Teams & Riders Thibaut Pinot discussion thread

[Rob5091]

The rumors are going that Démare's off to Arkea, Pinot retires at year end and Gaudu looks like a third tier GC guy at the CdD. It's a good thing that at least FDJ have young Lenny to build a team around (unless of course Ineos buy him up! ) Does Martinez have any goats though?

 

[pastronef]

Pinot said that if he wins the French road championships, he rides in 2024 too. tbf I don't know what to hope for

 

[dominikk85]

Pinot said that if he wins the French road championships, he rides in 2024 too. tbf I don't know what to hope for

Olympics are in Paris so that could be a goal for him as a french rider

 

[RedheadDane]

Olympics are in Paris so that could be a goal for him as a french rider

Isn't it gonna be pretty... flat?

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Isn't it gonna be pretty... flat?

If Pinot wants a mountain and there is no mountain, they better build a mountain!

 

[ZamlinusYoutubeious]

I hope he rides this tdf. He could be the best french rider in the gc.

 

[RedheadDane]

If Pinot wants a mountain and there is no mountain, they better build a mountain!

They'll just move LPDBF to Paris.

 

[tobydawq]

Isn't it gonna be pretty... flat?

They'll probably make a route that covers the Louvre pyramid and the Eiffel Tower if Pinot decides to go (there are some hills in the northern part of the city but not hard enough to favour him).

 

[Peyroteo94]

Why don't do a Roubaix Paris?

 

[RedheadDane]

They'll probably make a route that covers the Louvre pyramid and the Eiffel Tower if Pinot decides to go (there are some hills in the northern part of the city but not hard enough to favour him).

I can just imagine the tactic meetings:

"So, you go into the Louvre courtyard, and over the pyramid."
"Oh, like in the Tour?"
"No. In the Tour you go around the pyramid. I clearly said over the pyramid."

In all seriousness, though, isn't it IOC who makes the Olympic routes? How much would they actually care about making a route for Pinot?

 

[DNP-Old]

Perhaps (probably) unwillingly, but in his farewell tour Pinot has suddenly become the most toxic rider in the peloton. His fanbase reminiscent of a cult first went after Cepeda with a series of insults and now Gaudu has to deal with insults and threats towards himself and his family.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

In all seriousness, though, isn't it IOC who makes the Olympic routes? How much would they actually care about making a route for Pinot?

IOC obviously has approve the course in some way or another, but I doubt they're involved in the design.

 

[pastronef]

Perhaps (probably) unwillingly, but in his farewell tour Pinot has suddenly become the most toxic rider in the peloton. His fanbase reminiscent of a cult first went after Cepeda with a series of insults and now Gaudu has to deal with insults and threats towards himself and his family.

that's what I always hated about Pinot, his fans, his Jesus-like aura. the cult. it's baffling. for his fans it's like a superior force made Thibaut descend on them and cast his power over cycling and for them to worship the gift they have. (half joking eh)
tone it down folks

 

[RedheadDane]

that's what I always hated about Pinot, his fans, his Jesus-like aura. the cult. it's baffling. for his fans it's like a superior force made Thibaut descend on them and cast his power over cycling and for them to worship the gift they have. (half joking eh)
tone it down folks

And the question is; would Pinot even want this kind of reaction towards Gaudu or Cepeda? Of course he was angry with Cepeda in the moment, but I haven't seen any evidence that the "feud" has continued. In fact, it seems like it very quickly became between Pinot and Vaughters, and then - bizarely - between Vaughters and Armstrong.
As for his relationship with Gaudu; that always struck me as a very healthy one.
I'm assuming the insults towards Gaudu that DNP is talking about is something worse than the simple "Hmm... Gaudu hasn't really shown during Dauphine that he deserves full support for the Tour."

