Teams & Riders Thibaut Pinot discussion thread

[Tonton]

Re:

I don't know what happened. He didn't fall or anything and seemed in great shape.

I saw his post race interview: he was right by his teammate who crashed and looked visibly still shaken. Even before the Cote de Cherave, he began to slip away.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

hmm, looks very complicated.
The cobbles stage might turn the French hope into a stage hunter.

 

[deValtos]

When the confidence goes, it really goes. If that's what the issue was he's in big trouble.

 

[mr. tibbs]

Re:

When the confidence goes, it really goes. If that's what the issue was he's in big trouble.

Confidence has certainly been his issue in the past. He seems to have gotten over it while descending, but maybe Tonton's right, and that crash shook him out of his racing mindset. On a finish like the Mur, that'd be all you need to fall off the pace in a big way.

 

[BlurryVII]

Pinot said he had no strength today, just a really bad day. And he feels pessimistic for tomorrow and the rest of the Tour. Don't know what the hell happened given he was in great shape.

 

[Queens Boulevard]

I know a guy who has a track record of taking riders with fragile confidence and turning them into Tour de France winners. He's also (lucky day) looking for a French rider to take to the top step. With better equipment and a never ending supply of strong tailwinds I see no heights that Pinot will not be able to scale. When's his contract with FDJ up again?

#marginalgains

 

[Ramon Koran]

Re:

I know a guy who has a track record of taking riders with fragile confidence and turning them into Tour de France winners. He's also (lucky day) looking for a French rider to take to the top step. With better equipment and a never ending supply of strong tailwinds I see no heights that Pinot will not be able to scale. When's his contract with FDJ up again?

#marginalgains

Problem is Froome still has 5 years at the top, pinot will be 30 if he were to then replace Froome as team leader. I would like to see him at tinkoff saxo, help Contador next year and learn from him then, become team leader.

 

[FCKAC]

He is shaken when he saw his teammate crashed badly. Poor guy have such a good heart but such fragile mentality. Maybe professional sport is too cruel for him.

 

[Escarabajo]

If that is the case then he is mentally weak. He needs to forget quickly. Hard to do but need to do it.

 

[Tonton]

This Tour is far from over. So much for all the critics: the course is great, tons of things will happen. Who knows what will happen next. For sure, he needs a good stage tomorrow. Some will lose a lot. It's a three-week race.

 

[mr. tibbs]

This Tour is far from over. So much for all the critics: the course is great, tons of things will happen. Who knows what will happen next. For sure, he needs a good stage tomorrow. Some will lose a lot. It's a three-week race.

A good stage for him tomorrow is to hang on and limit losses, but I think he'll be seeing images of Bonet as he rolls into the stones. Sounds like he's in a bad place mentally right now.

Still, if he survives--even if he loses minutes--he'll still have the high mountain playground coming up. There may still be a podium in his future, and very likely a top five. Hope lives on.

 

[FCKAC]

This Tour is far from over. So much for all the critics: the course is great, tons of things will happen. Who knows what will happen next. For sure, he needs a good stage tomorrow. Some will lose a lot. It's a three-week race.

It is done for Pinot. He does not have any will to fight any more.

“I saw William Bonnet crashing in front of me while he was coming to help me. That was traumatic,” Pinot said. “After that, my legs were gone, I had no strength, nothing. He fell at 80kph and I really didn’t feel good after that.”

Pinot pessimistic after a day to forget at the Tour de France
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/pinot-pessimistic-after-a-day-to-forget-at-the-tour-de-france

 

[movingtarget]

Pinot has lost too much time so far and could lose more on the cobbles. Not a great start for him. The first nine days were going to be a test for riders like him but once the mountains arrive he should move up GC but not enough to podium unless others in front have some bad luck. Probably the same for Bardet.

 

[Pierrot le Fou]

He's had some bad luck, but you've got to question whether he will really be able to compete with the very best while he's at FDJ. He was isolated with more than 50km to go despite having two supposed cobbles specialists in his team. Similar to the Tour de Suisse where he was constantly left to do it all himself.

 

[Alexandre B.]

His team is so shitty...

I'm ashamed.

 

[Pantani Attacks]

Polka's and mountain stages. Exciting times/aims for him.

 

[Pierrot le Fou]

Re:

Polka's and mountain stages. Exciting times/aims for him.

Got to wonder whether his heart will be in it though. When he's struggled early in the past, in last year's Vuelta and the 2013 Tour, he's not been able to pick himself back up and has ended up giving up. I hope he keeps going but I wouldn't be surprised to see him pull out before we reach the mountains.

 

[qwer]

all hype around pinot is definatly over.

 

[Dog]

He'll never be a winner with his kind of surrender attitude.

 

[Vino's Mum]

Re:

His team is so shitty...

This. Without a strong team, Pinot's always at risk of having a bad day.

Something I mentioned in the race thread... after his mechanical, in the middle of his little meltdown, he seemed to mouth something like a 'putain de merde' to his mechanic. My French isn't so good these days, but I think I know that one. Not good.

I can't imagine the pressure Pinot must be under in France right now - 30 years since Hinault, and so on - and it's only going to get worse these next couple of weeks...

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Yea, the pressure is immense. Hopefully he will switch to stage hunting and come back next year for another GC attempt.

 

[BigMac]

I hear he rides on the mid to back of the peloton because he thinks one is more likely to crash near the front. True?

Didn't like the way he jumped on the young mechanic but I guess it was in the heat of the moment.

 

[Nastyy]

FDJ as a team was disgraceful today. Where were Chavanel and Demare who were supposed to be Pinot's designated bodyguards for this stage? Both of them vanished after the first proper sector. After that it was only Pinot and Ladagnous and then Ladagnous seemed to just give up at some point (could've been a mechanical) and left Pinot to fend for himself. Of course it was just rotten luck that Pinot punctured halfway through the longest sector but that's when you need your team. It was also quite weird that he stopped just before there was a FDJ mechanic waiting with a spare wheel, it was a matter of few hundred meters, surely he could've continued with the flat tire for that much more.

Should evaluate what he wants from this Tour now. He could still reach the lower end of TOP10 but that probably won't satisfy him after his 3rd place last year. Best would be to lose more time and save energy for the mountains and then take a couple of stages and the KOM.

 

[nelsonsmen71]

Bugga! Pinot's GC TDF is over but on the bright side he sat back today on purpose as if he can get about 10 mins behind the group he is going for KOM, ive just heard it so lets all cheer him on for the polka dots!

 

[Metabolol]

He needs to ride for a non-french team, I think he would perform better.