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Maybe the "Pinot his mentally weak" stuff got to him, he hung on to make a point and silence his critics. That's the only explanation that I can imagine and I don't know how I feel about it. To me, he had nothing to prove. Finishing Le Tour was a HUGE mistake.
Now he can win Tourmalet, Angliru, get the KOM...meh...Majka stuff...
I'm running out of expletives.
He is mentally weak. VERY weak. He is unable to cope with the pressure and always cracks when facing troubles.
All the talk about his strength and resilience... that's just cheap PR.
He didn't face any special adversity. Take Contador or Amstrong for instance and compare them to Pinot. Those were true champions. What adversity has Pinot faced? A non-life and non-career threatening illness? I can't recall any serious fall as well. Pinot has suffered what any average pro cyclist faces throughout his career.
You must not have followed Pinot or cycling very closely, my friend...serious falls, Thibaut had his share beginning with the one when he was 15 that left him with casts on both harms for weeks...many would have quit the sport, he didn't. In '20, down like many in the infamous descent of the Plan Bois, then of course Stage 1 of this year's Tour. A few others come to mind like in the Col d'Allos descent in '15. Finishing that Giro stage with a pneumonia...weak?
Using Armstrong's and Pinot's name in the same sentence..."what are you on?" Not on your bike or watching cycling six hours a day, or you would know better. Cheers!
Yet all his "cracks" in recent years have been brought on by physical factors. The Tour this year; back injury. The Tour last year; leg injury. The Giro two years ago; pneumonia. And neither time he just gave up and climbed off the bike at the first sign of trouble.
Tour this year: Well... he didn't climb off at all.
Tour last year: Rode for around 30 ks despite already being struggling with the injury since - at least - the previous day. Only climbing off when Bonnet convinced him.
Giro two years ago: Finished the entire damn stage despite clearly not being himself. Ended up in hospital.
In fact; when was the last time he lost the GC due to purely mental issues? Of course the most famous incident was the 2013 Tour, and his trouble with descending. However, that was seven years ago, and he worked on that issue. And what was it in 2015? Something about being so shocked at seeing Bonnet crash that he just couldn't focus? Well, I'm sorry if I don't consider being affected by seeing a teammate crash to be a sign of mental weakness.
Was that the one that caused the fear of descending?
I don't think you need to react to a person who considers Armstrong a "true champion"...
Rather be happy he considers him and Thibaut two of a different kind...
If Pinot was really a man he would've had a giant penis that the handlebar would hit instead of his thigh.
Yes it was. His brother Julien told the story, how it affected Thibaut with regards to high speeds in general, descending, and also how miserable Thibaut was spending the entire summer with casts on both arms.
I don't think you need to react to a person who considers Armstrong a "true champion"...
Of course he was a champion. He overcame an extremely severe cancer and went on to win 7 TDF.
If you don't understand how tough someone has to be to overcome that illness and have such a successful comeback (regardless of any clinic issues) then maybe you're the one who is not worth reacting to.
Regardless of the clinic issues, there's also the fact that - from what I understand - Armstrong used some rather bullying tactics.
That makes him a despicable person. Yet, it doesn't undermine the champion he was.
I think that everyone here has lost a friend or relative to cancer...please stop patronizing others.
Overcoming injuries or illness doesn't make you a champion as you define it (based on wins: 7 Tours). Look at Froome: will he be less of a champion if he never comes back and never wins another GT? See the flaw in your argument? Cancer survivors are champions, regardless of their achievements after remission.
Riders are champions when they win, but also because they crash, crash, and crash some more over the years, don't throw the towel and keep going at it. That's why I was really happy for Porte and his TdF podium: it was a well-deserved break for a guy who went through the meat grinder so many times.
I have a hard time thinking of someone who massively cheated and bullied his way to the top as a "true champion". But I admit that is a very vague concept and people might have a different understanding of this expression.
Nothing was TRUE about that champion. Maybe Roku meant a TUE champion
.I think his issues are with recovery and, or the willingness to go too deep on stages that cause him problems for days.
I should probably have clarified here; I was talking purely about personality. I'll much rather cheer for someone who maybe doesn't have the biggest of victories - and Pinot's palmares is absolutely brilliant - but is a genuinely nice guy, than for someone who has huge victories, but is a right ***.
Besides; the way some of you people are talking, you'd think Pinot always up and left GTs at the first sign of trouble, which isn't exactly true. Though, I'll admit that in some cases - like the Tour last year - it was probably because leaving was the hardest choice, mentally.
Now his GT record is perfectly symmetrical.
Tour -> 4 overall finishes / 4 abandons
Vuelta -> 2 overall finishes / 2 abandons
Giro -> 1 overall finish / 1 abandon
Tour -> 4 overall finishes / 4 abandons
Vuelta -> 2 overall finishes / 2 abandons
Giro -> 1 overall finish / 1 abandon
In hindsight, what a shame he didn't win the Dauphiné... that could have somewhat saved his tough season.
He just - well, earlier this - got a three-year extension. And said that he has no intention of ever changing teams.
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