Bardet lost 31 seconds at the French stage race after the likes of compatriot Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), Chris Froome (Team Ineos) Movistar's Nairo Quintana and Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) rode clear on the Côte-de-Saint-Victor-sur-Arlanc with just under 20km to go on a stage that was won by Bahrain-Merida's Dylan Teuns, who also took the race leader's jersey in Craponne-sur-Arzon.
"It was a major stage, but great to be on some of my training roads," Bardet told L'Equipe. "This is only my second day of racing after a break, and so I'm still not in perfect form. I tried to test my legs a bit earlier on the key climb, but I wasn't able to do any more than that."
Bardet recently completed his annual pre-Tour de France altitude training camp in Spain's Sierra Nevada mountain range, but, until starting the Dauphiné on Sunday, hadn't raced since finishing 21st at Liege-Bastogne-Liege in late April.
"I just have to tell myself that I'm going to keep getting better each day," Bardet continued, "and today doesn't change the way I'm going to approach the rest of the race.
"I'm here to put in some efforts, and to take each stage one day at a time, and we'll see how things have worked out by the end of the week," he said.
AG2R team manager Vincent Lavenu appeared slightly more concerned, but with the major mountain stages still to come later this week, before the Dauphiné finishes in Champéry on Sunday – and with the Tour de France still well over three weeks away – the team is having to look long-term.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
"Our leader having lost 31 seconds is obviously not great," Lavenu told L'Equipe. "The team worked hard, but we're still disappointed. It proved to be a key stage, with the decisive move coming on the last climb, with Romain unable to follow near the top.
"Losing half a minute isn't ideal, but it's not crippling. It's still early in the race, and this might actually give Romain more of a chance to make a move a bit later on in the race," he said.
Cyclingnews is the world's leader in English-language coverage of professional cycling. Started in 1995 by University of Newcastle professor Bill Mitchell, the site was one of the first to provide breaking news and results over the internet in English. The site was purchased by Knapp Communications in 1999, and owner Gerard Knapp built it into the definitive voice of pro cycling. Since then, major publishing house Future PLC has owned the site and expanded it to include top features, news, results, photos and tech reporting. The site continues to be the most comprehensive and authoritative English voice in professional cycling.
