Maybe the drought will be over soon for French riders at the Tour de France.
He didn’t know it then but Hinault’s fifth crown brought an end to a glorious era in French cycling, a period when the home nation won nine Tour titles out of 11.
A year after finishing runner-up to Froome, Bardet was again praised for his bold attacks in the 2017 race.
A strong climber with a natural instinct for racing, Bardet rode more consistently but cracked in the final time trial in Marseille.
He still salvaged his podium finish by one second, holding off Froome’s teammate Mikel Landa.
It wasn’t much more than a consolation for the 26-year-old Bardet, but he showed he is now Froome’s match in the high mountains and displayed a fighting spirit in the final few hundred meters of the time trial at the Stade Velodrome.
Bardet was quicker than Froome in mountain stages this year and dropped him in the steep climb to Peyragudes in the Pyrenees.
"I can improve a bit, especially in the time trial," Bardet said.
Going out to train on my time trial bike is a little bit boring for me.
On a brutal day of racing at an altitude of 2,360 meters, Barguil won his second stage of the tour after he attacked with six kilometers left to climb.