Teams & Riders Thibaut Pinot discussion thread

[Simurgh]

Re:

I didn't believe he could top-10 that race. And he did.

Great effort.

He is gonna prove the doubters wrong at the Giro! He has ridden very well so far this season

 

[LaFlorecita]

Wow, very impressed by Tibo!

 

[BigMac]

Never doubted him. :geek:

 

[Tonton]

Mission accomplie!

I KNEW IT!!! I knew he could do it. For the morale, what a boost to be mixing it up and be competitive on such a tough terrain, bad weather, against the cream of the crop.

This is Thibaut's year, no doubt !

 

[carolina]

He was amazing today, but the descents... God, he's terrible.

I have high hopes for the giro, but the descents are going to be a real problem.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Good result by Pinot, but I wasn't very impressed with him today. He didn't look strong on the hills and he was awful on the descents.

 

[Tonton]

Re:

Good result by Pinot, but I wasn't very impressed with him today. He didn't look strong on the hills and he was awful on the descents.

Disclaimer - I have yet to watch the race, being at work I could only access CN's live updates.

You're not the only one commenting on his descending performance. Let's hope (and his race tactics would support the theory) that the plan was:

1. Avoid a season-threatening crash at all cost.
2. Take the break of the day: smaller group is-safer, and who knows...

It's an excellent result, and I'm surprised to read very little praise: for a first participation, as a non-specialist of the classics, in an edition that GVA called his toughest and "old school" (according to the CN post-race interview), the fact is that Tibopino was in the mix, and he finished ahead of some of the pre-race favorites.

So I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you (first, I have to watch the race when I get home - then maybe I will ), but in all fairness to Thibaut, let's not look at the glass as being half-empty. It's a great performance.

I can't wait for Tirreno Adriatico...

 

[Alexandre B.]

Re:

Good result by Pinot, but I wasn't very impressed with him today. He didn't look strong on the hills and he was awful on the descents.

He recovered quite well after being dropped like a stone by the front group.

Managed to get rid of EBH, Trentin and LLS who all came from the peloton, and to finish with Benoot who is a better puncheur than him.

 

[portugal11]

Re: Re:

Good result by Pinot, but I wasn't very impressed with him today. He didn't look strong on the hills and he was awful on the descents.

Disclaimer - I have yet to watch the race, being at work I could only access CN's live updates.

You're not the only one commenting on his descending performance. Let's hope (and his race tactics would support the theory) that the plan was:

1. Avoid a season-threatening crash at all cost.
2. Take the break of the day: smaller group is-safer, and who knows...

It's an excellent result, and I'm surprised to read very little praise: for a first participation, as a non-specialist of the classics, in an edition that GVA called his toughest and "old school" (according to the CN post-race interview), the fact is that Tibopino was in the mix, and he finished ahead of some of the pre-race favorites.

So I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you (first, I have to watch the race when I get home - then maybe I will ), but in all fairness to Thibaut, let's not look at the glass as being half-empty. It's a great performance.

I can't wait for Tirreno Adriatico...

Pinot was impressive, his motor is getting better year by year (his descent skills are still awful) but he had a little bit of luck because that massive crash in the peloton, allowed to the breakaway not be caught too early in the race.

 

[Brullnux]

I thought he looked worse going up than down at some points. There was one moment on Monte Santa Maria where he was distanced on the uphill by the break and had to recover on the descent. Other times it was the opposite but still. He got stronger as the race went on. Good result and weird race for him. Great ride out I guess, really tested himself on a different terrain and did decently

 

[Valv.Piti]

I actually thought he would do better once he was caugh there tbh. Sure, it was a bit surprising and all that with a top-10, but nothing out of the ordinary either really. Goncalves seemed for most of the time stronger than Pinot, but then the diesel kicked in.

 

[May0maniac]

Descending skills never stopped Basso and this year the Giro has many hard MTFs and 2 ITTs, that should suit him well.
I want to see some "Bassoesque" diesel power in the high mountains, someone who's able to drop people by riding tempo and Pinot might be that guy.

 

[Tonton]

Re:

Good result by Pinot, but I wasn't very impressed with him today. He didn't look strong on the hills and he was awful on the descents.

