This article was originally published in Rouleur 131: the numbers issue, featuring interviews with Kasia Niewiadoma and Victor Campenaerts, an in-depth look into Uno-X Mobility's performance platform, and much more. Become a Rouleur subscriber today to support our independent journalism and read more exclusive stories and interviews with the stars of the sport.
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Romain Bardet was likely never going to win the Tour de France, but that didn’t stop him from trying. Coming into his prime at the height of Team Sky’s domination in the mid-2010s, the French climber constantly found himself outnumbered and outpowered. But Bardet created opportunities to go on the attack, and his efforts twice earned him podium spots at the Tour – he was second in 2016 and third in 2017.
Bardet was reflective and measured off the bike, and he earned a Masters in business management while riding as a young professional. On the other hand, he was anything but calculated on the bike, and was often admired for his opportunistic attacking style. A late attack on a rainy descent in the penultimate mountain stage of the 2016 Tour de France catapulted him from fifth to second and gave him his second stage win, while a similar late move on the opening stage of this year’s event gave him a stunning win, not to mention a brief spell in the coveted yellow jersey.
But despite the fact that Bardet is still achieving good results – this season he was second in Liège-Bastogne-Liège behind Tadej Pogaçar and ninth in the Giro d’Italia – the Frenchman, who turned 34 in November, announced before the start of the Tour de France that he would end his road-racing career midway through 2025. His plan is to ride the Giro d’Italia and the Critérium du Dauphiné for Team dsm-firmenich PostNL, before transitioning to gravel for the remainder of the season and into 2026.
Bardet’s decision surprised some, as he is still relatively young and has been one of France’s stars for the past decade. However, he is clearly ready to turn the page.
Everything happens so fast in cycling. When you win your first race as a pro, great promise is born, and in the early years, everything you do, every result you have, is good. But that phase doesn’t last long, perhaps only the first three years. Then you enter the phase that is the least agreeable, one where you have raised the bar of expectations and everyone seems to expect more of you. That phase is gruelling, and not really sustainable over the long term. Then you move quickly into the category of an experienced rider. Once you reach the age of 30, the time really goes by quickly.
I definitely enjoyed the first years of my career the most. I really had a lot of pleasure in the early years. I had the feeling that there was a whole new world to discover, that there was not simply one single path to performing well. I was experimenting a lot. Sometimes I made errors, but I also achieved my first results. It was a very human experience, and I had a certain ability to push my body to its limits. Since then, however, things have really evolved. The teams are much more structured, and we all know more or less the ideal path towards performing well. Back in my early years the sport was more empirical. Riders sought their own path towards performance.
I made the decision to retire before the start of the 2024 season. Already at the end of 2022, I asked myself the question. But I really enjoyed being on this team and I’m aware of the opportunity they have given me. I have a really good relationship with the team management. At the end of 2022, I was pretty much thinking that I would stop at the end of 2024, but at the end of 2023, I discussed things a lot with my team. I felt that there were certain career goals I had yet to achieve. Also, I have been really invested in working with the young riders, and because of certain injuries, I had not been able to do as much of that as I had hoped. At the same time, I didn’t see myself doing another full season. The team management have always been very open and honest, and they gave me the opportunity to choose what would be my ideal season for finishing. And I am very thankful for that. It’s rare. I really wanted to do the Giro d’Italia one more time. I have done it three times, but I really have the feeling that I have not done everything I hoped to do, or was capable of doing, in this race. But I also need to find new objectives in cycling.
For years I was a rider who rode with the goal of winning a Grand Tour and I know that is no longer possible. Today I must make even more sacrifices than before, and to be honest, I don’t even think I can finish on the podium of a Grand Tour. I think 2022 was pretty much my last opportunity for such a result. As a result, there comes a point when the scale is tipped on the wrong side, and it just is not worth making so many sacrifices for fewer results. I have lost the grinta to give everything to finish just top ten. I’m 33 years old, and I think I have had a very, very good season. So, for me to stop now is really just a dream scenario.
