Romain Bardet: The Tour de France’s return to Puy de Dôme will be really special to me

Romain Bardet is looking forward to riding the Puy de Dôme (13.3km at 7.7%) on stage 9 of this year’s Tour de France, as the dsm-firmenich leader seeks to finish on the podium in Paris for the first time since 2017.

Living only a stone’s throw from the foot of the Puy de Dôme and with his son’s bedroom window looking out to the mountain, it is a climb that Bardet knows better than most.

“All my life nothing has happened [on the Puy de Dôme], so I think it is a massive opportunity for the local area and for all the people following the Tour to see one of the most iconic climbs that has shaped the race [in the past],” Bardet said ahead of the race.

A climb that became synonymous with the Tour de France as the likes of Jacques Anquetil, Raymond Poulidor and Greg LeMond produced some of the race’s most iconic moments on its slopes, the Puy de Dôme has not featured in the race since 1988 and its inclusion in this year’s route was not what most expected.

“For sure it is a surprise that we get the chance to ride the Puy de Dôme in the Tour de France,” Bardet said. “We don’t have so many occasions to ride it in real life and now we have it in the race calendar as one of the hardest finishes of this Tour de France. That will be really special to me.”

matthew.thomas_80000 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Romain Bardet: ‘For the region in general, you can’t miss it from a 50km cycle around the Puy de Dôme - this is the only mountain you can see'

Its inclusion is not without controversy, however, with local landowners disgruntled over the impact the race will have on the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) Heritage Site.

Batting away these suggestions, the Massif Central native believes that stage 9’s summit finish atop the Puy de Dôme will bring “a massive boost for the area in terms of exposure.” Bardet points to the Col du Granon on stage 11 of last year’s race as evidence that the Tour de France can treat such mountains with the respect they deserve.

“It was also a unique site with lots of beautiful nature and Christian Prudhomme said that at 10:30pm, it was like the Tour had never been there. So I think it is completely possible we can have some amazing scenes in the afternoon and it will be quiet again in the evening.”

Admitting that local criticism does not surprise him, Bardet continued: “When you do something that big and something new in any environment, you will always have people who are sceptical and do not want it.”

But the Frenchman looks forward to the helicopter shots capturing a party atmosphere as the Puy de Dôme rolls back the years this weekend.

“It will bring back a lot of memories because back in the 1960s and 1970s there were lots of summit finishes there and lots of people from the area came to the race,” recalled Bardet. “It will be really special to have another big event in cycling on the Puy de Dôme”

Bardet’s podium bid has taken a knock in the opening week of the Tour, with the Frenchman routinely losing seconds to the man now favourite to finish third in Paris, Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe). The dsm-firmenich rider is, however, amongst a host of riders still within an attack or two of fourth place, and he will hope to use home advantage in the Massif Central to turn the tide.

Due to the width - or lack thereof - of the road, fans will not be allowed in the final 4km of the climb, though this should not dampen what Bardet envisions will be “a big party”. Appearing in the world’s biggest race for the first time since 1988, fans will be hoping to relive the halcyon days that saw Jacques Anquetil and Raymond Poulidor go shoulder to shoulder in 1964, and Greg LeMond all but confirm his first Tour victory in 1986.

You can watch every stage live and ad-free from start to finish on GCN+, with the Puy de Dôme as the summit finish to stage 9 on Sunday 9 July. Make sure to tune in to see if Romain Bardet can deliver a fairytale win on his home roads!

To view the full license agreement for the Puy de Dôme photograph, click here.