The “Secret Pro”, an anonymous rider who gives details on the peloton, wonders about the situation of Romain Bardet within the DSM team.
He calls himself the “Secret Pro”. This professional rider writes a fairly regular column on the CyclingTips site, where he reveals some noise from the hallway that circulates in the pelotons. In his last publicationhe is particularly interested in the recent Giro d’Italia… without saying whether he competed in it, so as not to give too many clues about his identity.
The “Secret Pro” thus evokes the winner Jai Hindley, or Simon Yates, who had no intention of playing for the general classification. He also returns to the abandonment of Romain Bardet, who threw in the towel during the 14th stage, ill, while he was still in contention for the podium or even the final victory.
The abandonment of Romain Bardet ?? today had the effect of a bomb ? . Unexpected
A bomb, once again when a Frenchman is able to play the win on a GT. Already that it is rare! What bad luck. The last time was in 2019…
Painful memory ?? pic.twitter.com/16MP7gSCve
– Vélofuté ⛰️ (@VeloFute) May 20, 2022
“He’s a really lovely guy, one of the only Frenchies I talk to, writes the “Secret Pro”. I hope he arrives in a team that is not built like some kind of cult. From what I know, you come into the team, and you’re not allowed any outside form of coaching, sports nutrition advice, none of that. You do what the team wants, how they want and when they want. It doesn’t matter if you have a successful partnership with a private coach; it’s the team path or the highway. And it seems that more and more people are taking the highway. »
The very specific methods of the DSM
The “Secret Pro” is not the first person to discuss the particular methods of DSM training. It is true that the very rigid functioning of the German team (ex-Sunweb) led several riders to leave before the end of their contract, including team leaders like Marc Hirschi or Tiesj Benoot. A Michael Matthews also left angry.
But Bardet, he seems to find a second youth with the DSM. The Auvergnat says he tended to want to invest too much in AG2R-La Mondiale, to think too much. In his new training, he blindly follows the recommendations of the staff regarding the preparation, which allows him to focus only on the races. And it pays off, since he won the Tour des Alpes in April, and his start to the Giro was very promising.
Bardet even extended his contract with the DSM, no later than mid-May. But the “Secret Pro” sees it as a staging. “I bet he puts on a big show in hopes a few teams will noticebelieves the masked runner. When he finally wants to tackle DSM this season, someone will come looking for him. It is not uncommon for riders to leave this team mid-season. It says a lot about how bad the team infrastructure is if a rider is willing to say ‘fuck it’ to a WorldTour team and the money that goes with it. »
The Secret Pro is back, and he’s dishing the dirt. https://t.co/q8vlg1ctjK
— CyclingTips (@cyclingtips) June 6, 2022
