Teams & Riders Thibaut Pinot discussion thread

[Blanco]

On a more reasonable note, I had Dumoulin as my prediction 2018, with Thibaut second. At this juncture, that's how it looks to me. Yates? The joker...Aru? Done. Froome? Medium done...the rest? I don't worry. A Ninja attack to squeeze a podium is always possible though. And I hope it's not at TP's expense.

What I always worry about with Tibopino is the first 10 stages or so. Week 3, if he makes it that far and it has been an issue, he's always strong.

What's left? Plenty. Key stages?

Zonc will shape the GC, and in high altitude it gets a little colder, that's when Tibopino soars. He will top-3 that stage and I hope much better. I don't expect many contenders to show their cards "so early" in the race, therefore I don't expect Dumoulin to lose a bunch. The next day could be trickier...

The ITT is an obvious one, after a rest day , but you'd think that professionals would have learned and figured it out. Today makes me feel better (after a rest-day), although it wasn't a monster stage. But look at Chaves today. Dumourain to crush it, Pinot will fare well.

The Finestre stage and the Cervinia, back-to-back, are opportunities to destroy TD. Destroy everyone, or destroy one-self. This is where politics can kill the fun, too many guys having too much to lose, or it can be the greatest show on Earth. Good finishes for Pinot. But will he go for the win? Will he be the only one (except for Pozzovino who attacks everyone and may attack himself)?

Thibaut Pinot on the podium, one stage, I feel good about that prediction. Can he win it all? Maybe not. But maybe. He's come way too far, all the trolls, the doubters. And he's a good guy. So Vai Thibaut, Vai.

Yes he can! And after Chaves eliminated, I think he will.

But then again I thought Chaves is going to win the whole thing

 

[RedheadDane]

If Pinot has a bad day we'll know whose fault it is.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Not the best legs today, but he limited the damage well enough. Now the next time we'll be able to judge his form will be on Zoncolan...

 

[SafeBet]

He has never been the strongest thus far. Barely able to respond to the attacks and limit his losses.
I want to see something different on the Zoncolan, otherwise winning the Giro will be impossible.

 

[Alexandre B.]

Hopefully the high mountains will show that Thibaut can realistically challenge for maglia rosa.

Podium is still good.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

He has never been the strongest thus far. Barely able to respond to the attacks and limit his losses.
I want to see something different on the Zoncolan, otherwise winning the Giro will be impossible.

Only Yates is definitely stronger at this point. I'd say he is at least level with all other contenders, so it's not too bad. But yes, he has to take some time at some point.

 

[SafeBet]

Re: Re:

He has never been the strongest thus far. Barely able to respond to the attacks and limit his losses.
I want to see something different on the Zoncolan, otherwise winning the Giro will be impossible.

Only Yates is definitely stronger at this point. I'd say he is at least level with all other contenders, so it's not too bad. But yes, he has to take some time at some point.

At least on Dumoulin. Considering the TT is after a rest day, he could lose more than 2 minutes.

 

[Tonton]

Re:

If Pinot has a bad day we'll know whose fault it is.

I thought Moscon was not riding Il Giro...

 

[Tonton]

Re: Re:

He has never been the strongest thus far. Barely able to respond to the attacks and limit his losses.
I want to see something different on the Zoncolan, otherwise winning the Giro will be impossible.

Only Yates is definitely stronger at this point. I'd say he is at least level with all other contenders, so it's not too bad. But yes, he has to take some time at some point.

All true.

Good news: Froome is getting away from the picture, and even on a so-so day, st as Pozzo, takes time on the 5th, that finish was nothing like I expected BTW. No bad day is key. He had two last year, stages 10 and 16...so far so good. Fingers crossed.

 

[Koronin]

Re: Re:

He has never been the strongest thus far. Barely able to respond to the attacks and limit his losses.
I want to see something different on the Zoncolan, otherwise winning the Giro will be impossible.

Only Yates is definitely stronger at this point. I'd say he is at least level with all other contenders, so it's not too bad. But yes, he has to take some time at some point.

All true.

Good news: Froome is getting away from the picture, and even on a so-so day, st as Pozzo, takes time on the 5th, that finish was nothing like I expected BTW. No bad day is key. He had two last year, stages 10 and 16...so far so good. Fingers crossed.

