Teams & Riders Thibaut Pinot discussion thread

[starlord]

Re:

The only hope left for human race in the fight against the Evil Empire. But then he's talking like this: "I like my life as it is at the moment. It's the life I dreamt of and if I win the Tour de France, I won't have this life anymore. Do I want to change my life? No."

He must have been watching a lot of Armstrong's videos lately, interviewing himself like that. Blablabla? Yes. Blablabla? No. ...

 

[JosephK]

Re: Re:

I think barring crash or illness he's on the podium in Paris. The only question is which step.

Agree. He's strong and focused. Karma owes him big time. And he will have proven his point.

The thing is that if he wins, Pinot has that old-school mentality of defending his title, i.e. the ITT Nationals when he was weak as weak can be. He has unfinished business in Italy though. And he knows it. And he wants to do something about it.

But let's keep our eyes on the ball. 6 down, 15 to go, let's not overlook some stages and just think about Stage 12.

I don't know if he will, but Thibaut Pinot can win this bike race.

I'm on your boy's bandwagon for this one.

I really like Pinot. However ... "barring crash or illness" - that's the thing, isn't it? I think even Madiot has said Pinot has "to finish". He has some amazing abilities, but he has a really tough time putting it together for the full 3. I'd love it if he did though.

I'm hoping that if we caveat "barring crash or illness" enough, we'll ward it off for Pinot . . . sort of like anti-Voodoo. The mountain descents were his vulnerability in the past (losing time for fear of crashing), but he seems to have overcome it in recent years. Now it is the time-trial concern. But as has been noted earlier, he is capable of a good time trial.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Pinot looking lively - nice work gained almost 30s

 

[Simurgh]

Strong effort today. Not only looking strong, but he seems mentally ready, not missing a move or chilling in the back of the peloton. Cance > The Rest did wonder in the stage thread, that his offensive tactics causes a Yates-style breakdown, and that is a worrying thought. Thibaut isn't Contador after all. Then again, it was only 10 km today, and won't he be content and stay calm with the lead he's got now?

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Strong effort today. Not only looking strong, but he seems mentally ready, not missing a move or chilling in the back of the peloton. Cance > The Rest did wonder in the stage thread, that his offensive tactics causes a Yates-style breakdown, and that is a worrying thought. Thibaut isn't Contador after all. Then again, it was only 10 km today, and won't he be content and stay calm with the lead he's got now?

2 easier stages, a rest day and another sprint day coming up. He shouldn't be wasting energy left and right but it was worth it today.

 

[SafeBet]

Is this the year?
He looks as good as I've ever seen him in a GT. Hopefully no surprises come the big mountains.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Re:

Is this the year?
He looks as good as I've ever seen him in a GT. Hopefully no surprises come the big mountains.

This could be his big moment, like the 2011 Tour for Evans.

 

[Lequack]

Even if he doesn't win it, he's by far the most entertaining of the GC contenders.

 

[Simurgh]

Re: Re:

Is this the year?
He looks as good as I've ever seen him in a GT. Hopefully no surprises come the big mountains.

This could be his big moment, like the 2011 Tour for Evans.

Exactly what I am hoping for - he said in an interview today that he is on the same level today as last autumn. And last autumn he was the perhaps the strongest rider (bar Yates, who was more consistent in la Vuelta). However, I am having a hard time figuring out where he can gain time on Thomas - who will have a nice cushion after the time trial.

 

[Jagartrott]

I like a rider with the guts to try stuff like this. Hope he can start making others nervous.

 

[bambino]

Re: Re:

Is this the year?
He looks as good as I've ever seen him in a GT. Hopefully no surprises come the big mountains.

This could be his big moment, like the 2011 Tour for Evans.

Exactly what I am hoping for - he said in an interview today that he is on the same level today as last autumn. And last autumn he was the perhaps the strongest rider (bar Yates, who was more consistent in la Vuelta). However, I am having a hard time figuring out where he can gain time on Thomas - who will have a nice cushion after the time trial.

In this shape, he'll probably lose around 1m to GT in 29km TT. Not more. Which means he needs to find around 40sec in the mountains to win the Tour. I don't see that mission imbossible, especially after what happpened today.

