lucky goat.
Check out her instastory the goat had fans dressed up and someone wrote KIM all over the road
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Check out her instastory the goat had fans dressed up and someone wrote KIM all over the road
I agree. One could tell that he was far from his best and struggling, but he put it all out there for his neighbors, family, and fans. maybe that's one of the reasons he didn't abandon: to give back to his home supporters.
#teamgoals
So that was the plan the entire time? Make all his teammates catch the goat bug?
Imagine the hate Pinot would get if he was the one losing yellow like Roglic yesterday.
Can someone give a summary of what he says in this video?
View: https://twitter.com/GroupamaFDJ/status/1307624404206202880?s=20
View: https://twitter.com/GroupamaFDJ/status/1307624404206202880?s=20
I'm honestly a bit torn about what I want him to do for the Vuelta; give it a go for the GC, or hunt stages? At any rate, keeping Gaudu up in the GC might be a good idea.
Thibaut thanks the public for not letting him down and for the support he received from roadside fans when things went wrong. He was hoping that the pain would get better, it got worse, but the support meant a lot to him, he wanted to finish the Tour for them and show his heart; show that he's real. He also finished for his team, things went wrong but the group remained cohesive. Although not 100% and not in the GC mix, the crowd made the PDBF stage one of the fondest moments of his career. Now Tibo will rest wants to be 100% for La Vuelta., finish the season strong. And he looks forward to GFDJ having a better Tour next year.
I always regarded Porte and Pinot as being similar re lost opportunities. Glad to see at least one of them on the podium. See how Pinot goes in the Vuelta, the cooler weather should also help him.
Why did he continue to ride the Tour? He should have retired at the first rest day. He may well have ruined his season by continuing the race.
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This was why. That, and the fact that he might have had something to prove, to himself as well as others, that he can actually finish the Tour. As I've already mentioned; I'm sure he wouldn't have continued if medical staff had adviced him against it.
The stage 20 was going thru his home town very close to his own house and all the people especially those who knew him expected to see him in the race. So he could not disappoint them. Any other place and i think he would have retired.
The French love a heroic loser. It'll probably be Roglic who gets the "love of the people" next summer, i.e. in one stage he went from "cold Terminator" to Poulidor style tragic loser. Pinot would be legendary in this country if he ever had that sort of moment (& the dramatic post race shots of a destroyed Roglic collapsed on the road).
What did Pinot get this year? A défaillance in the Pyrenees & all his over-sentimental teammates patting him on the back in front of the cameras? Not cool.
Pinot has a high peak level but I just can’t see him overcoming the frequent physical issues and mental fragility ( not necessarily that he is fragile compared to the average person but that he doesn’t have the next level iron will and resilience in adversity that most serial winners across different sports have).
The final day Dauphine collapse this year was an alarming display that regardless of bad luck with crashes convinced me that he just doesn’t have ‘it’ to win a big stage race. He seems to need all the stars to align and everything to go right and it’s quite remarkable for someone so talked up that he has never won a world tour stage race GC.
If he is happy with life and ok with how things are going then fine stay at FDJ for the work/life balance but I think his only chance of becoming a durable contender is a change of team preferably one that isn’t French much in the way that it seems to suit Alaphilippe to be in a Belgian team rather than French.
FDJ should look to the future and give Gaudu the leadership next time round and let his whole season be based on building to Tour GC bid. He has been held back compared to other youngsters like Mas and Pogacar who were given GC leadership at younger ages than Gaudu is now.
Just maybe Pinot could thrive riding in support of Gaudu as his domestique deluxe.
The final day Dauphine collapse this year was an alarming display that regardless of bad luck with crashes convinced me that he just doesn’t have ‘it’ to win a big stage race. He seems to need all the stars to align and everything to go right and it’s quite remarkable for someone so talked up that he has never won a world tour stage race GC.
If he is happy with life and ok with how things are going then fine stay at FDJ for the work/life balance but I think his only chance of becoming a durable contender is a change of team preferably one that isn’t French much in the way that it seems to suit Alaphilippe to be in a Belgian team rather than French.
FDJ should look to the future and give Gaudu the leadership next time round and let his whole season be based on building to Tour GC bid. He has been held back compared to other youngsters like Mas and Pogacar who were given GC leadership at younger ages than Gaudu is now.
Just maybe Pinot could thrive riding in support of Gaudu as his domestique deluxe.
I see where you're coming from, but disagree and put his GDL win against the CdD example that you cite: in Italy, that day in'18, he was a serial killer, punching the skies at the helicopter, heck, the Zakarin-league descender taking time on Il Squalo down the Civiglio. He has it in him.
Gaudu needs to get his shot, but until he does, he needs to drastically improve his ITT. He's not as good today as the best Bardet or this year's MAL. Same type of rider, not quite as good. Imagine how he would tumble down the GC...
I have written ad nauseam (about Movistar a few years back) how being the second or third best team means nothing when you have a dominant team. Pog just proved it. So, God willing, Thibaut gets a podium at La Vuelta, and knowing him he will want to podium all three GT and give Il Giro a shot. Madiot hinted having Demare at the TdF next year: add Molard and Reichenbach to help Gaudu and see how he fares.
In the end, designs will dictate what FDJ does. Giving Pinot one year Tour-less maybe a good idea, let him win elsewhere and come back, with Gaudu trying Il Giro-La Vuelta, or something like that.
In the meantime, I'd like to see Tibopino on LBL, AGR, even FW, that to me is a big opportunity that he's passing up.
I would've liked to see Demare at the Tour this year. Not sure who I'd drop from the 8 they did send, but Nono, especially in current form, could have been an insurance policy to take the pressure off Tibo; "don't worry if you can't win in the Pyrenees/Alps, we'll pick up a stage or 2 in the sprint/transitions."
If Gaudu had it in him to succeed Pinot, why didn't he have a go in the mountains this year after Thibaut had his breakdown? There were stage wins and KOM points to be had. He looked a useful domestique last year, but I need to see more to know he's not just a French Sepp Kuss. With a lower ceiling.
I definitely think Tibo is passing something up by never having done the Ardennes. This year is a perfect chance for him to do it.
I agree with you Tonton that never having gone for the Ardennes classics is a missed opportunity as LBL especially is within his skill set for sure and to win both climbers monuments would really elevate his status in the sport in terms of overall palmares.
Has anyone won both in their career in the last 15 years other than Gilbert?
Has anyone won both in their career in the last 15 years other than Gilbert?
Gaudu was injured as well. There was one stage where he was dropped from the entire field very early on and fought on despite being in visibly obvious pain.
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