According to AG2R La Mondiale boss Vincent Lavenu, Romain Bardet has never been pressured regarding his race program.

Bardet and Lavenu sat down Wednesday to announce that the 29-year-old Bardet will make his Giro d'Italia debut in 2020.

Speaking to Cycling News at the team's preseason rally in Vaujany shortly after the announcement, Lavenu admitted that Bardet had "dreamed of riding the Giro" for years.

However, Bardet's season has been focused on the Tour since 2013, with his only Grand Tour appearance coming in the 2017 Vuelta.

As the French star of a French team with a longstanding French title sponsor, one suspects that Bardet is clearly considered integral to the planning of the most important event of the year.

"I never told Romain to do this or that," Lavigne insists.

"I have argued with him before. Not infrequently, we have had different visions of what path to take. Sometimes we chose the path, sometimes he chose it himself. But we never forced him to do anything or told him he had to do anything. That's not the best way to manage an athlete, especially not someone like Romain."

Similarly, Lavenu insisted that the title sponsor, an insurance company that has supported the team since 2000, may prefer to have a star rider in the competition, the biggest exposure opportunity of the year, but has no say in the sport's decisions.

"AG2R La Mondiale trusts us. They have never been involved in recruiting players or making strategic decisions. Whenever we recruit a big player or make a big decision, we always report to them. The sponsorship aspect and the sporting aspect are kept separate, and that's the balance we have found with them for a long time," Ravenu said.

"We told them months ago that Bardet might choose the Giro, but that we needed to wait for the parcours to become clear and for the disappointment of the Tour to pass. In the end, the decision we made confirmed that idea. We simply told our partners as much; we are fortunate to have partners like AG2R La Mondiale that do not interfere with the sporting side of things. Now we just have to show that we made the right decision. The ball is in our court."

While Bardet made his debut in the Giro, there were suspicions that he would also compete in the Tour, although not in a leadership position. However, Bardet insisted that he could not see himself doing anything other than fighting for the yellow jersey at the Tour. He also believes that it would interfere with his preparations for the Olympics, which will be held less than a week after the Tour.

He also has his sights set on the World Championships, which will be held on a similar hilly course in Switzerland, and feels that the Vuelta will be the perfect preparation for that. Even if the Giro route and three time trials seem less suited to his skills than the climber-friendly Tour.

"It's a big decision, but part of the trajectory of his career. Romain wants to discover and feel other ...... I'm sure he will feel a sense of liberation, finally being able to ride the Giro that he has dreamed about for years. I've never had this chance before, but next year is exactly the right time," Lavenu said.

"It's the first time he's ridden the Tour de France in seven years and he'll be following his experience from this year's Tour. As a result, he said, 'It's time to do the Giro. We considered it. It is clear that the parcours of the Tour is suitable for Romain, but there are other factors as well. He can perform better if he wants to do it rather than being forced to do it."