After a fantastic 2016 season where he finished second in the Tour de France, Romain Bardet was logically given French Vélo d'Or award by the monthly Vélo Magazine. The AG2R-La Mondiale rider succeeds Thibaut Pinot, but also Christophe Riblon (2013) and Jean-Christophe Péraud (2014), the only two members of the team to have received the award of best French rider in the past. 

In addition to his second place, Bardet raised his arms in the Tour as he won a fantastic mountain stage, was second in the Critérium du Dauphiné through another coup, just missed the podium in Il Lombardia and finished in the top 10 of the Tour of Catalonia (6th) and Paris-Nice (10th). He finished in eighth place finish in the WorldTour rankings.

The Ag2r rider is proud of his award. 

"It's a trophy rooted in the tradition of cycling. It is a reflection of all generations of the sport,” he told L'Equipe. “When I saw the photo shoot and I saw the names of past winners, it made me excited. To be awarded the Velo d’Or is an honor. It's a nice confirmation of my 2016 season.”

Proud to have been the best behind Froome, both at the Dauphiné and the Tour, mentions another reason for his award. 

"I looked at my top 10 finishes this year,” he said. “I was shown the numbers recently. I am among the riders who most often finished in the top ten, thirty times I think, just like sprinters. This is a statistic that I like, because it is indicative of the level of consistency that I have achieved this year the top level.”