldTeam . Valverde's biggest wins have been the Vuelta a España in 2009, Critérium du Dauphiné in 2008 and 2009 ...

(Spain) and Canada's Woods. The group was later joined by

(Netherlands) inside the last kilometres. Valverde started the sprint with almost to the finish line but Bardet never looked like a serious challenge and had to settle with 2nd place.

Team DSM (2021–)

In August 2020, Bardet signed a two-year contract with , later renamed , from the 2021 season. Bardet made his first start at the Giro d'Italia, sharing team leadership with

Jai Hindley Jai Hindley (born 5 May 1996) is an Australian professional cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career After joining the team for the 2018 season, Hindley made his debut for at the 2018 Volta ao Algarve. In August 2018, he was nam ...

, the

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

runner-up. Bardet made his way up the general classification, moving into the top ten overall after stage 14, finishing at the

Monte Zoncolan Monte Zoncolan () is a mountain in the Carnic Alps, located in the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located i ...

. He finished second to

Egan Bernal Egan Arley Bernal Gómez (born 13 January 1997) is a Colombian cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam . In 2019 he won the Tour de France, becoming the first Latin American rider to do so, and the youngest winner since 1909. At the 2021 Giro d'It ...

on stage 16, and moved up to fifth place overall on the penultimate stage, following a fourth-place stage finish. However, he fell to seventh in the general classification during the final-day

, dropping behind Daniel Martínez and João Almeida. Bardet also rode into the leader's jersey at the

Vuelta a Burgos Vuelta Ciclista a Burgos is an elite professional road bicycle racing event held annually in the Burgos province of Spain. The men's Vuelta a Burgos has been a multi-day stage race as part of the UCI Europe Tour since 2005. In 2019, a multi-day wo ...

, a preparation race for the

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the r ...

. In spite of his crash on the descent of the Picón Blanco climb, he won the third stage solo to

Espinosa de los Monteros Espinosa de los Monteros is a municipality located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain, with a population of c. 2,100 inhabitants. The village is spread over a large rural area at the southern outskirts of a mountainous area of ...

, his first in over three years. He held a 45-second lead over

heading into the final stage, but he lost the race lead to Landa after cracking in the final of the stage; he ultimately finished sixth overall, and won the mountains classification. On stage 5 of the Vuelta a España, Bardet crashed and lost over twelve minutes; he lost a further thirteen minutes the following day, removing him from overall contention. On stage 14, he was involved in the breakaway; he chased down several counter-attacks, and went clear with to go. He then rode solo to the summit finish at Pico Villuercas to claim the stage win, 44 seconds ahead of

Jesús Herrada Jesús Herrada López (born 26 July 1990) is a Spanish professional cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . His brother José Herrada is also a professional cyclist, and also competes for . Career He was considered one of the most pro ...

. Bardet held the mountains classification for four days, before the lead passed to his teammate

Michael Storer Michael J. Storer (born 28 February 1997) is an Australian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career In August 2018, he was named in the startlist for the Vuelta a España. He also competed in the 2019 Vuelta a España, and the 20 ...

. Bardet and Storer also made it into the breakaway on the penultimate stage; Storer mathematically sealed the mountains jersey ahead of the final time trial, while Bardet finished second in the standings. Bardet had a strong start to the

2022 Giro d'Italia The 2022 Giro d'Italia was the 105th edition of the Giro d'Italia, a three-week Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tour cycling stage race. The race started on 6 May in Budapest, Hungary, and finished on 29 May in Verona, Italy. The race was won by Ja ...