Not having a bad day seems to be the biggest key here. So far he's been as strong if not stronger than most of the contenders. He should be better in the high mountains than Dumoulin or Yates and he's the pure climber, while Dumouin is still a time trialist and Yates is more of a puncheur.

 

[JosephK]

Pinot has looked strong, so far. He's not a puncheur like a Yates, but he has the grit and talent to do well on the long, high climbs coming up. He has time-trialed reasonably well, too. His podium chances look really strong. I think he still has a longshot chance to win the whole thing, though Yates looks to be in the form of his life and Big Tom is building mojo. Still, there are 10 stages to go. It's way too early to pick a winner. Ask Crush-Weak about that from 2016.

 

[King Boonen]

Re: Re:

Rettenbach is a lot different than Zonc as well. Well, Zonc is just different to any climb, but I'd definitely say that a climb like Rettenbach suits Pinot a lot more than Zonc.

Note to self: Rettenbach and Reichenbach is not the same!
Rettenbach is a climb
Reichenbach is a man.
Reichenbach might be a vital help for Pinot on the Zonc...

Reichenbach is also a series of waterfalls where Holmes and Moriarty fought a died.

 

[Blanco]

Re: Re:

He has never been the strongest thus far. Barely able to respond to the attacks and limit his losses.
I want to see something different on the Zoncolan, otherwise winning the Giro will be impossible.

Only Yates is definitely stronger at this point. I'd say he is at least level with all other contenders, so it's not too bad. But yes, he has to take some time at some point.

All true.

Good news: Froome is getting away from the picture, and even on a so-so day, st as Pozzo, takes time on the 5th, that finish was nothing like I expected BTW. No bad day is key. He had two last year, stages 10 and 16...so far so good. Fingers crossed.

Exactly. Yates will have one, I'm pretty sure. Dumoulin also, mountains this year are way too hard for him to avoid bad day(s). For Tibo, the key is consistency, he will not need to have stratospheric performances like Yates these days, or Dumoulin in TT's. He just needs to be among the best on all key mountain stages, and I think the win will came along.

 

[Tonton]

In New York City, Reichenbach Hall . A great place for a beer, or two, or more...

 

[skippo12]

Not good enough...he lacks the last 2-3% compared to GT-winners.

 

[Simurgh]

I expected that he would at least finish st. with Pozzo/Lopez. At least. Disappointing.

 

[Eclipse]

I think I give up =(

Just doesn't have that edge to compete with the best, especially over 3 weeks

 

[Valv.Piti]

He is what he is. Very consistent, but lacks the top level to be able to win a a GT under normal circumstances.

 

[Tonton]

Not good enough...he lacks the last 2-3% compared to GT-winners.

For sure, I expected better today. But if that's the worst Tibopino we see at this Giro, I'll take it. Things are getting more complicated...

 

[Alexandre B.]

Not good enough...he lacks the last 2-3% compared to GT-winners.

For sure, I expected better today. But if that's the worst Tibopino we see at this Giro, I'll take it. Things are getting more complicated...

That podium place will be hard-fought.

The good news is Reichenbach.

 

[skippo12]

Top 5 is still very likely but podium is a long shot as of today. Dumoulin and Yates are clearly better. Froome has the timetrial and the remaining mountain stages to make up time. Pozzo might lose some time in the TT but he seems to be stronger on a real mountain stage.

 

[SafeBet]

He'll need to be creative and daring. The terrain is there in the final week and he has a great teammate. Not sure he will have the legs though.

 

[DFA123]

Re:

He'll need to be creative and daring. The terrain is there in the final week and he has a great teammate. Not sure he will have the legs though.

Problem is that his bike handling is pretty poor. It's not like he can sprint over the top of a climb and establish a 20 second gap on a descent and work with it. Finestre stage would be perfect for a move like that, just not for Pinot. He basically has to gain time on the climbs, and it just doesn't look like he is able to do more than a fast finish in the last km against the other top climbers.

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

He is what he is. Very consistent, but lacks the top level to be able to win a a GT under normal circumstances.

He had the cool conditions to suit him but he seems to be missing that half a percent that makes a big difference at the finish. He still needs a good TT to be in the podium battle.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Unfortunately, I don't see him winning anymore - he lacks just a bit in the mountains. But, he can surprise me