Almost two years after the ordeal of August 2020, where his ambitions in the Tour de France had been ruined from the first day by a fall in the streets of Nice (77th in the final general classification in Paris), Thibaut Pinot will be back. , from July 1 to 24, on the roads of the Tour de France. Last year, the Groupama-FDJ climber decided at the start of the season to focus on the Giro d’Italia, but he was unable to appear at the start of Turin, as his back was still handicapped by the aftermath of his slide on the Promenade des Anglais. Pinot had also put his season on hold to heal himself, before resuming competition in August.
A 9th participation in the Grande Boucle
Even if the first week of the Tour de France promises to be very tricky, with the risk of curbs in Denmark, then the northern cobblestone stage, Thibaut Pinot and his team have therefore decided this time to favor the Tour de France again. , as they announced Tuesday morning during a presentation held by videoconference. This will be Pinot’s 9th participation in the Tour, where, for now, he will have to share responsibilities with David Gaudu while Groupama-FDJ will aim for a podium in the event, according to the objective announced by Marc Madiot.
Before the big meeting in July, Thibaut Pinot will start his season in France, perhaps at the GP d’Ouverture la Marseillaise (January 30), then on the Etoile de Bessèges (February 2 to 6), if he does not not decide to focus on training time in the camp. It could then line up with the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes and Haut-Var (February 19 to 21) and the Drôme-Ardèche Loops (February 26-27). Before attacking the Tour, the rest of his program will be less “tricolor”, since he will run in Italy, on the occasion of Tirreno-Adriatico (March 7 to 13), then will continue with the Tour of the Alps and that de Romandie, preceded by the Tour du Jura, for a plentiful month of April, and that he chose the Tour de Suisse (June 12 to 19), rather than the Critérium du Dauphiné, as the launching pad before the Tour.