What is Thibaut Pinot up to these days? I was preparing a post for the "lesser known races" to be published in a week or so and came across an article published in Ouest France a couple of days ago. I thought that I would share it with you...
As you may know, Thibaut accepted the role of "Ambassador" for the Classic Grand Besançon and the Tour du Jura, which will be held on April 14th and 15th. The organizers partnered with the Tour du Doubs, which will now be scheduled on the 16th. Three days of racing, easy on the teams in terms of lodging and logistics, this may be the formula to save these races moving forward.
Official websites haven't unveiled the routes of the first two races yet, but what we know is that the CGB will finish atop the Belvedère de Montfaucon, a Super Planche de la Malate if you will, a climb that Thibaut and Arthur Vichot rode a lot when racing as teenagers for the local club. It's a toughy...
At the end of the article, Thibaut was on top of the climb, surrounded by kids and signing autographs, and he set his expectations for Il Giro: "I want to win a stage, any stage", adding that "I want to have a great season, thank the fans, share emotions with them until Il Lombardia. Today I rode with 6 year-olds, that's the age when I started, it brought back memories".
Indeed, earlier that day, Thibaut was in Salins participating in a sprinting competition and losing a close contest against little Léo. Then he went on a group ride with a dozen local kids before a solo ride on my favorite of all climbs: Le Mont Poupet. For the first time ever it will be featured in a pro race, as the MTF of the Tour du Jura. It was my late uncle Alain's weekly challenge, I rode it twice and both times the upper ramp got the better of me and I had to put a foot down. It's a serious climb by any standard:
I hope that Thibaut wins this bike race on April 15: it would mean a lot to me. In the article he describes Le Mont Poupet as "a cool forrest, the kind of place that I enjoy, no cars, and a very nice climb".
Then on April 16 is the Tour du Doubs. No sprint finish this year after Thibaut vented his frustration in '21, having been brought back after a solo attack in the descent leading to Pontarlier. The organizers took notice and the finish will be on the Larmont mountain, which happens to be a training climb for the CC Etupes, Thibaut's team before he joined FdJ. We have an official route on the race's website and here's the profile:
Le Larmont is 6.6 km at 5.3% average with a few steep sections and its profile is nowhere to be found...so I created one:
It's a long post, I hope you enjoyed it

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