Bardet, Barguil provide France hope of home win

PARIS — Maybe the drought will be over soon for French riders at the Tour de France.

It is 32 years since the Tour had a home winner, when Bernard Hinault won the last of his five titles in 1985.

Hinault didn’t know it then, but his fifth crown brought an end to a glorious era in French cycling, a period when the home nation won nine Tour titles out of 11.

A long victory drought has followed, but two riders have emerged to rekindle hope in France.

Fan favorite Romain Bardet embodies the revival of French cycling and secured a second consecutive podium finish at the Tour on Sunday, claiming third place, 2 minutes and 20 seconds behind four-time champion Chris Froome.

A year after finishing runnerup to Froome, Bardet was again praised for his bold attacks in the 2017 race. A strong climber with a natural instinct for racing, Bardet rode more consistently but cracked in the final time trial in Marseille.

He still salvaged his podium finish by one second, holding off Froome’s teammate Mikel Landa.

It wasn’t much more than a consolation for the Bardet, 26, but he showed he is now Froome’s match in the high mountains and displayed grit in the final few hundred meters of the time trial at the Stade Velodrome.

“I’m pretty excited about the future,” Bardet said.

Froome, who is six years older than Bardet, still has the upper hand in time trials, but has lost the ability to drop rivals with ease at altitude, like he did in 2013 and 2015.

Bardet was quicker than Froome in mountain stages this year and dropped him in the steep climb to Peyragudes in the Pyrenees. He needs to hone his skills in the race against the clock, a discipline he neglected, if he is to compete for the title.

“I can improve a bit, especially in the time trial,” Bardet said. “I made a choice not to focus on the time trial because it’s not the way I like to ride. Going out to train on my time trial bike is a little bit boring for me. I paid a high price ... but I’m still only 26. I want to fight in the next few years for the win.”

Another Frenchman to watch is Warren Barguil, 25.

Barguil, who won the best climber’s polka-dot jersey, sent a strong message with a win at the top of the Izoard. On a brutal day of racing at an altitude of 7,700 feet, Barguil won his second stage of the tour after he attacked with about 3.7 miles left to climb.

The feat was even more impressive considering he fractured his pelvis in a crash in April, and broke his wrist last year when he was hit by a car on a training ride.

Barguil, who rides for Team Sunweb but has reportedly been approached by Sky and Astana, also won Stage 13 on Bastille Day.

“He is very strong, and still young,” Froome said. “We will see him more often in the future.”