When an opportunity arises, Julien Bernard knows how to seize it. 48 hours after opening the road on the second stage, the runner of Lidl-Trek gave this this Saturday on the Reine stage of the Tour de Romandie. Long accompanied by Ben Zwiehoff (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Louis Barré (Intermarché Wanty), the last to follow him, he left solo 16 kilometers from the finish, in the final rise of Thyon 2000. He was taken up three terminals further by the favorites. “I would have hoped for a bigger group. Louis was very strong. In the last part, we got along well. He told me that he was going to fighting up. He gave me a hand to the foot of the final climb and after, I tried to leave. I did with what I could. I was still on a good rhythm, but behind it was really very quickly.he said to Directive on the finish line.
The Burgundian thus knew how to take advantage of the freedoms which were granted to him this week. “It feels good. We had Juan Pedro Lopez who was there to make a good general, and we had a solid team of climbers. I had carte blanche on two steps, I have enjoyed it. It’s always a pleasure to be in front. Now, I’m going to go back to my usual role”said the solid team member.
“I am almost at my best”
Julien Bernard had been forced to abandon in Paris-Nice last March, due to a scaphoid fracture. He was able to resume competition during the Ardennes campaign, just before the Tour de Romandie. “It’s not easy to resume there because there is a lot of rhythm and that’s what I was missing. I really needed this first race on the Walloon arrow to get back in legs. On Liège, I felt that the sensations were much better. This week, I am almost at my best level so it’s pretty cool and encouraging for the rest of the season”.
He will start by taking a week of rest before going on an internship, at Sierra Nevada. In the process, Julien Bernard should be aligned by his team on the Critérium du Dauphiné or on the Tour of Switzerland. On the other hand, the rest is still unclear. “I do not know if I will be present on the Tour de France. I am in the pre-list for the moment. If I am announced on the Tour, I will return to altitude”. Medalisture in the last two editions, he could however make a cross on the French championship in the event of a selection on the Tour de France. “The course is not specially made for a single man like me this year. I will make a decision at the last moment”.
