After his very unfortunate Paris-Nice where a crash derailed his overall hopes, Romain Bardet confirmed that he is a grand tour star in the making when he finished second in today's queen stage of the Volta a Catalunya. The young Frenchman regretted a few mistakes in the finale that may have cost him the stage win but now has his eyes focused on securing an overall top 5 in the Spanish race.

The days when Ag2r is a small WorldTour team are certainly gone. After the team won the Paris-Nice with Carlos Betancur and put both Jean-Christophe Peraud and Domenico Pozzovivo in the Tirreno-Adriatico top 6, the team is now shining in the third big European WorldTour stage race, Volta a Catalunya.

After his unfortunate Paris-Nice where crashes derailed his overall hopes, Romain Bardet is now the rider in the spotlight. Despite being up against a field that includes the entire top 4 from last year's Tour de France, the young Frenchman performed excellently in today's queen stage by taking 2nd behind Tejay van Garderen and move himself into 4th overall.

Bardet showed tactical astuteness and strong legs when he exploited the tactical standstill from the race favourites to launch an attack inside the final kilometre. Van Garderen bridged across and beat him to the line, denying the young Frenchman a big WorldTour win.

Despite having some regrets over the lost opportunity, Bardet was delighted to have mixed it up with the very best.