Future retired from cycling at the end of the season, the French rider will participate in his third and last Tour of Italy from Saturday.
It was “unimaginable” for Thibaut Pinot to end his career without a last participation in the Giro. The Groupama-FDJ rider won his case with his team and will line up at the start of the Tour of Italy on Saturday May 6. Fourth in the event in 2017, the Vosgien may no longer have the same legs, but he is aiming for a good place in the general classification and a stage victory.
2017, 2018, and now 2023 for one last dance. “It remains a great regret in my career not to have participated more in the Giro and earlierposes Thibaut Pinot, at a press conference, from the hotel where Groupama-FDJ is staying three days before departure. I waited until my eighth year as a pro to have the right to find out, and I hope to catch up this year because I have great memories of my first appearances.” In love with Italy, the country in which he “feels the best” and where he took one of his biggest victories in the Tour of Lombardy in 2018, the rider is determined to give himself every chance to shine. “I can fight for the general classification, trying one day to go for a stage victory, one does not prevent the other”he says, while emphasizing that the few summit finishes are mainly scheduled at the end of the Giro.
“I know I will be quite far in the general classification after the first half of the Giro”
Before arriving on the Italian roads, the Vosgien did not have much opportunity to gauge his level. “Physically, I feel pretty good (…) My only real test in the mountains is the fourth stage of the Tour de Romandie”, he admits. A stage on which he finished in second position, which allowed him to take fifth place in the general classification. In Italy, the competition promises to be tough, with the presence of Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic, announced as favorites. “We always aim for a top 10, but if the cold gets involved, and that can happen at the Giro, why not go and get places in the top 5, hope Pinot. I don’t set myself any limits, the gaps will surely be made on the last 3-4 mountain stages, which promise to be really difficult.”
Before that, the Frenchman will have to hang on in a first part of the Tour of Italy which corresponds less to his qualities, with in particular two time trials in the first ten days. “The objective at the start of the Giro will be to lose as little time as possible, he declares. I know that I will be quite far in the general classification after the first half of the event, but I really intend to improve in the last week. Rid of his back problems, Thibaut Pinot now hopes to enjoy “without taking the lead” of his potential last grand tour, while his participation in the Tour de France is still uncertain.
