Opinion: Romain Bardet blow takes shine off Arnaud Demare's domination for France in Giro d'Italia

And so, France’s long wait for a Grand Tour victory continues. Romain Bardet wasn’t necessarily going to win this Giro. But his performances on Mount Etna and Blockhaus caught the imagination and propelled the Frenchman up into third place in the standings at the halfway point of the race.

Fresh from winning the recent Tour of the Alps, Bardet was in the form of his life. Or, at the very least, his best form since those back-to-back podiums in the Tour de France in 2016 and 2017. Just 14 seconds off the race summit, the 31-year-old was keeping up with his principal rivals in the mountains and was in with a great shot at taking over the pink jersey currently covering the slender shoulders of Spanish rookie, Juan Pedro Lopez.

Ad/> What’s more, Bardet looked to be enjoying his cycling again. Ever since he escaped the goldfish bowl of life on a French WorldTour team, Bardet has seemed more relaxed and happier in his shell, as if the weight of the world had been lifted from his back. Where others have struggled to fit in, he’s taken to life at Team DSM like a hand in a silk glove – or, at the very least, like Bradley Wiggins to the back of a motorbike.

/> Giro d'ItaliaStage 13 highlights: Demare delight as he claims hat-trick after Bardet abandons2 HOURS AGO On Wednesday he even took over impromptu leadout duties to help slingshot young teammate Alberto Dainese to glory in Reggio Emilia as the 24-year-old Italian ended the host nation’s long wait for a stage win. France’s long wait for a Grand Tour win has been even longer. Not since Laurent Jalabert in the 1995 Vuelta a Espana has one of cycling’s main hinterlands topped the general classification in one of cycling’s three major stage races.