Teams & Riders Thibaut Pinot discussion thread

[Oldermanish]

I think it's pretty obvious that Pinot never really liked all the attention; he did the "disappears from public for weeks" thing long before Vingegaard. In fact, his dislike of attention has frequently been stated as one of his greatest achilles' heels.

Or greatest relief from pointlessly unrelenting stress from fans and press. Not everyone is built to have a personal colonoscopy adminstered by strangers every day.

 

[RedheadDane]

Or greatest relief from pointlessly unrelenting stress from fans and press. Not everyone is built to have a personal colonoscopy adminstered by strangers every day.

I'm a little confused... how exactly does not liking attention provide relief from attention that happens anyway?

 

[movingtarget]

Or greatest relief from pointlessly unrelenting stress from fans and press. Not everyone is built to have a personal colonoscopy adminstered by strangers every day.

Quite a few riders had to deal with that especially French riders that were often singled out as the next Tour winner etc........often those claims were not based on reality or results. Pinot only got his podium cause Contador and Froome dropped out, not that he didn't deserve his result. There are always hard luck stories even for the best riders. Some used to say that French riders on French teams were soft because they were pampered and indulged, maybe not so much now. I think Pinot struggled with the three week racing format with a few exceptions like his podium and the two Giro results but his completion record is poor. Not sure he had the physical constitution to regularly do well in three week races. In the third weeks he often got sick or had back problems or issues with the heat and when he crashed that just made it even harder for him physically. Maybe his character had something to do with it. But its only a small group of riders that can regularly hit the podium or top five in grand tours and many winners are multiple winners. No doubt the stresses of three week racing especially as a team captain are gruelling.

 

[Oldermanish]

I'm a little confused... how exactly does not liking attention provide relief from attention that happens anyway?

Referring to your inclusion: he did the "disappears from public for weeks" thing long before Vingegaard

 

[Oldermanish]

Quite a few riders had to deal with that especially French riders that were often singled out as the next Tour winner etc........often those claims were not based on reality or results. Pinot only got his podium cause Contador and Froome dropped out, not that he didn't deserve his result. There are always hard luck stories even for the best riders. Some used to say that French riders on French teams were soft because they were pampered and indulged, maybe not so much now. I think Pinot struggled with the three week racing format with a few exceptions like his podium and the two Giro results but his completion record is poor. Not sure he had the physical constitution to regularly do well in three week races. In the third weeks he often got sick or had back problems or issues with the heat and when he crashed that just made it even harder for him physically. Maybe his character had something to do with it. But its only a small group of riders that can regularly hit the podium or top five in grand tours and many winners are multiple winners. No doubt the stresses of three week racing especially as a team captain are gruelling.

The "gift" podium aside; he was in the serious mix until his back no longer responded and was the only rider putting serious hurt on Bernal. It was one of the most interesting Tours until he abandoned.

 

[RedheadDane]

Referring to your inclusion: he did the "disappears from public for weeks" thing long before Vingegaard

Of course, but that never really helped while racing.
He couldn't very well go spend time with his goats in the middle of the TdF. Apart from that one time...

The "gift" podium aside; he was in the serious mix until his back no longer responded and was the only rider putting serious hurt on Bernal. It was one of the most interesting Tours until he abandoned.

That was his leg... the back was 2020.