So much in cycling has changed since I turned professional, everything really. Today cycling is so ‘millimetred’. In some ways that has worn me out. Always focusing on watts, having scales to weigh food at the table, sleeping with a bracelet... For me, cycling is much more than that, and I have more and more difficulty identifying with it. Mentally, for me, it is exhausting. I think when you are younger it is easier. All of these tools are useful for every cyclist to know who they are and how to improve their own potential. But once you really understand who you are and what you are capable of as a cyclist, well, at some point you have to find your own path.
Today there are two classes of riders. First there is Pogaçar, Vingegaard and Remco in one group, even if I would say that Remco is slightly under the others still at this point, as well as Roglič. And then there are 20 or so riders who, on a great day, can challenge them, but are not at the same level. Winning today has just become so difficult. I have a threshold around 400 watts, but if I start a climb today with the yellow jersey group, they are going at about 440 watts. That is my record for a 15-minute effort but they are maintaining it for more than 30 minutes. The difference is there.
Deciding to retire really helped me in the Tour de France. For me, riding the Tour was never a reward, and without results, it’s not a pleasure. The Tour is so demanding. Everyone is expecting results, but it is complicated to get them. In addition, you are so vulnerable every day, be it with potential crashes or sickness. It’s a weight to carry. My team could have pushed me to ride for the general classification, but fortunately they allowed me to ride the Tour the way I wanted to, and focus on stages. I really wanted to try to win another stage. It has been a long time since I have raised my arms in the Tour. That was something I really wanted to do again.
Winning the first stage of the Tour de France this year was absolutely a collective effort. We talk a lot about collective efforts in cycling, but that day really embodied it. The way we set the stage up, with Frank van den Broek attacking early, was all just fabulous.
Everyone says we are in this sport to win, but I don’t really think so. Fortunately, there is more to the sport than just winning. I didn’t win a lot during my career, but in all modesty, I feel as though I am recognised within the sport for the career I had. Yes, I had some victories, but fortunately there are other things. Winning, of course, is the goal, but at the same time, there are 180 riders at the start of each race and only one rider wins, so the rate of success is not very high for the teams that participate. For me, the stories behind the riders are important, and I think that with the talent I had, I was able to make a mark on my generation.
The greatest satisfaction of my career has been to be appreciated for who I really am. I was fortunate to find people who had the ears to listen to me and give me the chance to give the most of what I had.
My biggest frustration was that I didn’t focus on winning another Grand Tour besides the Tour de France sooner. After I finished second in the 2016 Tour and third in the 2017 Tour, I should have focused on the Giro or the Vuelta. In 2018 or 2019 I should have reoriented my focus on another Grand Tour, either to win or at least finish on the podium. That is the only regret I have, looking back on my career.
I think what I will miss the most when I retire is that sensation of pushing yourself to your fullest limit, and the endorphins you create in those moments. That is one of the reasons I have decided to close out my professional career gradually by shifting to gravel. I will race gravel in the second part of 2025 and in 2026. I’ll race all out and be as competitive as possible, but without all of the time away from home that is required in road racing. The transition is not unlike, say, a runner, who shifts from the international track and field events in big stadiums to trail running. I will still be able to push my limits, but in a different atmosphere. In terms of training, things won’t change that much right away, but I will have more time with my family. The biggest sacrifice as a road cyclist today is not the training, but all of the time away from home.
I really don’t know what I will do when I retire. I have several ideas, but to be honest, it is too early. My big dream is to start my own team with a different model and different values, but really it is too early to even talk about that. First I think it is important for me to take some time and step back a bit. One thing is certain, I will want to do it with the same energy and drive I always had throughout my career.
Riding will always be part of my life. I really can’t see a time when I won’t ride my bike. Perhaps there will be periods where I simply won’t have the time to ride a lot, and might have to replace it with running, for example, but cycling will always be part of my life.
