No one had seen it coming.
At least not in such a brutal way.
Visibly affected in the lower back, Thibaut Pinot saw his dreams of a yellow jersey shatter on the slopes of Port de Balès, the first non-category pass of the Tour de France.
"We have a great weekend to create movement", had however launched at the start the one who had fallen during the 1st stage, in Nice.
His ambitions will have to wait, at least one more year.
Surrounded by his teammates, the leader of Groupama-FDJ finished the 8 th stage far, very far from the favorites.
A scene that cruelly recalls the 19th stage of the 2019 edition, during which he had to give up, victim of a muscle injury to his left thigh.
"We managed to hide things a little for several days but there, when we arrive in moments of truth like today, that is not enough, declared Marc Madiot, sporting director of Groupama-FDJ, at the microphone of France Televisions.
We're going to get into the stages, try to take the breakaways, do the mountain stages to save our Tour de France because we have a little pride and ambition.
We will try to be competitive on the stages that will allow us to rebuild our morale.
Thibaut bends a lot, he tries to relax his back.
Already, the previous days, it was a little the case.
We will try to fix it.
"
‼ First big surprise of the day: 🇫🇷 Thibaut Pinot is dropped!
‼ First big surprise on the side of the favorites: 🇫🇷 @ThibautPinot is left behind!
# TDF2020 #TDFunited pic.twitter.com/eCSsdxcfSw
- Tour de France ™ (@LeTour) September 5, 2020
The reunion between the Tour and the Pyrenees was much happier for Nans Peters.
At 26, the Frenchman, who took part in his first Grande Boucle, won a prestigious victory after a nice number.
Member of the breakaway of the day, he flew into the last part of the Port of Balès, in the company of Ilnur Zakarin (CCC), before leaving behind the Russian, 2 nd at the finish.
This is the second success of his career after the 17th stage of the Giro last year.
Overall, Slovenian Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates) took time off the favorites, but Briton Adam Yates remains the overall leader.
🏆 🇫🇷 @NansPeters wins solo!
🏆
🏆 🇫🇷 @NansPeters as a champion!
🏆 # TDF2020 #TDFunited pic.twitter.com/5a1tM2OFJb
- Tour de France ™ (@LeTour) September 5, 2020
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