. He rose as high as 4th place near the end of the second week, being only +0:02 behind

Richard Carapaz Richard Antonio Carapaz Montenegro (born 29 May 1993) is an Ecuadorian professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Carapaz won the 2019 Giro d'Italia, becoming the first Ecuadorian rider to win the race. In July 2021 ...

and João Almeida and +0:06 ahead of eventual winner

. Early into stage 13 he began to feel sick and had to abandon the race. He started the

2022 Tour de France The 2022 Tour de France was the 109th edition of the Tour de France. It started in Copenhagen, Denmark on 1 July 2022 and ended with the final stage on the Champs-Élysées, Paris on 24 July 2022. Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard () won the general clas ...

in a similar manner, but this was a bit more surprising as it contained the absolute best competition the sport has to offer. The only riders he lost time to were Vingegaard and Pogačar and he stayed more or less even with or ahead of

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

Yates Yates may refer to: Places United States *Fort Yates, North Dakota *Yates Spring, a spring in Georgia, United States *Yates City, Illinois * Yates Township, Illinois *Yates Center, Kansas * Yates, Michigan * Yates Township, Michigan * Yates, Misso ...

, Quintana and Gaudu being in 4th place as the third week began. On stage 16 he cracked and lost time, dropping down to 9th place. The next day to

he recovered and rode strongly, rising back up to 6th. On

Hautacam Hautacam is a ski resort in the Pyrenees. It is situated in the Hautes-Pyrénées department, in the Midi-Pyrénées region. In road bicycle racing, the ascent to Hautacam is known as a tough climb, which is used occasionally in the Tour de Fra ...

he lost time to some riders, and even though he is known to struggle with the individual time trial, he gained enough time over the next closest riders to have enough time in hand to remain in top 10 range by the end of the race.

Personal life

Bardet lives in

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat (dialect), Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population ...

. Alongside his professional cycling career, he began business studies in 2011, in the ''

grande école A ''grande école'' () is a specialised university that is separate from, but parallel and often connected to, the main framework of the French public university system. The grandes écoles offer teaching, research and professional training in s ...

'' program adapted to high-level athletes in

Grenoble School of Management Grenoble Ecole de Management (GEM) is a French graduate business school (Grande Ecole) renowned for its teaching in innovation and management. The consular institution was founded in 1984 in Grenoble, in the Auvergne-Rhone Alpes region, by the ...

Career achievements

Major results

;2009 : 5th Overall

Tour des Pays de Savoie The Tour de Savoie Mont-Blanc was a multi-day cycling race held annually in the departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie in France between 1999 and 2021. It was held as part of the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road ...

;2010 : 6th Overall

Tour de l'Avenir Tour de l'Avenir ( en, Tour of the Future) is a French road bicycle racing stage race, which started in 1961 as a race similar to the Tour de France and over much of the same course but for amateurs and for semi-professionals known as independents ...

: 8th Overall

Giro delle Regioni The Giro delle Regioni was a multi-day cycling race held annually in Italy. It is part of UCI Europe Tour in category 2.ncup, meaning it was part of the UCI Under 23 Nations' Cup The UCI Under 23 Nations' Cup is an annual, season-long competitio ...

: 9th Overall

Ronde de l'Isard The Ronde de l'Isard is a road bicycle race held annually in France. It is organized as a 2.2U event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union C ...

::1st Stage 4 : 10th

Piccolo Giro di Lombardia The Piccolo Giro di Lombardia is a one-day cycling race held annually in Lombardy, Italy. It is part of UCI Europe Tour in category 1.2U, meaning it is reserved for under 23 riders. The race acts as the U23 counterpart to the Giro di Lombardia T ...

;2011 : 1st Stage 5

: 2nd Overall

::1st Stages 2 & 3 : 2nd

Liège–Bastogne–Liège Espoirs Liège–Bastogne–Liège, also known as ''La Doyenne'' ("The Old Lady"), is a one-day classic cycling race in Belgium.Cycling Weekly, UK, 13 March 1993 First run in 1892, it is the oldest of the five ''Monuments'' of the European professional r ...

: 4th

UCI Under 23 Nations' Cup The UCI Under 23 Nations' Cup is an annual, season-long competition for under-23 male road cyclists. It was created by the Union Cycliste Internationale in 2007 to aid in the development of young riders. It is the most important competition for u ...

: 4th Overall

: 6th Overall

Giro della Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia The Giro del Friuli-Venezia Giulia is a professional cycling race held annually in Italy. It is part of UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycli ...

