Tower and torments
For Thibaut Pinot, the 2020 Tour was one of all promises.
Postponed (August 29-September 20) due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Grande Boucle should offer less trying climatic conditions for the Franc-Comtois who does not like the high heat of July.
The health bubbles had dismissed the public and put a less magnifying glass on the test of what to please Pinot who does not taste the effervescence of summer.
The course, finally, had planted its epilogue in his garden with an arrival at La Planche des Belles Filles.
Everything to please him… But nothing happened as planned.
Falling during the 1st stage in Nice, shot in the back, marked physically and psychologically, the leader of the Groupama-FDJ team gritted his teeth but lived a nightmare.
Before finishing, frustrated, 29th at 1h59'54 '' from Tadel Pogacar.
A Tour to be forgotten which has gradually given rise to the idea of turning away from an event in which Pinot has had its ups (3rd in the general classification in 2014; 3 stage victories) and downs (including 4 withdrawals).
A team that has other cards
On a 2021 route less favorable to Thibaut Pinot, the influence of house sprinter Arnaud Démare (14 victories in 2020, making the French champion the rider who won the most success last year), deprived of a Tour last year in a group that played the Pinot card is a weighty element in the team's strategy.
To line up a sprinter requires teaming up with him or her specialized in running sprints, and therefore to pluck Pinot's close guard.
At 29 years old, Démare is mature.
He has not yet given his full potential on the Tour (2 stage wins).
It burns to shine there.
The Groupama-FDJ team can also rely on the affirmation of the talent of David Gaudu (8th in the last Vuelta, winner of two stages).
The Breton climber, always devoted, can hope to play his personal card, freed from the obligations attached to a role of team member.
Valentin Madouas can also hope to enjoy a little more freedom.
Youth in power
In recent years, the Tour has smiled on the new generation.
Uncomplicated, all terrain.
Colombian Egan Bernal (22 years old, Ineos; crowned in 2019), then Slovenian Tadej Pogacar (21 years old; UAE Team Emirates; crowned in 2020) gave Geraint Thomas, Christopher Froome and Thibaut Pinot a serious boost.
At 30, the professional Franc-Comtois since 2010 (under contract until 2023 with Groupama-FDJ) still has great things to experience and share.
He must rebuild his confidence and his ambition.
Perhaps in the shadow of the Tour de France which does not forgive the slightest weakness and does not hesitate to celebrate a carefree youth.
Passion for Italy
Thibaut Pinot has often confessed, he loves Italy.
Its roads, its trials, its Giro.
He brilliantly won the Tour of Lombardy in 2018 and had good times on the Giro as on the Tour (stage victory and 4th in the final general classification in 2017) and pain (forced to retire in 2018 on the eve of the last stage suffering from pneumonia when he was 3rd twenty-four hours earlier).
On the Giro, he likes the atmosphere, the decor, the less oppressive environment.
A universe he wants to find.
Thibaut Pinot has, over the years, forged a passionate relationship with Italy, a land of cycling, history and tradition.
In the reconstruction phase, he will appreciate going back to the pleasure box, before setting out, sooner or later, on an adventure on the Tour.
In one role or another.
He has forged a strong relationship with the Tour.
Made of attraction and repulsion.
The Tour's favorite sign may be too heavy to carry, but he will come back to the biggest race in the world.
Thrived even without the Tour
His physical and psychological fragility have often been put forward to explain his failures (especially on the Tour).
His entourage denies it.
Thibaut Pinot lives and runs as he likes.
If his career does not have a crowning glory on the Tour, he will not suffer.
He will have done everything (still not accompanied by the advice of his brother Julien, trainer in the Groupama-FDJ team) to get the best and will leave without regret.
Proud of what he has tried and experienced.
Happy with the emotions provided.
Thibaut Pinot is a prominent figure in the international peloton because his talent, his strength and his weaknesses (he always knew how to find the strength to bounce back after the most overwhelming disappointments, such as retirement from the 2019 Tour) make him an endearing champion. , popular.
This is the reason why, whatever the program chosen, it will be followed with great attention.
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