"I've been waiting to put on a bib for a while".
116 days precisely.
After his last competition during the Tour des Alpes, which ended in an anecdotal 60th place, Thibaut Pinot is back on the roads this Tuesday on the Tour du Limousin (August 17 to 20).
His back injury which has handicapped him for almost a year, definitely behind him.
An expected comeback, and the French rider intends to leave his mark on the race.
Thibaut Pinot new version?
We had left the Franc-Comtois at the end of April, in a very worrying state at the end of the Tour des Alpes.
“The more the kilometers pass, the less it goes.
After three hours of cycling, it's complicated for me, ”lamented Thibaut Pinot on the Team.
A few days later, his withdrawal from the Giro was formalized just like his absence from the Olympic Games.
The following ?
A month and a half, without setting foot on the pedals.
A real break to come back stronger ... But above all 100%.
Our team for the Tour du Limousin which begins on Tuesday with the return to competition of Thibaut Pinot ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/e9DX98xxWa
- Groupama-FDJ Cycling Team (@GroupamaFDJ) August 14, 2021
We find the 31-year-old climber this Thursday at a press conference, with a much more calm tone than usual: “I feel like a brand new runner, very young, with lots of envy.
Physically, it seems to be going pretty well, I'm happy.
The pleasure, I have found it again and mentally, I am impatient.
" The reason ?
Probably a training course at altitude in Tignes, mid-July, where the Frenchman joined his teammates: “The goal was to find friends.
I saw that things were going better and better, that I was keeping the pace of my teammates.
It really reassured me.
"
The Tour du Limousin as a warm-up?
And what better way for the tricolor to resume on the French roads, for a race of four stages in Limousin. “It was risky to go to the Vuelta (which started this Saturday), it's still too early. It was logical for me to resume a good stage race in France, so the period is perfect ”, explained the Groupama-FDJ rider, in a press release from his team. A smooth recovery? Not really. The 3rd of the Tour de France 2014 expects to be in pain: “I have been told that this race puts the cash, I expect to suffer, that's what I need. "
🚨 List of entries 🚨
126 riders will be at the start of the TDL 2021!
👍🤩
The range of this 54th edition is rich and strong!
More info here 👉 https://t.co/kK5QAchd9z 😉
See you on 08/17 for a thrilling race 😍 @ CajaRural_RGA, See you next year 👋😘 # TDL2021 pic.twitter.com/TaVt92GU2A
- Tour du Limousin - Périgord - Nouvelle-Aquitaine (@tourdulimousin) August 11, 2021
An unprecedented participation for the Franc-Comtois who has never done the Tour du Limousin: “Everything is in place to have a good race.
I remain cautious, Limousin is precisely a good test to get answers.
It's a test that will put me right away.
A life-size test even if its result does not matter much to its sports director Yvon Madiot:
“The presence of Thibaut is a real happiness for everyone but we must remain cautious.
This is his race to resume, he needs to resume automatisms and find the peloton.
"
A return 100% Made in France, unless ...
For his return, Thibaut Pinot wants to take his time.
The 31-year-old does not want to "have false joy" or "make the same mistake as in the past".
In the lead, his participation in the Tour of Spain when he had just experienced an ordeal on the Tour de France 2020, with a fall and a back injury from the first stage in Nice.
Pinot prefers to reassure himself in France before attacking next season.
Finally !
🤩
-Tour du Limousin
-Tour du Poitou-Charentes
-Classic Grand-Besançon
-Tour du Jura
-Tour du Doubs
It's time for the recovery and it will be 100% French 👀 See you
soon 😘 pic.twitter.com/ dBTWw8tNPF
- PINOT Thibaut (@ThibautPinot) July 30, 2021
On the program, after Limousin, the Tour du Poitou-Charentes (August 24 to 27), the Classic Grand Besançon (September 3), the Tour du Jura (September 4) and finally the Doubs (September 5).
Five events in three weeks to get back to the highest level with perhaps the end of the season in apotheosis.
The “big objective was the end of season races in Italy” confided the Franc-Comtois.
A nod to fate, the Tour of Lombardy, which the Frenchman has already won in 2018, will take place on October 9.