Today, Romain Bardet won his first victory since he turned pro by winning the Tour de l'Ain. The AG2R rider was once again at the front on this final stage from Nantua to Belley. He was defeated by Wout Poels (Vacansoleil-DCM) for the stage win but his 2nd place permitted him to win the overall classification.

Bardet had already tried his luck yesterday on the final part of the 3rd stage and this morning he was only 22’’ off the race leader Tom Jelte Slagter (Belkin).

“I’m really happy because it is above all a collective victory,” Bardet said. “Each rider made his own contribution and today and everything happened as it had been planned at the briefing this morning. We knew that we should be able to do something on this stage and everyone did his part. We continue to ride the wave of our good results obtained on the Tour de France and this victory rewards the efforts of the whole team. This is my first pro win and that’s just happiness! I know well the route of the Tour de l’Ain, which is a race I’ve always appreciated. I knew that if I succeeded in staying focused after the Tour de France I could be able to keep in a good shape and perform well. Today, that became reality and that’s great!”