Romain Bardet will be one of the French riders that we have to follow this season. The Ag2r La Mondiale rider, who finished sixth overall at the 2014 Tour de France, will ride the Giro del Trentino in order to be ready for Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

"It's a race that suits me well and it is good for me to get into shape before Liège. I've had some problems with injuries, after I crashed in Catalunya I missed some days. It's a new option for me so I'm pretty excited to try it", he said in a interview with Cyclingnews. "I really do like the classics but I saw Amstel on the television the other day and the race is long and hard but there were still 20 guys at the finish so it's not really a race for me to get a result. I think it was better for me to focus on the classic that suits me well and that's Liège."

At the 2014 Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Romain Bardet showed he was one of the best riders in this race. He knows the route and he hopes to be in the same condition. "Last year maybe there were 50 guys at the bottom of the penultimate climb so it was a very tough finish. I expect a harder race with the new course and I hope to improve on that and be close to the top five. The top five is the goal for the next years. The new climbs are better for our team and I hope to make a move in the final", he added. "I don't expect a massive finish like last year. It is more difficult than before so everyone will be more tired. I guess that climbs like Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons will be harder for everyone and from there maybe we can go with a small group to Liège. I’m really happy with the addition of the Col du Rosier, it’s a small col and it would be really good to maybe isolate other leaders on this climb."

He will share the leadership with (Domenico) Pozzovivo and (Rinaldo) Nocentini. "I don't want especially to be the only one. I think that it is better for our team to have many options because we don't have a rider that can win a sprint against guys like [Simon] Gerrans so it's better to try and escape than come to the line with these guys."

In may, he will ride the Tour de Romandie. "It is really important to do a really good block of races before going on a small week of holiday and I wanted to ride some WorldTour races and to try to train for the time trialling in the middle of the Tour. I feel a bit disappointed with my Paris-Nice and Catalunya and I want to get a good result before going to prepare for the Tour." He hopes to win a stage.

"For sure my own expectations are high. I feel like I am stronger than last year in the training and I will do my best to show that in races. I'm really confident and I feel strong, and for me I'm on a good way to show that in the big races."