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Teams & Riders Thibaut Pinot discussion thread

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Tonton

Tonton

May 17, 2013
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... I still can't believe it. Two climbs away, he had it! . This Giro was brutal. Thibaut was sick due to exhaustion, took his beating like a Man (quote Tyson), bad night and coughing, got on his bike. He was so bad, crashing into the team car, but soldiered on. So much for Pinot being soft.

Thibaut Pinot may end up as the Goran Ivanisevic of cycling, he'll get that big one. He's no Merckx, no Hinault, but Tibopino is a fantastic rider who just showed that he was willing to die on a bike.
 
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Bolder

Jun 25, 2015
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I really did think he'd podium. I was gutted to see him struggle. He went down fighting for sure. I can't fault his tactics one bit.

But...taking stock: So long as Froome/Dumoulin/Nibali/Quintana/Bardet (in form) are still racing, I don't think TP can win a grand tour. Setting aside the fact that he rode himself inside out, his TT was really weak (63rd!) and he didn't show any real separation from the field except that he followed Dumoulin on the Finistre epic (and did well on Gran Sasso). I'm not sure why he isn't a better time trialer -- he's tall, not a stick-thin guy like Bardet. Maybe he should hire an aerodynamicist and retool his approach. Nothing to lose there.

At some point, I think, he'll have to show that he has that one tiny little bit of special sauce (or bring up his TT a few notches. Otherwise he'll have to rely on luck, rather than making the race himself.

This isn't meant to be criticism -- he's a Top 5 GT rider, after all. That's huge.
 
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rlntlssly

Jul 22, 2017
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Re:

Bolder said:
At some point, I think, he'll have to show that he has that one tiny little bit of special sauce (or bring up his TT a few notches. Otherwise he'll have to rely on luck, rather than making the race himself.

This isn't meant to be criticism -- he's a Top 5 GT rider, after all. That's huge.
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I don't think he'll improve any further while riding for FDJ. Riding for another team (Giant, Sky, maybe Trek, Astana) might provoke him into taking the next step.

Or, of course, maybe not. In which case, as you say, he remains one of the top 10 GT riders in the world, which is no small thing.
 
Eclipse

Eclipse

May 22, 2014
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You do have to wonder a little bit about where he will go from here. It was a brutal race for him and at this stage it's very clear that he's lacking that special bit extra to win a big race unless the stars align. What's more his consistency seems to still be very much in question as well sadly.

While improving his level to really compete with the best at Grand Tours isn't completely out of the question at this stage of his career, I do think that he's unlikely to do it without a change of scenery and he needs to consider a move now (but I'm not sure who would offer him better terms than he gets from FDJ).
 
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alexix7

Apr 18, 2017
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I would like to see him in La Vuelta, but i think the heat in Spain is big issue for him and that´s why he will always find hard to compete there for 3 weeks.
 
Pantani_lives

Pantani_lives

May 3, 2010
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If he had a lung infection bad luck might be a factor. He looked strong the day before, so maybe he was just caught by a virus or bacteria on the worst possible day. Fatigue can diminish one's resistance against infections, but this really happened from one day to the next.
 
lartiste

lartiste

Jul 29, 2016
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this is the explanation:

1. 2018 | 40.105 Km/h
2. 2009 | 40.057
3. 2016 | 40.014
4. 2017 | 39.843
5. 2010 | 39.628
6. 2015 | 39.615
7. 2013 | 39.360
8. 2014 | 39.031
9. 2003 | 38.917
10. 1983 | 38.896
 
Tonton

Tonton

May 17, 2013
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Re:

Pantani_lives said:
If he had a lung infection bad luck might be a factor. He looked strong the day before, so maybe he was just caught by a virus or bacteria on the worst possible day. Fatigue can diminish one's resistance against infections, but this really happened from one day to the next.
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First of all, Happy Birthday Tibopino, turning 28 today!

I never rode stage races, my serious cycling was in cadets/juniors, but I ran marathons in the 2000's and greatly improved my training and performance by reading Pete Pfitzinger's book (Advanced Marathoning) on the subject. Super detailed. And one topic was how exhaustion leads to a lower immune system, making you a prey for any virus or bug that comes along after marathons, for days. Thibaut was coughing in his post-race interviews last year, that one may just have been around the corner, but he made it. Not so lucky in'18.

Had he got his podium, we'd be high, let's not be low. What scares me though is that he showed up undercooked at Il Giro and could show up overcooked in Le Tour. Marc Madiot has to be smart, tell the sponsors to F themselves, and Tibopino races La Vuelta. Hot? So was most of the Giro last year and TP did just fine, thank you very much. Looking at the route, FDJ has to bring some TTT power, muritos, but Thibaut has greatly improved, yes, ITT after rest day (on 9/11 :eek: ) can be an issue, but for F sakes, FDJ have him ride hard and skip the rest day or figure it out...recon the stages for starters. Duh. That's a big point seldom discussed. Google Earth is OK for blokes like me to post designs, but if you want to win this thing...get there and scout. That's what serious teams do...

