Thibaut Pinot speaks out about TUE abuse and ketones | Cyclingnews
I might be naive, but he sounds so genuine - and as he himself points out, some of his DNFs could have been avoided...
It is a very idealist, applaudable view to have, but it could also reflect the lack of a "whatever the cost" winning mentality not to exploit the grey area. I doubt that he will ever win a GT if he isn't willing to operate in the grey area, but the more or less dominating narrative of being the most "human" GT contender is partly what makes him popular and likeable - he could be any one of us (of course having the right genetics etc.), so to speak. His views and him as rider appeals to some sort of romanticism, not unlike Contador , but in different ways; Thibaut riding on "bread and water", and Contador's attacking style of a bygone era. Both speak to the idealist, the romanticist in different ways. For me as fan of both, I suppose that is what makes them more interesting for me than the rest of the peloton, even though I sympatize with plenty. Just saw the headline of the original interview in l'Equipe, which is rather telling:
"Pour moi, c'était la fin de l'enfance".
Didn't think it is clinic stuff per se, since it is mostly about the exploitable grey areas, the interview is about, but rather prefer to see this post removed than getting banned.