Tour de France. Bardet: "We will fight with our heart"

"I have no regrets" reacted Roman Bardet, who fully badumes his ambitions in this Tour de France. Before the start, the Auvergnat announced to try to play, at age 27, the yellow jersey after two places on the podium (2nd in 2016, 3rd in 2017).
In a slightly weary smile after having finished with 175.5 kilometers of the stage-queen of the Alps, Bardet explained his tactics: "I played my all-away, I tried everything before the sprint." .
The Frenchman first attacked … 7 kilometers from the summit, defeating Spaniard Mikel Landa. A shirt wide open on the chest, he continued his effort, a hundred yards ahead of the group of favorites led by the great hope of Colombia Egan Bernal, working for its leaders of the Sky team. Until the relentless return of Chris Froome 4 kilometers from the finish.

"I had good legs, it was still better than yesterday (Wednesday)", welcomed the best French chance in this Tour. "I wanted to attack to test the opponents, but there were three Sky and we know the importance of aspiration in cycling."
After Froome, the Welshman Geraint Thomas and the Dutchman Tom Dumoulin are returned to the head of the race. The quartet then observed, like sprinters attached not to be surprised. And the startups followed one another, two to the credit of the French, before Landa came back.

It is a good step anyway, I was able to express myself by bike

"I did not think that one would arrive grouped for the gain" recognized Bardet , who highlighted the difficulty of reconciling several goals, stage win and overall standings. It is only in the last three kilometers that the climber of the Haute-Loire, already winner of three stages of the Tour, focused on the prestigious success at Alpe d'Huez. Leaving not to dig further gaps on his rivals for a possible podium in Paris.
Third on the finish line, Bardet is back two ranks in the Tour clbadification. After the Alps, he takes 6th place, 1 min 17 sec from Tom Dumoulin's third place.

"It's a good step anyway, I was able to express myself by bike" smiled the leader of the AG2R La Mondiale team, a leader without many troops. During the stage, Tony Gallopin, ill, had to give up, after two more of his teammates, Axel Domont and Alexis Vuillermoz (falls).
"We are only five and we will not be able to great maneuvers as we have done in the past " recognized Bardet. " But we will stick together, we will fight with our heart."
Following the example of the Belgian Oliver Naesen, who had saved the bet last year in a stage favorable to breaks in the Rhone Valley. On Friday, the Tour returns to a comparable site to join Valencia. If the wind blows aside, Naesen will still be precious.