AG2R La Mondiale`s Romain Bardet will set his season in motion at the three-day Tour du Haut Var, which begins in Vence, near Nice, in southern France, on Friday. Bardet brought the curtain down on his 2018 season when he was a non-finisher at Il Lombardia in mid-October, and so is now champing at the bit to get racing again after four months away from competition. `I`m happy to get back to racing. Since turning professional in 2012, I`ve never started a season so late,` Bardet said on his team`s website.ADVERTISEMENT `It gave me the opportunity to indulge in some other sports and lay a solid foundation of preparation,` he said, `and I`ll be using these races in February as a way to prepare for my first UCI WorldTour goals that come in March. But it`s a real pleasure to start racing in France, especially when it`s a race like the Tour du Haut Var, which promises to be very difficult.` Bardet considered riding - but ultimately decided not to take part in - his first Giro d`Italia this season, but will instead put all of his eggs into the one Tour de France basket in July, with a build-up to July that is set to include Paris-Nice and the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya in March, Liège-Bastogne-Liège in April and June`s Critérium du Dauphiné. The Tour du Haut Var`s opening stage includes two ascents of the category 2 Col du Vence, while there is a tough uphill finish to stage 2 in Mons.
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