Romain’s road
Can change be a good thing? Romain Bardet leans back in his rickety, village hall style metal chair, his face brushed by the autumn sun while he muses over the question. His lips purse as he takes a small sip of pale ale. Before it returns to the ‘Drink Responsibly’ beer mat resting on the table, he offers his reply.
‘Yes, I think it is.’ He pauses to think some more and takes another short swig as if the golden liquid contains the answer he is looking for. ‘You have to change for a reason, but when you spend a long time with the same team, the same people, the same environment, you may forget to continue challenging yourself.’
At the beginning of 2021, Bardet made the biggest change in his life so far. He left the warm bosom of AG2R-La Mondiale, the French team he had been with since turning pro in 2012, for pastures new at German-registered, Dutch-based Team DSM. After nine years and two Tour de France podiums, the then 30-year-old decided it was time to close the current chapter of his career in search of a new challenge. Why?