 

[tobydawq]

And the question is; would Pinot even want this kind of reaction towards Gaudu or Cepeda? Of course he was angry with Cepeda in the moment, but I haven't seen any evidence that the "feud" has continued. In fact, it seems like it very quickly became between Pinot and Vaughters, and then - bizarely - between Vaughters and Armstrong.
As for his relationship with Gaudu; that always struck me as a very healthy one.
I'm assuming the insults towards Gaudu that DNP is talking about is something worse than the simple "Hmm... Gaudu hasn't really shown during Dauphine that he deserves full support for the Tour."

It must be weird for you to see Armstrong and Pinot holding hands. We only need Michael Rasmussen to join in.

 

[Rob5091]

IOC obviously has approve the course in some way or another, but I doubt they're involved in the design.

Rumor has it that the French Olympic Committee wants to re-name France as Paris ... seriously, I don't expect the surfing competition to be held in Paris (yes, surfing is in the Olympics) or the sailing, so why not have the road race in a less flat area?

 

[StryderHells]

that's what I always hated about Pinot, his fans, his Jesus-like aura. the cult. it's baffling. for his fans it's like a superior force made Thibaut descend on them and cast his power over cycling and for them to worship the gift they have. (half joking eh)
tone it down folks

I say tone it up! In todays world we need a saviour and why should it not be a French goat herder?

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Rumor has it that the French Olympic Committee wants to re-name France as Paris ... seriously, I don't expect the surfing competition to be held in Paris (yes, surfing is in the Olympics) or the sailing, so why not have the road race in a less flat area?

You usually have as many competitions as possible taking place in and around the host city, so I doubt anything other than a Paris course has been seriously considered.

 

[Rob5091]

You usually have as many competitions as possible taking place in and around the host city, so I doubt anything other than a Paris course has been seriously considered.

So a few francs bet on Démare now, might be "good investment"?

 

[RedheadDane]

It must be weird for you to see Armstrong and Pinot holding hands. We only need Michael Rasmussen to join in.

Bit of a weird "alliance" anyway. Mostly someone new entering the conversation to *** on the previous person.

Anyway. Anyone knows what his plans are? Not gonna do any races before the Nationals (and possibly Tour)? I was wondering if maybe he'd do Mont Ventoux and Occitanie. However, he's not doing the former, and the two races seems like the kind of races where a team might just pick the same lineup.

 

[Bolder]

Isn't it gonna be pretty... flat?

Plenty of short (under 1km) punchy hills around Paris. Just need to be a little creative.

 

[Rob5091]

I did not realize that it's now possible to smell like a goat! Goat perfume .. yep, could be Pinot's post racing goldmine.

 

[Tonton]

Rumor has it that the French Olympic Committee wants to re-name France as Paris ... seriously, I don't expect the surfing competition to be held in Paris (yes, surfing is in the Olympics) or the sailing, so why not have the road race in a less flat area?

I would need to dig, the '24 Olympics was the original plan for Pinot's retirement. There are articles about the road race course planned around Mantes-la-Jolie a circuit with a climb, 2km-ish long at 6-ish%.

 

[Tonton]

With regards to the upcoming Tour, considering team politics and all, knowing that the Giro-Tour double isn't the best idea, I feel upbeat, after all.

If we (and we should to some extent) believe GFC's Plan A as it is presented , David is the GC guy. He will need help in key stages. And Thibaut will have some opportunities along the way. He has to be strong though.

Thibaut needs to make the break on Friday July 14th. It's France's national holiday. A win on Bastille Day would be huge for his legacy. Grand Colombier via Culoz is Pinot's climb, it should be renamed after him. He won a MTF there twice. I mark that one.

 

[Rob5091]

Talking of Paris Olympics, I see the traditon of the corruption scandal before the Olympics is being continued in Paris -
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/jun/20/french-police-search-paris-olympics-hq
Police have searched the headquarters of the Paris 2024 Olympics organising committee, as well as its major infrastructure partner, as part of investigations into alleged embezzlement of public funds and favouritism.