For all of the excitement caused by Isaac del Toro’s (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) rousing resurgence at the Giro d’Italia, there would hardly be a cycling fan anywhere who was not somewhat disappointed that the victim of the Mexican’s romp, of course, had to be Romain Bardet (Team Picnic PostNL). That despondency would certainly have been the sentiment 300km west of the stage 17 finish in Bormio, across the French border. Another 300km west still and the dejection would have been felt even more keenly in Brioude, in the heart of France’s Massif Central, Bardet’s home. Here there would have been despair, as the rider with one of the most fervent cult followings in the sport couldn’t manage to hold onto what would have been the final jigsaw piece required to complete his Grand Tour stage set. With four stages remaining, two of which are likely to be fought out by the sprinters and the other two destined to be gobbled up by the insatiable GC contenders, that could be it for the Frenchman and his chances of a triumphant swan song.
There was something of the tragedy when with 11km to go and halfway up the final climb, Le Motte, Bardet attacked and left all the other riders from the day’s break behind. Despite the GC group showing an unrelenting desire to take the honours, French hopes were raised. But in a matter of minutes, Isaac del Toro attacked from the GC group, coaxing Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) into following and suddenly Bardet’s chances were dwindling further. The passionate fans of Bardet have had to deal with these undulating emotions for over 10 years. The ups and downs, the delight and despair, and the victories and heartbreaks, are all part and parcel of following the Auvergnat. In fact that is why they — and let’s be honest, everyone — loves the Frenchman. In the end it was always a long shot and when Del Toro eked out a gap on the descent into Bormio, neither Carapaz or Bardet ever looked like they could match the maglia rosa.
A decade ago, it was Bardet as a GC rider breaking the hearts of breakaway riders in Grand Tours, at the height of the French GC frenzy which tantalised fans with its promise, but never quite delivered. French hopes for the final leader’s jerseys were first undone by the metronomic Team Sky machine, then by the emergence of the Slovenian powerhouses and the super teams of UAE and Visma-Lease a Bike. There was a time, with a second and third place in consecutive Tours, that Bardet was the man to grab France's first Grand Tour victory since 1995 Vuelta a España, won by Laurent Jalabert. The real dreamers even believed they could break what was then a 30-year wait for a home malliot jaune. The spell is reaching its 40th anniversary, as the last French winner of the Tour de France was Bernard Hinault in 1985.
Bardet riding up 'Bardet corner' on Puy Mary at the 2024 Tour de France (Image: Zac Williams / SWpix.com)
The great French GC dream was undone by its own sense of romance and tragedy — the pressure was too great, too telling. Bardet was at the centre of it all and has been for almost 15 years. Alongside the now-retired Thibaut Pinot and Tudor Pro Cycling’s Julian Alaphilippe, French cycling has had three of the most adored and worshipped riders of the past decade. They all had panache, careers of highs, lows and woes. All of them, despite winning so much, could, and perhaps should, have won much more.
Maybe Bardet’s spell as a professional bike rider was always meant to finish this way, tantalising to the end. If stage 17 was the sun setting on the career of one of the great animators, then it was also the dawn of another. Isaac del Toro, in a very Bardet way, has swashbuckled his way to the final week of this Giro, still in pink. But for the pining for Bardet, Pinot and Alaphilippe’s heydays in the 2010s, the Mexican will remind most viewers of a certain other fan-favourite, who hails around 300km, not west but east of the central Italian Alps. Del Toro’s move at the end of the stage was Pogačar-esque: unrelenting and merciless.
For all the adoration, the French trio never claimed a Grand Tour. If not this Giro, Del Toro looks destined to win at least one in his career. That said, a decade ago, you would be hard pressed to find a cycling fan willing to bet against a young Bardet clinching a three-week race. He may never have won one of cycling’s most cherished prizes, but Bardet won more than his fair share of hearts along the way.
