Special Envoy to the Markstein Fellering
He was expected by tens of thousands of French people massed along the roads of the twentieth stage and certainly also by a few million of his compatriots in front of their small screen, ready to ignite for his last stage in the mountains of the Tour de France. In Markstein, the Frenchman did not raise his arms to heaven, having to settle for 7th place in a stage won by Tadej Pogacar ahead of Jonas Vingegaard. A magnificent loser, the Frenchman won all the hearts of the French by setting off with panache, as usual, alone on the boarding of the last thirty kilometers before breaking down on the final climb, caught by the big favorites.
“It was an incredible stage. I was really motivated because I had only that in mind for a few days. I was in a hurry to be there. I did what I could. I lacked a bit of legs to hang on to the group of best but the important thing for me is elsewhere too. I had fun. It was just happiness, ”he said very moved at the microphone of France Télévisions. Too moved since the words that followed remained blocked in the throat. “The heart will sink (before going up on the podium to receive the prize for the combative of the stage, editor’s note). Especially since I was at home… It’s crazy to be here when these are my training routes. This is where I’ve always… It’s good…”
At 33, Thibaut Pinot will wait a bit before putting his bike away for good. He will have a few races left in the colors of the Groupama-FDJ team before taking his final bow. But this last mountain stage, the setting where he forged his legend with his legs of fire (3 stage victories and a 3rd place in the general classification in 2014) had the flavor of a great farewell. “I didn’t think it would affect me so much to be here. I thought it would be at the Tour of Lombardy (October 7, editor’s note) where my heart would be heavy, but I feel like a page in my story is coming to an end. It’s stronger than I thought.”
As expected, the Franc-Comtois had the right to a triumphant welcome in the climb of the Petit Ballon where hundreds of raging fans had invested a bend to say goodbye to him and encourage him when he was alone at the head of the stage. “I tried to find my family. I met eyes that I knew but there were a lot of people and I couldn’t see everyone. I knew they were there. I was really looking forward to it, I had the chance to pass in front. It wasn’t necessarily calculated but if I wanted to win a stage, I had to do that,” he concluded.