Teams & Riders Thibaut Pinot discussion thread

[Samu Cuenca]

Maybe win them both?

That would be the dream of course, but I'll settle for him helping Valter to the Giro throne before winning the Tour himself and/or guiding Gaudu to the podium.

 

[SHAD0W93]

It would be cool if he can get the KoM and some stages at Giro while warming up.

 

[memyselfandI]

I think it's quite a bold daydream to think about him in the gc podium of gt's anymore, stagehunting is more realistic thing.

 

[BlueRoads]

I think it's quite a bold daydream to think about him in the gc podium of gt's anymore, stagehunting is more realistic thing.

If his back is fine he can just as well get on the podium. If it isn't even stage-hunting will be difficult.

 

[RedheadDane]

I think it's quite a bold daydream to think about him in the gc podium of gt's anymore, stagehunting is more realistic thing.

I suppose you're right, and maybe stagehunting would also be for the better.

Honestly, though - and here I'm probably gonna repeat stuff I've already said before - after 2019, once the initial disappointment had subsided, I think there was reason to be cautiously optimistic, but then his back happened, and Pogacar happened (well, technically both his back and Pogacar existed before 2020, but... you know what I mean!) And while I'm of course fundamentally opposed to calling him "old", even I gotta admit that these days, 32 is... somewhat mature for a GC contender.
Besides, even though his goal is to aim for the podium, it doesn't appear to be the all-for-one approach of earlier. Didn't they say it would be a three-pronged approach? So him, Gaudu, and... Madouas/Storer?

Unfortunately, according to this article we shouldn't expect much luck.

The Frenchman crashed heavily in the first week of the 2022 race, which aggravated a back injury which has plagued him since.

It also appears he's a time traveller!

 

[Salvarani]

Stranger things has happened, but he has to reach former level and have som luck in races. Have the perfect race, while others dont. I know the odds are probably against him but if Sastre, Evans, Horner, Thomas and so on could win a GT then Pinot can too if everything hasnt taken too much of a toll on him.

 

[repre]

Lost 7 mins today. What's up with him again? I'm starting to lose faith...

 

[SafeBet]

I think he was working for his teammates today.

 

[Monte Serra]

Thibaut at tête de la course once again!

 

[RedheadDane]

Unfortunately, it looked like his back started bothering him again.

 

[Pinot's goat]

Unfortunately, it looked like his back started bothering him again.

https://www.ouest-france.fr/sport/cyclisme/tour-des-alpes-maritimes-et-du-var/tour-des-alpes-maritimes-et-du-var-thibaut-pinot-transfigure-pour-ca-que-je-suis-toujours-la-dae7a6d0-9268-11ec-9cda-3882612f8110

Sounds like he was just tired going by his comments here but it did look strange.

 

[RedheadDane]

https://www.ouest-france.fr/sport/cyclisme/tour-des-alpes-maritimes-et-du-var/tour-des-alpes-maritimes-et-du-var-thibaut-pinot-transfigure-pour-ca-que-je-suis-toujours-la-dae7a6d0-9268-11ec-9cda-3882612f8110

Sounds like he was just tired going by his comments here but it did look strange.

Yeah, later it did look like it might just have been a brief wobble.

 

[tobydawq]

His morale is at 9 out of 10, he hasn't been feeling as good as he did in Tirreno since his crash in the 2020 Dauphiné.

It certainly was a good performance, in a lesser field he could have been shining more brightly (and probably managed to revive the thread), which is remarkable given a crappy February where he couldn't put two training days together and suffered from a bad reaction to a corona vaccine and some sickness between the Alpes Maritimes and du Var race and Tirreno, which forced him to sit out the French opening weekend (okay, that's not a real thing, but you probably get which races I mean).

Then the rest of the article is blocked.

Thibaut Pinot a eu « l'impression de revivre » sur Tirreno-Adriatico

Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) est sorti de Tirreno-Adriatico avec un top 10 (8e), des sensations dignes de celles du Dauphiné 2020 et le moral au beau fixe.

www.lequipe.fr

 

[RedheadDane]

In my defense; I was just waiting for an English article to appear.

 

[tobydawq]

In my defense; I was just waiting for an English article to appear.

As a cycling fan one must be able to read French, Italian and Dutch

 

[RedheadDane]

As a cycling fan one must be able to read French, Italian and Dutch

I can read it well enough.
It's the understanding bit that's tricky.

 

[Tonton]

I haven't followed much cycling last year, just the big races and mostly through highlights...too much work, and 2022 begins the same way. So I am not on top of Tibo's news like I used to be. Still, I feel good, I see progress, Il Giro would have been better as a major objective: the route is better for his skill set. And no Pog/Rog. Can Thibaut Pinot, once again, come back and be relevant? I hope so.

 

[RedheadDane]

I too would have preferred if he'd aimed for the Giro.
Because, frankly, even if he manages to get back to his 2019 level, it won't be enough.

 

[tobydawq]

I too would have preferred if he'd aimed for the Giro.
Because, frankly, even if he manages to get back to his 2019 level, it won't be enough.

Agreed. There was a very tight, one-year window where he could have won.

 

[macbindle]

Quelle surprise

 

[RedheadDane]

Oh, NooOOOooOOOOoooooooo!!!!!!!! A guy that came really close to taking his first win in almost three years gets emotional.
The horror!

 

[Leinster]

I will ask again. Why has he never even tried to ride the Ardennes? Even if he doesn’t think the Mur suits him.

 

[RedheadDane]

I will ask again. Why has he never even tried to ride the Ardennes? Even if he doesn’t think the Mur suits him.

That's a very good question. I'm afraid I do not know the answer.

 

[SHAD0W93]

Oh, NooOOOooOOOOoooooooo!!!!!!!! A guy that came really close to taking his first win in almost three years gets emotional.
The horror!

“If he hadn’t been weighed down by all the tears he cried he would have won. That’s why he’s not a champion and mentally weak.”
Macbindle probably

 

[RedheadDane]

“If he hadn’t been weighed down by all the tears he cried he would have won. That’s why he’s not a champion and mentally weak.”
Macbindle probably

He obviously needs to be more StOiC!