Bardet: Anything can happen at the World Championships
20 September 2018 08:32
Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) had to settle for second place behind Gianni Moscon (Team Sky) at the end of the Giro della Toscana, but at just over a week from the World Championships road race, one senses that he will have drawn more pluses than minuses from his display on Wednesday afternoon. Speaking to Cyclingnews at the start in Pontedera, Bardet agreed that the race's course, with its three ascents of Monte Serra, suited his talents, but he noted that he was in Tuscany in the middle of a heavy block of pre-Worlds training. "If it was an uphill finish, I would go for the win," Bardet said. "But for me it's also the middle of a big training block. I did a big training session yesterday and I'll do a big training session tomorrow. I'm here to find my best shape possible for the Worlds."ADVERTISEMENT Bardet has had a limited programme of racing since placing sixth at the Tour de France, with the Deutschland Tour his only stage race in the intervening period. His final build-up to the Worlds is this block of racing in Italy, which began with the Coppa Agostoni and the Coppa Bernocchi last weekend. With the notable exception of Moscon, who was serving a five-week suspension, the other main Worlds contenders have topped up their form at either the Vuelta a España or Tour of Britain. After a heavy early-season programme, however, Bardet preferred to replicate the workload at home in the Auvergne before travelling to Italy this week. "The form is coming," Bardet said. "You have to work a lot at home, and you have to do a lot of training if you don't do the Vuelta. It's hard, but you have to do that if you want to be at your best for the Worlds."
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