Romain Bardet missed out on the stage win in today's queen stage of the Tour de l'Ain when he was unable to catch lone escapee Bert-Jan Lindeman. The Frenchman admitted that he had been surprised by the strength of the former Vacansoleil rider.

Romain Bardet went into the Tour de l'Ain as the defending champion but now finds himself in a difficult position when it comes to defend his title. Today he proved that he was the strongest climber in the race but despite hard work by his teammates, he failed to catch early escapee Bert-Jan Lindeman who held off the lone Frenchman by 57 seconds.

"The escapees rode well because they gained seven minutes," he told Directvelo. "Guillaume Bonnafond and Julien Berard did a great job, but we lost a bit of ground at a certain moment. I was a little cold on the descent, so I asked them to go back to get me a jacket but it took almost 15 minutes to go to the car and come back. The gap went from 4.30 to 7.00.

"I did not know which riders were in the break because i did not have their names. Actually, I was more afraid of El Fares. I may not have been careful enough, but I did not have the exact composition of the breakaway. 

"We rode well but we were up again a great Lindeman. We caught the other escapees one by one. He is a very good rider. Usually, the climb to the finish in Lelex is too easy for me. You do it on the large ring and then it's hard against a rouleur like him.

"In the final 50km it was a big war. I made several big efforts to try to split the peloton, but nobody wanted to work with me. We had to take responsibility, but a bit too late. The whole team did well. First Julien and Guillaume  worked and then I asked Hubert Dupont to go full gas for 500m. Later when Jean-Christophe Peraud finished his job, there were only six or seven guys. 

"It's my job to make the attack. It's a climb that I like, that I know well. I have done it five times now. I have been fifth, fourth and second twice I will try again next year.

"Tomorrow it will be difficult to go for the yellow jersey but it is not impossible. I'm not familiar with the stage. I'd be more confident if there had been a summit finish on the Grand Colombier. I know Lindeman is a very good rider. My strength is that I have a great team around me, but it is clear that they have worked hard today.