: 9th

Gran Premio Palio del Recioto The Gran Premio Palio del Recioto is a professional one day cycling race held annually in Italy. It is part of UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Unio ...

;2012 : 5th Overall

;2013 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st

Points classification : 3rd Les Boucles du Sud Ardèche : 4th Overall

Route du Sud The Route d'Occitanie is a road bicycle race with 4 stages held annually in Southern France. It was first held in 1977 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It is usually held a week before the Tour de France ...

: 5th Overall

Tour of Beijing The Tour of Beijing was an annual professional stage bicycle road race held in Beijing, China. History Its first edition took place in October 2011, as the penultimate event in the 2011 UCI World Tour The 2011 UCI World Tour was the third editi ...

::1st

Young rider classification : 7th Overall

Étoile de Bessèges The Étoile de Bessèges () is an early-season five-day road bicycle racing stage race held annually around Bessèges, in the Gard department of the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. First organized in 1971 as a one-day race, it became a sta ...

Combativity award The combativity award is a prize given in road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional sport, professional form of ...

Stage 9

;2014 : 1st

: 1st

Young rider classification,

: 2nd Overall

: 4th Overall

: 4th

: 5th Overall

: 5th

Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal The Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal is a one-day professional bicycle road race held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Its first edition was held on September 12, 2010 as the final event in the 2010 UCI ProTour. The Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal ...

: 6th Overall

::Held

after Stages 10–15 :: Jersey red number

Stage 17 : 10th

Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise Grand Prix Cycliste La Marseillaise, formerly known as the Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise, is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in February around the city of Marseille, France. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event ...

: 10th

Paris–Camembert Paris–Camembert (also Paris–Camembert Trophée Lepetit or Paris–Camembert Lepetit) is a semi classic held annually in April. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The route of the race has varied over th ...

: 10th

;2015 : 3rd

International Road Cycling Challenge The International Road Cycling Challenge was a one-off, one-day bicycle race that served as one of six Brazilian events in the year-long 2015 UCI America Tour and acted as a test event for the 2016 Summer Olympics. The race was rated a grade of 1 ...

: 5th Overall

: 6th Overall

::1st Stage 5 : 6th

: 7th

: 9th Overall

Giro del Trentino The Tour of the Alps is an annual professional cycling stage race in Italy and Austria. First held in 1962, it was named Giro del Trentino ( en, Tour of Trentino) until 2016, and run over four stages in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region o ...

: 9th Overall

::1st Stage 18 :: Jersey red number

Stage 18 & Overall ::Held Jersey polkadot

after Stage 19 ;2016 : 2nd Overall

::1st Stage 19 : 2nd Overall

: 2nd Overall

: 2nd

Giro dell'Emilia The Giro dell'Emilia is a late season road bicycle race held annually in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour, and since 2020 it's part of the UCI ProSeries calendar. The ...

: 4th

Giro di Lombardia The Giro di Lombardia ( en, Tour of Lombardy), officially ''Il Lombardia'', is a cycling race in Lombardy, Italy. It is traditionally the last of the five 'Monuments' of the season, considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in cy ...

: 5th

: 6th Overall

: 8th

UCI World Tour The UCI WorldTour (2009–2010: ''UCI World Ranking'') is the premier men's elite road cycling tour, sitting above the UCI ProSeries and various regional UCI Continental Circuits. It refers to both the tour of 38 events and, until 2019, an annual ...

: 8th

: 9th Overall

: 9th

Milano–Torino Milano–Torino is a semi classic European single day cycling race, between the northern Italian cities of Milan and Turin over a distance of 199 kilometres. The event was first run in 1876 making it the oldest classic race in the world. The ev ...

;2017 : 3rd Overall

::1st Stage 12 : 6th Overall

: 6th

: 10th Overall

Combativity award Stage 11

;2018 : 1st Classic de l'Ardèche : 2nd Silver medal blank

Road race,

: 2nd

Tour du Finistère Tour du Finistère is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in April around the city of Quimper, France. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour, also being part of the Coupe de France de cyclisme sur route ...

