Because he's the new Luke Skywalker. He won't join the dark side because it's easier...^ which begs the question as to why he isnt riding for one of those stronger teams...
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Because he's the new Luke Skywalker. He won't join the dark side because it's easier...^ which begs the question as to why he isnt riding for one of those stronger teams...
Ide prefer he never win the Tour than having to cheer against him and an Ineos trainBecause he's the new Luke Skywalker. He won't join the dark side because it's easier...
Well, Pinot v Hinault there's no comparison, but it's not really like v like. Is Pinot maybe a better Pascal Simon? A more honest Virenque? A tall Mottet?Hinault was harsh in his comments about Tibo, echoing some of the detractors. I have to mention it.
"Well, in my day, we were tougher...", no clinic talk..."II kept my promise to Greg", that's Hinault. Meh...
But I give him props: CdD '77, only Hinault would have won this bloody and hurt like that. LBL '80, no one went with him. Few finished. The list of DNF shows some tough guys tho'. Not tough enough?
Tough plenty.
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I couldn't believe what I was seeing, it was the perhaps the most vivid representation I've seen of someone's head being gone. He's clearly an emotional lad but from a pro sportsman you usually expect your blow ups to be articulated in the classic Kevin Keegan style as opposed to looking completely defeated.
I like Pinot and am sad for him but am not surprised by what you’re saying about his interview. I can’t remember the situation but a few years ago (in 2015 maybe?) he had a mechanical then didn’t fix it right or something and had another and he just popped. Like you saw him give up in frustration just like that. I think he threw his bike or something. Anyone remember what I’m talking about? If he doesn’t already, he should consider meditation.
Yes but irrelevant to Pinot's back problem. Hinault couldn't ride with a sciatic or femoral nerve acting up either. Being tough has little to do with muscles that won't function in that situation. Unless you had a good doctor with a nerve block injection....Hinault was harsh in his comments about Tibo, echoing some of the detractors. I have to mention it.
"Well, in my day, we were tougher...", no clinic talk..."II kept my promise to Greg", that's Hinault. Meh...
But I give him props: CdD '77, only Hinault would have won this bloody and hurt like that. LBL '80, no one went with him. Few finished. The list of DNF shows some tough guys tho'. Not tough enough?
Tough plenty.
Because he's the new Luke Skywalker. He won't join the dark side because it's easier...
Likely a rider as Pinot is put under too much pressure, to succeed.
Don't let Macbindle see this ;pEven if we take the "dark side" bit out of the equation, FDJ just seems like the team where he feels at home. And he, well, seems like to guy who needs to feel at home, needs things to be familiar, in order to succeed.
I don't think of him like you but I do think a different team can be good. Look what happened with Quintana, another rider deemed mentally weak when he changed teams.Too late, I've seen it. Its weird how everyone is now agreeing with me.
Quintana’s move to Arkea hasn’t proven anything yet.I don't think of him like you but I do think a different team can be good. Look what happened with Quintana, another rider deemed mentally weak when he changed teams.
Too late, I've seen it. Its weird how everyone is now agreeing with me.
I don't think of him like you but I do think a different team can be good. Look what happened with Quintana, another rider deemed mentally weak when he changed teams.
Still I don't get it. Somebody has health issues, in this case probably the effects of the Dauphiné-crash
I don't think of him like you but I do think a different team can be good. Look what happened with Quintana, another rider deemed mentally weak when he changed teams.
I don't see any similarities between Evans and Pinot apart from a certain level of misfortune in races. Evans was a much better bike handler, descender, TT rider and a more consistent climber. Neither are pure climbers. Last year was Pinot's big chance as his TT was a good one for him and he was climbing as well as anyone. Whether he hits that sort of form in the Tour again remains to be seen. When Pinot has five podiums in grand tours and a world championship the comparison might be more realistic. That said, at the moment Pinot looks like the only French rider with a shot at winning a grand tour but he has to start converting his opportunities. Martin has shown improvement while Bardet has his podiums but is no closer to a win. Pogacar, Bernal and others have already arrived and there are more on the way. So it doesn't get any easier from now on for the older second tier riders.In a some (but not all) ways Pinot reminds me of Cadel Evans. It always struck me that the one thing Evans had to conquer in order to win was himself. It's the top of top level sport and everything has to slot into place: physical fitness, resistance to illness, bike handling, race tactics, roadcraft, and psychology.
(And before anybody starts up about Pinot's injury last year, that was one thing only. With Pinot there is always something).
The comparison ends there because Evans was not a pleasant person and his team hated him. I'm sure people remember that Tour when his team stopped riding for him.
I wouldn't describe Pinot as "weak", mentally. I mean he's overcome a lot of bad luck over the years. That said, I find he has a tendancy to lose it. The way he threw his bottle on the ground when he didn't have the legs at the Dauphiné, the way he exploded on the cobblestones stage in the Tour, the year he had a mechanical incident there... I don't think we see too many other riders react like that
Sometimes all the luck is in your hand and then you lose it or vice versa.You see, to me, those are signs of mental weakness. Cracking under pressure. I don't think "bad luck" is always bad luck either. There is a skill to staying out of trouble. Also having a strong team that can keep you out of trouble.
I was really struck by Armstrong doing a huge skiddy crash in one of his comeback years. I'd never seen him do that before. By and large he avoided crashing during his 99-05 reign. That wasnt 'good luck'. It was skill.