Tour de France 2020, the disappointment of Thibaut Pinot

Following the dramatic withdrawal from the 2019 Tour de France, another sporting tragedy for Thibaut Pinot on the roads of the Grande Boucle. The transalpine collapsed on the eighth stage of the second climb of Port de Balès and reached the finish line 25 minutes behind the winner of the day, the French Nans Peters of Ag2r. After last year’s knee problems and tears, the Fdj Groupama captain’s dreams of glory quickly fade at the 2020 Tour de France. On the first stage, in Nice, Pinot fell on the asphalt slippery from the rain in the last 3 km. Luckily for him he was able to restart and resist the first climbs and the wind traps in the seventh stage, unfortunately for him, however, in the first Pyrenean stage his physique did not hold and despite the support of his teammates and his fans it will be difficult to rule out this disappointment.

Character

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Pinot is an unusual character. Unlike many of his colleagues, he does not live in Monte Carlo, near the jet set, but prefers to stay in Mélisey, a French town of which his father is mayor. In his life there is not only cycling: last year he participated in the Transjurassienne, one of the main events of the international cross-country ski calendar, where he placed among the first at the end of the 59 km race. Italy is another of his passions, he is so in love with her that he has an emblematic Italian phrase tattooed on his right arm: “Only victory is beautiful.” Pinot always trains in the hills of his land, with some visits to the lakes in his area to go fishing, always accompanied by his beloved … goats, which he has chosen as private pets. One of his friends even has an Instagram page.

The course

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For too long, France has been waiting for one of its riders to climb to the top step of the podium on the Tour, Bernard Hinault in 1985 was the last transalpine to do so and the pressure for potential heirs has often proved unsustainable. Thibaut, 30, is well aware of this, having “detoxified” in 2018 seeking new sensations at the Giro d’Italia, in 2019 he returned to the Grande Boucle but had to retire. The images of his tears have remained in the memory of the Frenchman, despite the prompt reassuring to the boy of the sports director Marc Madiot, known for his shouts of triumph and encouragement outside the lines. Once again Madiot stayed close to him: “Pinot will go ahead and will not give up, he can still aspire to win stages or the polka dot jersey.” Experience has made the somber Pinot more serene, he knows that he cannot expect the impossible from himself and that negative results must be accepted as great joys. The prestigious stage victories in Alpe d’Huez, in the Tourmalet and third place in the Grande Boucle 2014, however, are not enough, Pinot aimed high against this Grande Boucle, without hiding: “On the Tour everything happened, I’m not afraid of anything. “The transalpine’s safety also came from the prestigious results collected in recent years: the Asiago stage in the 2017 Giro (fourth place), the 2018 Giro di Lombardia, two stages in the Vuelta and Milan -Turin in the same year. Unfortunately for him also this time a physical problem got in the way that leads to glory. Pinot will start again this time, but the curse of the French who aspire to win the Tour has struck again .