It has been a number of years since Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) was present at the Tour de France – at least with that as the chief Grand Tour objective of his season. Since 2016, to be exact.
It's a strange state of affairs for a French rider of his level to prefer riding abroad, but he makes no bones about his love of all things Italian.
After struggling to back up his 2014 Tour podium, his personal preference in the last couple of years has been to take part in the Giro d’Italia, where he won a stage and finished fourth overall in 2017. He was well placed to crack the podium the following year, only to crumble with illness one day from the end. Still, he bounced back in the second half of the season to win Il Lombardia and Milano-Torino, not to mention the two Grand Tour stages over in Spain at the Vuelta.
ADVERTISEMENT
As far as this season goes, the swarthy Frenchman has been at the pointy end of affairs in each of the stage races he has ridden. However, when the concurrence is of WorldTour level, then things have been more complicated. At Tirreno-Adriatico, and then again in Catalunya, he appeared to be missing that vital ingredient to follow the best riders, but, as each race progressed, so did his form. Basically, he went from watching the others leave him behind in the first of the uphill finishes to being a part of the battle at the end of a week's racing.
Then, at the Critérium du Dauphiné, that characteristic was turned on its head when he emerged as the strongest rider on the first occasion when the GC favourites opened up and tested each other. With a month to go to the Tour, it was looking good for Pinot. Yet, being the person everyone was looking to, he faded, losing seconds here and there, and, as the race reached its final weekend, all that promise came to nothing.
And that's one of the issues with trying to figure out what Pinot is going to do when he turns up at a race. There's an inconsistency to his form that goes from being brilliantly aggressive – like when he won Lombardy – to having a disastrous time trial, or a bad day in the mountains, or abandoning altogether.
Pinot's 2019 programme
- Tour de la Provence (February 14-17): 4th
- Tour du Haut Var (February 22-24): 1st
- Ardèche Classic (March 2): 12th
- Industria & Artigianato (March 10): 31st
- Tirreno-Adriatico (March 13-19): 5th
- Volta a Catalunya (March 25-31): 11th
- Tour de l'Ain (May 24-26): 1st
- Critérium du Dauphiné (June 9-16): 5th
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/a-complex-character-thibaut-pinot-returns-to-the-tour-de-france
No comments:
Post a Comment