Frances hopes that Thibaut Pinot could up his GC game after last years near-miss at the Tour de France were dealt a conclusive, shattering blow on stage 8 on Saturday when the Groupama-FDJ leader lost over 25 minutes in a single high-mountain stage.
Pinot put the blame for his gigantic defeat squarely on his back injury, triggered by his huge crash on stage 1 in Nice last weekend, when he boiled down in the final three kilometres.
He came through the very first week without further injury, there were reports that he needed up to three hours of treatment a day for his back. And the crucial moment got here in the Tour when the Frenchman came terribly unstuck on Saturday on the Porte de Balès– the races first hors-catégorie climb– where he might be seen consistently extending and grimacing in pain.
In spite of being surrounded by his teammates, Pinot was not able to limit the damage, and he slid remorselessly in reverse far from the GC favourites and out of this years Tour GC video game.
” I had so much back pain, I couldnt pedal,” Pinot told French tv at the finish. “The Tour is not over– I never ever thought about stopping– but its been a really complex year.
” I want to apologise to my teammates and to those who support me; there have actually been a great deal of problems. Perhaps this is a turning point in my career,” he added. “I constantly said what I enjoyed was defending races. This was too much for me.”
Pinot insisted that his alternatives at the Tour were not over, although they would now centre on phase wins.
” The team is very strong, and Im crossing my fingers we can get one,” he concluded.
Pinots initial success at the Tour came in 2012, when he took a phase win in the Jura, but it has actually been followed by a huge Grand Tour rollercoaster, with a desert at the 2013 Tour.
A third place general then followed in 2014, and he then took a win on Alpe dHuez in 2015– after having actually lost 10 minutes to overall winner Chris Froome on the very first major summit surface.
After ending up fourth at the Giro dItalia in 2017, Pinot then deserted the Tour later on that year. He then gave up the Giro– again ill– when on the point of taking a podium surface in 2018. 2 stage wins followed at the Vuelta a España that September, but in 2019, hopes of a straight-out triumph in the Tour, after an excellent trip in the Pyrenees, collapsed in the Alps, where he needed to desert due to a thigh injury.
It stays to be seen what Pinot can accomplish in the rest of this years Tour, however any hopes of finally splitting the GC in his home race have now needed to be shelved for another season.
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“I constantly stated what I took pleasure in was fighting for races. After finishing fourth at the Giro dItalia in 2017, Pinot then abandoned the Tour later on that year. He then gave up the Giro– once again ill– when on the point of taking a podium surface in 2018. 2 stage wins followed at the Vuelta a España that September, but in 2019, hopes of an outright triumph in the Tour, after an exceptional trip in the Pyrenees, collapsed in the Alps, where he had to abandon due to a thigh injury.
