Thibaut Pinot during the 9th stage of the Tour de France 2020. – Fernand Fourcade / SIPA
Thibaut Pinot, who is recovering from his back problems, has conditioned his participation in the next Giro (May 8 to 30) to his feelings during his comeback race scheduled for next week at the Tour des Alpes. “In terms of the back, I am still in the recovery phase even if I am optimistic for the future. The real answer will be racing, ”the leader of the Groupama-FDJ team said at a press briefing on Friday.
“A lot of work” in recent weeks to overcome
“I will only go to the Giro if I am 100%,” added the Franc-Comtois. “The Giro is the most difficult event, I don’t want to relive what I experienced in the Tour de France and in the Vuelta”. Since his fall in the first stage of the Tour de France at the end of August in Nice, the Frenchman, who is 30 years old, has suffered from his back (cracked sacrum and iliac bones).
“We worked on the position, we changed the soles, we did a lot of work,” Pinot detailed about the last few weeks. But, he said, “in training it’s almost impossible to stimulate the body like in a race. There are things that we cannot put in place. This is why I remain cautious ”.
12 days of racing this year
The hero of the 2019 Tour, who could still foresee victory three days from the finish, announced that he wanted to “take stock after the Tour of the Alps”. “We have several plans for the rest of the season,” he added while excluding “99%” from participating in the Tour de France this year.
Since the start of the year, Pinot has 12 days of racing on its record. Tirreno-Adriatico, concluded on March 16 in relative anonymity (15th in the time trial, 43rd overall), is his last competition. “After Tirreno, I got sick, I got a good bronchitis. I was a little knocked out for a week. Then I trained at home on my own. I did not go on an internship to take advantage of the treatments, the physiotherapist, the podiatrist… But I was able to train well, ”said the Frenchman.
“The most important injury of my career”
Pinot, 30, will take part on Monday in the Tour des Alpes, a mountainous five-stage race in the border region of northern Italy and Austria, which he won in 2018. “I don’t think about the result. “, He clarified on this subject. “I will know very quickly if I can do something, these are tough stages. The Tour des Alpes is one of the most beautiful stage races of the season, a magnificent race. It’s basically the general preparation before the Giro, as the Dauphiné is before the Tour de France ”.
“It’s arguably the most important injury of my career. I can’t wait to get better, to regain my level. If I managed to influence the races, it will be a victory for me this season. I don’t cycle to be at this level in the rankings, ”concluded Pinot.