 

[wheresmybrakes]

Great ride by him today and good time made on the others in GC. Yes, he is the most exciting of the GC lot at the moment because he has to do these attacks to gain time in preparation for what he will leak in the TT. A bit like Yates in the Giro last year. Hope he doesn't go too hard and blow himself up because all this effort (it looked like a hell of a lot of effort for 30 secs today) could be all in vain come the big mountains. Keep going Thibaut, so far so good.

 

[tobydawq]

Great ride by him today and good time made on the others in GC. Yes, he is the most exciting of the GC lot at the moment because he has to do these attacks to gain time in preparation for what he will leak in the TT. A bit like Yates in the Giro last year. Hope he doesn't go too hard and blow himself up because all this effort (it looked like a hell of a lot of effort for 30 secs today) could be all in vain come the big mountains. Keep going Thibaut, so far so good.

The thing is that 30 second coups are very rare in modern cycling, so it was definitely worth it.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

When a climber takes 30 seconds in a mountain stage, people will say it was a success...

 

[tobydawq]

Re:

When a climber takes 30 seconds in a mountain stage, people will say it was a success...

Exactly, and that also requires quite a bit of an (anaerobic) effort.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

He’s looking great so far. I know that it will probably go horribly wrong, but I don’t think I’ve ever wanted a particular rider to win the Tour more.

 

[Rollthedice]

Re:

He’s looking great so far. I know that it will probably go horribly wrong, but I don’t think I’ve ever wanted a particular rider to win the Tour more.

It won't get wrong. It's happening.

 

[Laplaz]

How much do you think he will lose to G in the ITT? 1:30?

 

[JosephK]

Re:

How much do you think he will lose to G in the ITT? 1:30?

A loss of 1:30 is what I expect. Anything under a minute would be a success for Pinot. More than 2 minutes would be painful, but possible. It's a big question, for sure. I still think the top spot is out of reach, although the podium looks within reach. So much can still happen, obviously. I don't want to jinx him.

 

[Tonton]

I can't believe it: I was at work and missed it all .

Maybe this time Tibopino can put it all together. Riding strong, riding smart, aggressive. For once a bit of luck. I had no doubt that Thibaut could podium, now I;m starting to believe...more...

Let's not get carried away just yet. Not yet. If that's the Lombardia Pinot that we see for two more weeks, we'll celebrate

 

[Koronin]

I can't believe it: I was at work and missed it all .

Maybe this time Tibopino can put it all together. Riding strong, riding smart, aggressive. For once a bit of luck. I had no doubt that Thibaut could podium, now I;m starting to believe...more...

Let's not get carried away just yet. Not yet. If that's the Lombardia Pinot that we see for two more weeks, we'll celebrate

Sorry you missed it. Although so did I. We (husband and I) were moving some essentials into an apartment for my husband. He took a new job (which will eventually be better for us) in a city 2 hours away. Unfortunately had to take inexpensive and available asap for the apt so not exactly the best of places to be living. The apt complex is old as well. So only moving what he needs to have there.

Hoping for just a little luck for Pinot. He's looking strong. He looks like he's ready for this one. The stage on is the DVR so will watch it later.

 

[movingtarget]

The perfect race for Pinot so far.

 

[Salvarani]

Great ride by him today and good time made on the others in GC. Yes, he is the most exciting of the GC lot at the moment because he has to do these attacks to gain time in preparation for what he will leak in the TT. A bit like Yates in the Giro last year. Hope he doesn't go too hard and blow himself up because all this effort (it looked like a hell of a lot of effort for 30 secs today) could be all in vain come the big mountains. Keep going Thibaut, so far so good.

G put in quite the effort to get back after his fall. Chased in the last kms and was leading out the sprint.

Im sure others were spent too or they would have tried to follow Ala and Pinot.

If he fades later in the race then so be it. At least he is going for it. Hopefully don’t lose too much in the ITT.

 

[Laplaz]

Who would have thought he would be ahead of G after the first 8 days? Nobody probably.

 

[Tonton]

Bad day. GFC caught napping. Now that's an uphill battle for a podium spot. Thibaut will bounce back. Bad day.