Thibaut Pinot's training data

[Tonton]

Well, maybe Pinot should transfer to Sky or Katusha. Because what he takes isn't working .

A few weeks go by, I'm finding out that I'm the last post, and here it is: Thibaut Pinot didn't come out mutant. What do you think? Bad team, bad luck, looking human, obviously not supercharged. Benotti69, I'm particularly interested in your opinion.

For me... Thibaut was the last great hope for people (like me) who hope some riders may be clean. What's happened to him is a shame, but if I had seen him challenging, say, Froome on Huy I would have become terminally disillusioned.

Is it possible for him to step back from the GC and compete for stages? He may not be allowed into a break just yet and in the mountains, well, as things stand it just looks as if Sky have the whole thing covered.

Dommage.

I still haven't heard from Benotti69 BTW. Deafening silence also from other eminent contributors. 16th in the TdF. Granted that he gave minutes for free pass. Still...his glory time at l'Alpe d'Huez is so human. What do you think?

 

[Jacques (7 ch)]

Well, maybe Pinot should transfer to Sky or Katusha. Because what he takes isn't working .

A few weeks go by, I'm finding out that I'm the last post, and here it is: Thibaut Pinot didn't come out mutant. What do you think? Bad team, bad luck, looking human, obviously not supercharged. Benotti69, I'm particularly interested in your opinion.

For me... Thibaut was the last great hope for people (like me) who hope some riders may be clean. What's happened to him is a shame, but if I had seen him challenging, say, Froome on Huy I would have become terminally disillusioned.

Is it possible for him to step back from the GC and compete for stages? He may not be allowed into a break just yet and in the mountains, well, as things stand it just looks as if Sky have the whole thing covered.

Dommage.

I still haven't heard from Benotti69 BTW. Deafening silence also from other eminent contributors. 16th in the TdF. Granted that he gave minutes for free pass. Still...his glory time at l'Alpe d'Huez is so human. What do you think?

I didn't enjoy much about this Tour but I did enjoy Pinot and Bardet attacking in the last week, with a free pass as you say.

End of the day, I am not 'knowledgeable' but I still believe in guys like these, and a peloton a deux vitesses.

Edit: I also believed in Geraint Thomas until this Tour, or more strictly the TdS (proven rouleur. good since young, junior P-R, maillot blanc for several days and in some good escapes/stages) BUT this year moved my perception along the scale, shall we say.

 

[May0maniac]

Well, maybe Pinot should transfer to Sky or Katusha. Because what he takes isn't working .

A few weeks go by, I'm finding out that I'm the last post, and here it is: Thibaut Pinot didn't come out mutant. What do you think? Bad team, bad luck, looking human, obviously not supercharged. Benotti69, I'm particularly interested in your opinion.

Bad luck, he was very strong and climbing on a very high level in Tirreno-Adriatico, Romandie and durning TdS, beating G on the Rettenbachferner looks way more impressive after the Tour.

 

[Benotti69]

Well, maybe Pinot should transfer to Sky or Katusha. Because what he takes isn't working .

A few weeks go by, I'm finding out that I'm the last post, and here it is: Thibaut Pinot didn't come out mutant. What do you think? Bad team, bad luck, looking human, obviously not supercharged. Benotti69, I'm particularly interested in your opinion.

You do of course realise that doping France is a criminal offence.

Why are the French not competing for GT wins? It is a criminal offence to dope! Simples.

So they, IMO, do enough to stay under the radar, be competitive for stages and top 10s. It would appear that ASO are not bothered about a French TdF winner, neither are the French government because sure as *** they would sanction a rider to 'go for it'. I guess a certain country got the go ahead to do it with their pro team. They just won their 3rd Tdf with a Brit rider. Knighthoods were handed out to the 1st winner and team manager.

The TdF for France is a massive tourist advertisement If i remember correctly the French government gives ASO money towards the TdF. The more foreign riders that win it the more tourists flock to France, is my thinking behind the non French winner. It is always about money.

But this idea that the French don't dope is for the birds. They do it but not enough to be competitive with super doped teams.

 

[poupou]

French can dope by themselves without fear, criminal offence are for facilitators. So we can guess, that riders cannot easily find the technical help and assistance for the most elaborated programs or drugs.

 

[Tonton]

You do of course realise that doping France is a criminal offence.

Why are the French not competing for GT wins? It is a criminal offence to dope! Simples.

So they, IMO, do enough to stay under the radar, be competitive for stages and top 10s. It would appear that ASO are not bothered about a French TdF winner, neither are the French government because sure as *** they would sanction a rider to 'go for it'. I guess a certain country got the go ahead to do it with their pro team. They just won their 3rd Tdf with a Brit rider. Knighthoods were handed out to the 1st winner and team manager.

The TdF for France is a massive tourist advertisement If i remember correctly the French government gives ASO money towards the TdF. The more foreign riders that win it the more tourists flock to France, is my thinking behind the non French winner. It is always about money.

But this idea that the French don't dope is for the birds. They do it but not enough to be competitive with super doped teams.

The first part of your post is quite interesting. When Pinot's team collaborated with the University of Besancon, publishing his data, I saw this as a way to challenge the other guys to do the same. I thought that there would be more media coverage in France and that the government would feel compelled to intervene, i.e. bug the hotels where the "usual suspects" stay during the TdF. I thought that this national treasure, Le Tour, deserved that much. And I believe the French teams expected the same. Somehow, the "usual suspects" knew or guessed that police/justice would not meddle.

As far as the French doping, the Voekler transformation in '11 says it all. And he was on a full program. That's where I disagree with you: doping light doesn't make sense from a risk/reward standpoint. Most get caught when a bag is found with their name on it, when a disgruntled team employee speaks, and the likes. Not caught by testing. So the risks are about the same. Why take a chance to be busted, dope light and finish top-10 versus top-15 clean?