Thibaut Pinot, who will retire at the end of the season, has been selected to compete in a final Tour de France, from July 1 to 23, his Groupama-FDJ team announced on Tuesday.
This will be the tenth time that the 33-year-old Franc-Comtois will participate in the Grande Boucle. His best result remains a third place in 2014. “Our team will be focused on the mountains. The objective is of course the general classification with David Gaudu. It was a difficult selection to establish, in particular the decision not to retain Arnaud Démare. I can understand his disappointment,” team manager Marc Madiot said in a statement.
Disappointment for Arnaud Démare
If Pinot can rejoice, the non-selection of Démare is a huge disappointment for the Picard sprinter with 93 victories. He also hadn’t competed in the Tour last year but was very optimistic that he could return there this summer. The hypothesis had given rise to a psychodrama within the team this winter when Gaudu claimed on social networks that he did not want Démare on the Grande Boucle, before apologizing.
Fifth in the last Tour of Italy, where he reassured about his potential, will have a role of co-leader with Gaudu and Madouas, said Madiot, undoubtedly a little worried after the catastrophic Dauphiné directed by David Gaudu.