Usually Thibaut Pinot means Tour de France, big crowds and intense pressure, but FDJ's climber was seen in a new light last weekend at the Tour du Gévaudan, a two-day race around Mende. At ease, smiling, and taking time with the fans, he rode to overall victory after capturing stage 1 on a summit finish.
The Alpe d'Huez victor at this year's Tour de France not only had “fun” on the hilly and narrow roads near the Massif Central; he also maintained his position among the best French climbers who fought against him - notably Romain Bardet and Alexis Vuillermoz (AG2R La Mondiale). The result is the icing on top of the cake after a “pretty decent season” (fourth overall at Tirreno-Adriatico, Tour of Romandie and Tour de Suisse) and ahead of his final objective - the Tour of Lombardy, which takes place next Sunday in Italy.
Cyclingnews: Is it a special feeling to claim your first stage race since the Settimana Lombarda in 2011?
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Thibaut Pinot: I am relaxed and happy. I didn't get so many opportunities to win overall given my focus on WorldTour events where many big names compete. The Tour du Gévaudan is one of the 'smaller' but very important races I have on my calendar. The other one was the Critérium International last April in Corsica, and I failed to win. I certainly put too much pressure on myself there and I made tactical mistakes. On the contrary I felt relaxed at the Tour du Gévaudan, I made the right moves at the right time, and I had some great support from my teammates. In short, it was a good test.
CN: Did you also take a sort of revenge on the 'Montée Jalabert', above Mende, two months after Steve Cummings defeated you on the top of that climb at the Tour?
TP: I certainly had some memories when we climbed the 'Montée Jalabert' twice on Sunday on the last stage – we took a different direction near the summit and could go to a downhill while the Tour only uses the ascent. But I never attacked there because my team was controlling. Instead I launched an attack on the final climb on stage 1 to Florac. My participation at the Tour du Gévaudan was not a question of revenge. More importantly I needed fun. There are not too many races for climbers in France and Gévaudan is really tough. I came two days earlier and I trained on the parcours. I was really excited and sent a text message to the organiser: “This is a true cycling course!”
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