: 2nd

Giro della Toscana The Giro di Toscana is a road bicycle race held annually in Tuscany, Italy. From 2005 to 2014, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The race was not held in 2015. On 4 April 2016 it was announced that the race will ...

: 3rd Overall

: 3rd

: 6th Overall

: 6th

: 8th Overall

Deutschland Tour The Deutschland Tour (English: ''Tour of Germany'' and sometimes ''Deutschland-Rundfahrt'' in German) is the most important multi-stage road bicycle race in Germany. Initially the race was held in May/June, but from 2005 until 2008 it was moved to ...

: 8th

Grand Prix La Marseillaise Grand Prix Cycliste La Marseillaise, formerly known as the Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise, is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in February around the city of Marseille, France. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event ...

: 9th

La Flèche Wallonne La Flèche Wallonne (, French for "The Walloon Arrow") is a men's professional cycle road race held in April each year in Wallonia, Belgium. The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne is today normally held mid-week betw ...

;2019 : 1st Jersey polkadot

Mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a femal ...

: 2nd Overall

Tour du Haut Var The Tour du Haut Var ( en, Tour of the Haut Var) is an early-season two-day road bicycle race in the Var department region in the south of France. Until 2008 it was run as a one-day race, part of the UCI Europe Tour. In 2009, the race transformed ...

: 2nd

Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge The Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge is a professional cycle road race first held in 2019, which takes place between Vaison-la-Romaine and Mont Ventoux. The event was classified by the UCI as category 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour from 2019 ...

: 4th

: 5th Overall

: 7th

: 9th

Amstel Gold Race The Amstel Gold Race is an annual one-day classic road cycling race held in the province of Limburg, Netherlands. It traditionally marks the turning point of the spring classics, with the climbers and stage racers replacing the cobbled classics r ...

: 10th Overall

;2020 : 2nd Overall Tour des Alpes-Maritimes et du Var : 6th Overall

: 7th

Paris–Tours Paris–Tours is a French one-day classic road cycling race held every October from the outskirts of Paris to the cathedral city of Tours. It is a predominantly flat course through the Chevreuse and Loire valleys; the highest point is 200 m, ...

: 8th Overall

Route d'Occitanie The Route d'Occitanie is a road bicycle race with 4 stages held annually in Southern France. It was first held in 1977 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It is usually held a week before the Tour de France ...

;2021 :

::1st Stage 14 ::Held Jersey blue polkadot

after Stage 14–17 : 5th Overall

Giro di Sicilia Giro di Sicilia (English: Tour of Sicily) is a men's multi-stage bicycle race held on Sicily, Italy. The race was first held in 1907 and was won by Carlo Galetti. The race disappeared from the calendar after the 1977 edition won by Giuseppe Saron ...

: 6th Overall

::1st

Mountains classification ::1st Stage 3 : 7th Overall Giro d'Italia : 8th Overall

Tirreno–Adriatico Tirreno–Adriatico, nicknamed the "Race of the Two Seas", is an elite road cycling stage race in Italy, run between the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic coasts. Traditionally held in the early part of the season, it is considered to be an important prep ...

: 8th

: 9th Overall

Tour of the Alps The Tour of the Alps is an annual professional cycling stage race in Italy and Austria. First held in 1962, it was named Giro del Trentino ( en, Tour of Trentino) until 2016, and run over four stages in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region o ...

;2022 : 1st Jersey green

Overall

: 6th Overall

: 8th

: 9th Overall

UAE Tour The UAE Tour ( ar, جولة الإمارات) is a road cycling stage race in the United Arab Emirates. It was first held in 2019 as part of the UCI World Tour. It was created as a result of the merging of the Abu Dhabi Tour and the Dubai Tour. Hi ...

: 9th

General classification results timeline

Classics results timeline

Major championships timeline

Awards

* Vélo d'Or français: 2016, 2017

References

External links

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bardet, Romain 1990 births Living people French male cyclists Olympic cyclists of France Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Olympics French Tour de France stage winners French Vuelta a España stage winners Sportspeople from Haute-Loire Cyclists from Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes