veji11 said:
And also a lot less pressure on a young french rider with a big glaring flaw (descents) Ideally he should do Giro/Vuelta next year, he can come back to the Tour age 25 with more experience, and 3/4 completed GTs under his belt.
Not gonna happen.
I think it'll be better for him in 2014, first of all we saw in la Vualta that he was already better than in the Tour and the race car idea seems pretty sound to me, so i'm pretty confident that he'll not suffer as much as he did this year.
I think Demare can actually be a big help for him next year in the Tour, not in the mountains ofcause, but just by being there and take his share of the pressure and hopefully win a stage to boost the morale of the team and Pinot.
On the long run of cause Demare and Pinot needs to be split up, if they both reach their full potential that is, but right now they could better each other.
So i don't think he needs to stay clear of the Tour, but he might need to find a new team when his contract is up.