Pure Thibaut Pinot juice. Both depressing and inspiring, optimistic in sequences as if ready to put the bike away the next second. The Groupama-FDJ climber, bothered by a failing physique for two years, gives himself in a very nice interview given to our colleagues from West France in the Canaries, where he prepared the start of the 2022 season at the end of December.
An internship that did not seem to amuse him much, compared to his younger years. At 32, Pinot is closer to the end than the beginning, and a little bitter nostalgia already seems to invade him at times: “Training was no longer at the center of this camp. The bike has changed and I have to get used to it. There is much more to cycling today than there was ten years ago. Lots of extras, social networks, solicitations. When I started in 2010, the bike was more fun and fun ”.
“The bike was nicer when I started”
Or the syndrome of the last of the Mohicans when all the office colleagues have already taken their retirement. “I miss them… It’s not the same atmosphere at all. We have always been serious in training, but we laughed a lot next to it. Today, training is even more serious and we laugh a lot less ”.
The moral winner of the 2019 Tour (perfectly) does not hide it, he often thinks of the future, awaits it with a certain impatience: “I am lucky to have a life alongside the bike which is very rich and rather very involved with my farm. Some people cycle for five hours, then sit on the sofa or under the duvet and wait for the evening meal. Me no. I remove manure, I feed my animals, it takes me two or three hours a day. Afterwards, I would like to make an educational farm and bed and breakfast in the middle. Make honey, jam. I have already brought back quite a few fruit trees. It’s my thing. World Cup “.
In the meantime, it is promised, the winner of Alpe d’Huez and Tourmalet intends to still vibrate the hair of his fans on a few days of grace, three weeks in a row if God willing. “Above all, we expect to be able to hurt others again. I have a lot of frustration with all of this, with not having been able to exploit what I had under the hood for the past two years. I always want to give emotions to people who support me. These people, I want to give them pleasure for the next few years. Especially this year ”.
The pink jersey on the Giro before hanging up?
No false joy either, the “Tibo Pinix”. The champion no longer believes too much in the bright future of the Tour de France, no doubt aware that the train has passed and that the new generation has already won everything. However, he is scheduled to participate in 2022, even if he still dreams of the Giro, THE race that made him dream as a kid:
“I checked this: to be champion of France one day, to win on the three big tours, to win Lombardy, and… to wear the pink jersey on the Giro. It’s the only thing I miss, it’s the last thing I miss. Because for me, the yellow jersey is how to put it… I stay in the real world, in fact. The yellow jersey of the Tour de France has always been, for me as a kid, something too big. So I always dreamed of wearing the pink Giro jersey ”. We all deserve it a bit with him, don’t we?