Romain Bardet confirms he will ride Tour de France

Romain Bardet has confirmed that he will ride the Tour de France, which gets underway in Copenhagen on July 1. Illness forced the DSM rider to abandon last month’s Giro d’Italia on stage 13 when he was lying fourth overall.

“Really excited to announce that I will line up at @LeTour with @TeamDSM,” Bardet announced on social media on Monday morning. “Can’t wait to be at the Grand Depart in Copenhagen in a few weeks.”

Bardet skipped the Tour in his first season at DSM in 2021, preferring to line out at the Giro, where he placed seventh overall, and at the Vuelta a España, where he claimed stage victory atop Pico Villuercas.

At the beginning of 2022, Bardet had signalled his intention to race two Grand Tours once again, though he declined to confirm that a return to the Tour de France was on the cards.

The Frenchman arrived at the Giro among the favourites for overall victory following his win at the Tour of the Alps, and he impressed through the opening two weeks, most notably on the summit finish atop the Blockhaus. He looked a potential winner of the Giro at that point, but he was forced out of the race on stage 13 to Cuneo due to stomach problems.

Bardet’s last Tour participation came with AG2R in 2020, when he abandoned after sustaining a concussion in a heavy crash on stage 13. He had started that stage in fourth place overall and with hopes of reproducing his podium finishes of 2016 and 2017.