I only saw the last 47 km. And with 44 km to go, yes Thibaut made a mistake shooting for the inside, and Kirby picked it up, The anti-Pinot did too. The legend of Tibopino as a bad descender. GDL anyone? At least Kirby didn't call Pinot Reichenbach...

Earlier this week, Thibaut posted a ride on Strava that was a good rehearsal. His mileage for the year so far is good. Build-up. He beat the crap out of Contador, and Valverde just a week ago, obviously got little credit.

No one but me gave him a shot at the Strade Bianche. You guys can nit-pick all you want but he delivered.

Even if you don't see it, his opponents know that Thibaut Pinot is a HUGE threat at the Giro.

Today (again), Thibaut Pinot showed that he's a tough son of a gun...

 

[SafeBet]

Tibo is finally becoming the rider I dreamed he could be. Come May, he might be the one to challenge Quintana and Nibali. He seems to understand what it's needed to race on italian soil: be aggressive, smart, opportunistic. He'll find his home at the Giro.

 

[Simurgh]

46 behind Nairo today..could have been better. At least, I expected better. But hey, there's still 5-6 weeks to improve (till the Giro).

 

[portugal11]

I was expecting better from him. Pinot is so inconsistent, sometimes he looks like poels. In a good day, he can win against the likes of quintana, contador, froome... in a bad day he can loose time to 50 riders

 

[Tonton]

I'm a little disappointed too, but at least he's 3rd in the GC right now. Thibaut needs a good performance tomorrow, not lose time o the guys right behind him, and hopefully secure his podium in the ITT.

 

[Geraint Too Fast]

How well does Thibaut know his limits? Today it looked like he went too hard after Reichenbach finished his turn, and never really recovered.

 

[Tonton]

Re:

How well does Thibaut know his limits? Today it looked like he went too hard after Reichenbach finished his turn, and never really recovered.

Yes, after taking another look the tape, it seems like Pinot wasted way too much energy between 6 and 5 km to go and when the action really began, he was catching his breath. He still managed to bridge the gap twice after that, then he had nothing left, game over.

Tibopino took his responsibilities as a favorite: with a dangerous rider, Castroviejo up the road, FDJ took action. It may have been smarter to follow wheels a little longer and not burn Reichenbach too early.

I'm disappointed by the result. But in the end, he's 3rd in the GC, so that's not too bad.

 

[Tonton]

On the FDJ website, Yvon Madiot states that Thibaut was feeling good but not great, and he was following Quintana until Dumoulin placed his attack with 7 km to go. And since nobody was making a move and four teams had a rider up the road, Thibaut decided to force the issue, quoting Tibopino: "otherwise there would have been a 15-rider sprint behind Quintana".

 

[Alexandre B.]

He did very well today, on murito territory. And it was unexpected after yesterday's performance.

He's so hard to read! Anyway, the podium is probably settled.

 

[Tonton]

Been in planes all day and too cheap to buy their internet. Just checked into my hotel room.

Now I need to watch the video. But I didn't want to wait to celebrate here . YESSSSSSS!!!!

By the way Alexandre, and I didn't translate the innuendo from Yvon Madiot (on etait coinces) in my last post on this thread, and the more I think about it, the more I believe that there was some sense in attacking yesterday, although it was a little too early.

Thibaut was 12th in the GC, some of these BMC guys are good ITT specialists, so waiting forever could have limited their losses. Add to this Spilak and Castro up the road, and now Dumoulin attacks...and no one does a thing.

As it turned out, his attack started the attacks. It backfired on him, but gaps were created and Tibopino found himself 3rd at the end of the day.

 

[Alexandre B.]

Thibaut is the third french rider on the final podium of Tirreno-Adriatico, after Charly Mottet (1989) and Gilles Delion (1990).

 

[Tonton]

Here we go, rehearsal before Il Giro. Podiums in the races that mattered including a spectacular win at La Ruta over Bertie and the red-hot Piti. Not to forget the top-10 at La Strade. I'm expecting a lot. A big morale boost before May.

Allez Thibaut!!!

 

[staubsauger]

Honestly I expect him to win the Tour of the Alps!