So what? A Vuelta stage, two if GFC has a very bad TTT. I can't wait to see his guts all over the place. Thibaut can do it. And II want a good Italian campaign after that. Yes
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I don't think so. He'll also have chances next year. It's not like he hasn't been in good form at some points during this season.Sorry for the depressive post, but I think this was his last-ever GT stage win:
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Seems like such a long time ago, now.
I hope you're right. The Giro next year would be great, maybe even trying for GC. The tactic of "Don't deliberately lose time, but don't sweat it if he does."I don't think so. He'll also have chances next year. It's not like he hasn't been in good form at some points during this season.
He can absolutely win another GT stage. Can he ever be a GC contender again? It doesn't look like it, honestly. As much as I like Tibo, I think his peak is in the rear-view mirror...the back injury took away 2.5 of what should have been his prime years.I don't think so. He'll also have chances next year. It's not like he hasn't been in good form at some points during this season.
And that's sort of a new thing, isn't it? Him just being sort of... consistenly average in GTs. I mean, to make a quick run-through of his GT career so far (Italics indicates finished GTs):The final week of La Vuelta is by far the most consistent he has been since the injury issues.
His legs in the last week were quite good, stronger than he had been in the vast majority of race days this year.And that's sort of a new thing, isn't it? Him just being sort of... consistenly average in GTs. I mean, to make a quick run-through of his GT career so far (Italics indicates finished GTs):
2012 Tour: Stage win + top 10.
2013 Tour: Slipped out of GC contention, ultimately abandoned.
2013 Vuelta: Top 10.
2014 Tour: Podium + white jersey.
2014 Vuelta: Never really in GC contention, ultimately abandoned.
2015 Tour: Slipped out of GC contention, but won a stage.
2016 Tour: Slipped out of GC contention, ultimately abandoned.
2017 Giro: Stage win + top 10
2017 Tour: Slipped out of GC contention, ultimately abandoned.
2018 Giro: Got sick while looking set for a podium, and had to abandon.
2018 Vuelta: Stage wins + top 10
2019 Tour: Stage win, looked like he could challenge for the podium - perhaps even the win - but then he got injured, and had to abandon.
2020 Tour: Got injured early on, and slipped out of GC contention, destroyed his back by continuing to Paris.
2020 Vuelta: Barely even started before he abandoned
2022 Tour: Never went for GC, tried to win stages, but didn't.
2022 Vuelta: Never went for GC, tried to win stages, but didn't.
Yes, but ultimately he didn't have anything to show for it. Just interesting how - up until this year - his GT career seems to have been defined by extreme highs or extreme lows, and in some cases, both in the same race.His legs in the last week were quite good, stronger than he had been in the vast majority of race days this year.
Hopefully Pinot doesn’t go out like II Piccoli Principe.End of year thoughts, and hopes for 2023.
Meh! Two wins, no GT stage win, but two GT finishes (!), it's a mixed bag but as some put it, when we look ahead we can't dream big, we can just be hopeful.
Can Thibaut Pinot write another page of his saga, give us more epic moments? AGR, FW, LBL, finally? I hope that he gets his Giro moment, pink even for just one day, a win and who knows...a podium? KOM?
We'll get something. And tears for the most emotional ones. Tears of sorrow, tears of joy? We don't know. That's the magic of Tibopino.
Thibaut needs to provide us with more goat pictures. It'll make him and us feel better about his future.End of year thoughts, and hopes for 2023.
Meh! Two wins, no GT stage win, but two GT finishes (!), it's a mixed bag but as some put it, when we look ahead we can't dream big, we can just be hopeful.
Can Thibaut Pinot write another page of his saga, give us more epic moments? AGR, FW, LBL, finally? I hope that he gets his Giro moment, pink even for just one day, a win and who knows...a podium? KOM?
We'll get something. And tears for the most emotional ones. Tears of sorrow, tears of joy? We don't know. That's the magic of Tibopino.
I would have been more surprised if it weren't going to be the case. But hopefully he gets a great farewell season. And perhaps he'll continue to show up up for the kit presentations like Valverde.
If anyone who actually speaks French has a better translatation, please provide it.It's a decision I've carefully considered over the years.
I'm excited about the new things I'll be able to discover after my career, but I'm just as excited to race during this last year.
I have rarely been so motivated before a season and I want to finish in style.
I do everything and I will continue to do everything to achieve the best possible results.
Only last sentence may be translated differently :And here's the quote ran through Google Translate:
If anyone who actually speaks French has a better translatation, please provide it.
Yeah... the quote does say that he's been thinking about it over the years. So while he didn't - as some people thought he might - break contract and retire early. However, once his contract is over, guess there's not much point of him to continue.This has been coming for a while. The disappointment of the 2019 Tour combined with the pain of the 2020 one has broken him, sadly. He will be sorely missed in the peloton.