Thibaut Pinot, last dancer. At 33, the French climber will retire at the end of the season after the Tour of Lombardy in early October. The Groupama-FDJ rider then took advantage of his last days on the Grande Boucle.
Guest of France 2, Thibaut Pinot returned to his last Tour de France but also the evolution of his profession.
“It was a very fast day. We expected that. It was awful today. Morally, we were “off”.
“Saturday, these are roads that I know by heart so there is still a lot of motivation, but we will be happy when we finish.”
“No, I didn’t know it was Thomas (laughs). It was still impressive because there was a hell of a mess. There was so much incline too. It’s mostly bad luck’s fault. Fortunately, it happens at a level, where we do not play the victory.
“There are a lot of emotions. It brings back memories, good and bad. I have gone around the question and I am happy to finish the Tour at a good level. I am proud of my career but I would have liked to do better.
“It always surprises me. As I have always said, I am not a great champion but just a good runner of my decade. I embody a generation that grew up alongside me. I may have made this generation love cycling and I’m proud of that.”
“I think every era has these headliners. How long it will last we do not know but we are off for a hell of a duel.
“It’s even two different jobs. Everything that is in place now, with nutrition in particular. Definitely going faster now. Yes, it was much better before. It was funnier. We laughed a lot more. Even on the Tour de France. We spent a lot more time in the departure village. There was always half the peloton. Now, not even a runner goes to the start village. It has become too serious and I think the runners also take themselves too seriously. When you see some reports where the runners live like monks, I have the impression that they force themselves to live like that when I’m not sure.