Joyeux Anniversaire Thibaut!
 
Tonton

Tonton

May 17, 2013
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Addendum to my last post: Bardet is not a better rider than Pinot. They're about equal....the difference is that RB scouted the cobbles, AG2R goes about their business...well, as a business. FDJ's training camp by the Etna...joke. Great team building, but I remember my own struggles in the Vallee de Chevreuse, how my times got better when I repeated them. La Cote de Gometz...Belle Image...nothing can replace scouting.

Tibopino carried his cross there was a ton of love and brotherhood. Great. Throwing him on Zoncolan cold was a stupidity. FDJ has to be modern. Team change could be the thing, or change the culture: it's not the '80's anymore.
 
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Alpe73

Dec 27, 2012
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Tonton said:
Addendum to my last post: Bardet is not a better rider than Pinot. They're about equal....the difference is that RB scouted the cobbles, AG2R goes about their business...well, as a business. FDJ's training camp by the Etna...joke. Great team building, but I remember my own struggles in the Vallee de Chevreuse, how my times got better when I repeated them. La Cote de Gometz...Belle Image...nothing can replace scouting.

Tibopino carried his cross there was a ton of love and brotherhood. Great. Throwing him on Zoncolan cold was a stupidity. FDJ has to be modern. Team change could be the thing, or change the culture: it's not the '80's anymore.
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Thoroughly enjoyed watching and routing for Pinot. Was pulling for him to get that final podium spot.

He seems like a warrior. Wish him nothing but the best going forward.
 
May0maniac

May0maniac

Jun 30, 2014
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JosephK said:
Ahh, TiboPinot, . . . not a wimp! He had pneumonia and, unfortunately, may miss the TDF: http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/r...ce-hospitalised-pneumonia-giro-ditalia-381519

A possible silver lining could be riding in the Vuelta, better rested and restored.
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Not riding the Tour would be a good idea, just look at Brambilla. He also had pneumonia, had to take a long break and then he and the team made the mistake of sending him to the Giro when he wasn't back at his best.
Thibaut just needs some rest and time to prepare for the 2nd half of the season, rushing him to the Tour could ruin his season.
 
Tonton

Tonton

May 17, 2013
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The plan is that '19 is Tour only. He can't possibly be lined up in '18 unless he's full-strength. Considering how recent years have been, bad idea. This lung infection could turn out to be a good thing in some twisted ways: Madiot can convince Groupama and their new money to forget the TdF and wait. The Vuelta course isn't too bad for Tibopino. He could get the podium that he didn't expect in his 2018 predictions, and mine :) . Maybe more!!!

Rushing him back would be idiotic. As much as we, and I criticize Marc Madiot sometimes, he knows. And the '18 plans may/should go out the window. Giro? Almost: two climbs away from the podium. F***!. It was the goal, the race was brutal, results may change, a Giro that will be remembered for so much good, a lot of bad, maybe some ugly conclusion in the weeks to come. In the grand scheme of things, TP proved once and for all, for all doubters, that he can endure an insane amount of punishment and possesses as much mental strength as most. It's when things go wrong that you see what people are made of.

Like Aru, and I posted how much I admired him on Zoncolan. He and Pinot, at their best, can challenge the rest.It wasn't meant to be. And Yates...he had it. What a Giro, what the F...

Vuelta glory? I would soooo love it. Have Bardet kick @ss in July and more Pinot in September, yes pleaaaaase! And both podium, one in rainbow in Austria, and give me a cherry on the '18 cake, Tibopino beats Nibali in Lombardia...what a year my friends :) .
 
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movingtarget

Aug 5, 2009
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Re:

Kwibus said:
Most human top 10 gt rider currently. I can't help myself being a fan of him.
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You must love TJVG then even though he is no longer top 10. Maybe Tejay is more human than human............following Pinot and expecting him to get podiums reminds me of waiting for Cadel Evans to win a grand tour. The year he won in 2011 everyone was talking up a match race between Andy and Contador. Evans was not even on the radar after 2009 and 2010. I get the feeling that if Pinot is going to get another podium or even win one, it will be similar. No one will be talking about him and he will do something surprising. At least three separate times in the Giro I assumed Pinot was heading for the podium but it wasn't to be. See what next year brings. But this Giro will go down in history as having so many unexpected twists with the top 10 riders. Unusual to say the least especially in the third week.
 
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