Interview | Romain Bardet showing promising signs as main goal of 2023 approaches: "Tour is just around the corner for him"

In the pretty much exclusively flat time trial of the Tour de Suisse, Bardet finished 25th, ahead of specialists like Søren Kragh Andersen, Rohan Dennis and even Wilco Kelderman. "That time trial was very good. We invest a lot of energy in time trials, so it's definitely heading in the right direction," Ligthart observed.

So how exactly does this work for someone who narrowly missed the Tour podium in Marseille in 2017 - by a mere second? "We have tested aerodynamics, positioning... we just returned from altitude, where we also had a time trial bike available. So, a lot of training goes into it, but it's a process that has been ongoing for a few years and it keeps getting better and better."

"This indicates that his form is good, it's a nice start," Ligthart reiterates, not wanting to draw too many conclusions for the rest of the week in Switzerland. "We also know that after an altitude training camp, you can always have a slightly off day, so we're taking it day by day here in Switzerland. Ultimately, we have a classification in mind, but there might be a day where things don't go as well as we had hoped."

Bardet is one of those men who rides somewhat under the radar in the lead-up to the Tour de France, but people often forget that we are talking about someone who was second overall after the Granon stage last year and also seemed well on his way to contend for the Giro d'Italia victory before his stomach problems. "Last year, he had a very good Tour until he started feeling a bit sick on the second rest day. Prior to that, he was really up there, so we really thought a podium finish was possible."

"This year, the Tour is right in his backyard, with the finish at Puy de Dome," Ligthart points out. "He is super motivated for that, but first, we have the final test here in Switzerland." The fact that there hasn't been much talk about Bardet - at least before the Tour de Suisse - doesn't bother the team manager. "I'm not personally asking for more journalists to stop by. We're just focused on what we're doing, and things are going very well that way."