2023-07-01 12:00:00
The announcement of his retirement on January 12th sent the world of cycling into turmoil. Faced with Thibaut Pinot, no one is indifferent to his unique personality in the peloton and his many brilliant strokes which have animated the last decade. If he was never able to complete his adventure in the Tour de France, like in 2019 when, well placed a few days from the end, he had to give up due to a muscle injury, the FDJ rider will remain as one of the major protagonists of French cycling.
A premature but well-organized retirement
For Luc Leblanc, former professional runner and world champion in 1994, the timing of this departure is understandable. He explains to Point why the Franc-Comtois is right not to pull too much on the rope. “Thibaut has arrived at a time when he wants to move on. He is a boy who has always been exemplary in his career, on the bike, but also humanly. He never had a word above the others, he managed his popularity well. »
And it is precisely his notoriety that amazes. Even if he doesn’t have the biggest track record in modern cycling in France, Thibaut Pinot has many fans behind him who support him against all odds. On Twitter, the Collectif Ultras Pinot, in reference to the group of Parisian supporters, was created in 2020 and punctuates the news of the runner with diligence and sometimes lightness.
With a passion similar to that of football, one of its creators, Rémi, explains why the 33-year-old runner has become an idol. “When he arrived in the professionals, his first performances brought the hope of a French victory on a grand tour. He was designated as the chosen one and he was not far from concretizing it. The runner’s style, identifiable and above all inimitable, was thus able to seduce. “His main victories, he went for them without calculating. Thibaut also knows how to run with reserve, but he has a particular way of running, he has a grit in his pedal stroke and his face is not impassive. »
“We want to have an aperitif with him”
But beyond the Pinot which does not give up and drives the races, it is above all its atypical personality which is unanimous, according to Rémi. “At the level of the man, what pleases above all is the impression that he is like us, we have the feeling of supporting a friend, a relative, a guy from your village. He has always remained accessible, we want to have an aperitif with him. »
And behind this portrait of an affordable Thibaut Pinot, there also emerges the feeling of an anachronistic runner who is out of place in a sport where everything is fine-tuned with headsets and power sensors. “We felt that he was on the fringes of this professional world,” says Rémi. He said himself that he would have been better with less sanitized cycling, he regrets his first years because this sport has evolved enormously between the beginning and the end of [sa] career. His history in cycling is not to be trivialized: he has many victories but also disappointments, Thibaut Pinot sends us back to our own faults. »
A successful Giro to boost it
For Marc Madiot, his lifelong sports director, there is no question of playing the sensitive card when it comes time to start this Tour de France 2023. On the side of the boss of the FDJ, it is said that the decision to retain Thibaut Pinot for his ultimate Grande Boucle remains dictated by a sporting logic and not by its popularity. “We really tried to ignore all that. I didn’t want to rely on stuff like “The audience wants it” and so on. “What I wanted were sporting guarantees. Only that,” he explained to West France.
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And in this sense, a competitive Pinot that will accompany its leader David Gaudu, can be an advantage on several levels, according to Luc Leblanc. “Obviously, I regret that he stops, but since this is his last season, he can be totally free in his head. Why not take advantage of the favorites that will watch each other? He can pull out of the game. Winning the Tour would be a sick thing but it remains within his reach. »
Such a scenario would obviously not displease his fans, who are impatiently waiting to follow him for three weeks on the roads of the Tour. With his fifth place and the best climber’s jersey at the last Giro, Thibaut Pinot found his colors in Italy. What put him on a little cloud for his last stand?
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