The Pinot noir from the day before in the same place has firmed up a bit. Saturday's smoky and angry gaze gave way to a more appeased face if not completely reassured. Thibaut Pinot had taken the start a few hours earlier in the fog despite a full sun on the Promenade des Anglais.
Touched all over the right side, after his fall in the final of the 1st stage, he was apprehensive about what would happen next. "I have known better night and better awakening, that's for sure," he relativized. It hurts a bit all over but nothing is broken. I also have a bruise on my back because a competitor ran into me, that's what worries me more. The knee, hot, I hope it will get better. Even my body, once I roll, it's going to unlock a bit. "
Without fear or new fall
And that's exactly what happened. The leader of Groupama-FDJ managed his stage without fear or new falls. Which was the main point. "Really, it was a good job from Thibaut," rejoices Philippe Mauduit, the sporting director of Groupama-FDJ. We know that the day after a fall is often a tricky thing and that anything can happen: an aggravation of the pain as an improvement. There, he is still better. "
Sébastien Reichenbach, his Swiss teammate, is also satisfied. “The goal wasn't really to get back on the road but rather to count the damage,” he explains. They are always complicated days. Thibaut is in the game, he has surely some pain but it's rather reassuring to see him with the first ones. This first week is going to be very hard. The goal is for him to make as little effort as possible until the first mountain stages. "
Gaudu clenched his teeth
But, even controlling his pain and healing his wounds, Pinot almost had a terrible day. David Gaudu, his greatest asset in the mountains, is the worst off in the team. Heavily hit in the tailbone, Gaudu worried from the first kilometer. Released from the start and grimacing, the young climber clenched his teeth and finally rallied Nice with the peloton. “This morning, he couldn't even get off the bus without pain,” says Mauduit. But, over the miles, he felt better. And his morale is up. "
After the stage, Gaudu went to take x-rays which did not reveal any fractures. He can remember the episode of the team time trial in Brussels last year. Heavily affected, he had ended in tears, convinced that his Tour was over. Ten days later, he brilliantly fulfilled his mission of first trigger in the mountains for Pinot, winner in particular at the top of the Tourmalet.