'It makes sense to me that it ends here this year' – Romain Bardet enjoys home crowd sendoff at Critérium du Dauphiné

At the ongoing Critérium du Dauphiné, French rider Romain Bardet is racing for the final time as a professional before calling time on his 14-year career.

The Picnic-PostNL rider has already completed his final Grand Tour, at the recent Giro d'Italia, and is now racing on home roads in south-central France for one last time.

34-year-old Bardet hails from the town of Brioude in Auvergne and enjoyed a special day on the bike during stage 3 of the Dauphiné on Tuesday, with the race setting off from his hometown.

He received a tribute at the start of the stage, which was won from the break by Iván Romeo, while local children were given the day off school to attend and see Bardet in action for one last time.

Bardet greeted children from the local Vélo Sport Brivadois cycling school, whom he had ridden with last week, while he was joined on stage by the club president, his parents, and grandmother ahead of the stage start.

"It's a great moment, we couldn't have dreamed of a better time for my last race, here, where I grew up and where it all began," Bardet told L'Equipe on Tuesday.

"I have a lot of memories here, the 2007 Tour de l'Avenir when I was here at school, my first big race with Paris-Nice 2013.

"It makes sense to me that it ends here this year."

Bardet finished the 207km stage in the peloton in 47th place, ending the day in 39th overall on the general classification. He currently lies 1:18 off Romeo's yellow jersey and 12 seconds back from race favourite Tadej Pogačar.

Following Wednesday's stage 4 time trial, the Dauphiné heads into the hills and mountains, terrain more suited to Bardet's abilities. Whether he can pick up one last victory before retirement remains to be seen, but he's already been on the attack during the race.

Bardet made a move with 20km to go on stage 2, jumping clear on the Côte de Nonette. He was caught 10km from the finish in Issoire, but said that he enjoyed the experience, nonetheless.

"It was a really nice stage, with lots of fans cheering us on along the way. It was a pleasure to see and experience," Bardet said.

"I've raced the final climb, the Côte de Nonette, for the past 25 years, so it was a good opportunity for the last time to try my luck and see what could have happened."