2023-05-23 00:54:48
This Monday was the second day of rest on this Tour of Italy 2023 whose terrible weather for almost two weeks has wrung out the bodies of the whole peloton. But Bruno Armirail (Groupama-FDJ), Thibaut Pinot’s teammate on the Giro, feels less tired. Since Saturday, he has been wearing the leader’s pink jersey. A tricolor feat when you know that the last Frenchman to have worn this outfit was called Laurent Jalabert in… 1999.
Just before setting off to ride a few tens of kilometers with his teammates, Armirail took part in the classic leader’s press conference. Unaccustomed to the light, he just unfolded his simple happiness of wearing the most envied and prominent jersey in the Tour of Italy. “It’s clearly the best story of my career,” he smiles. Before, it was my French time trial champion jersey. But here it is stronger. Everyone sees it and not only in France. »
He remains in the service of Pinot
Then he dropped a small sentence not insignificant. “Maybe other teams will be interested in me with this pink jersey and it can change my status. We’ll see.” Asked to clarify his contractual situation, Armirail admitted that he was still under contract with Groupama-FDJ until 2024, but that a clause in his contract allowed him to leave if an interesting offer offered him. managed. “I could leave according to the possible proposal that I would have in front of me,” he added.
This will not change anything following his Giro. He knows that he remains a teammate of Thibaut Pinot and that keeping his beautiful pink overcoat is not the new objective of his training. “Thibaut can still aim for a stage victory and the general classification,” he explains. In the meantime, I hear everywhere that this Giro is perhaps the most difficult Grand Tour of the last twenty years. So, being the leader is a source of pride. »
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