2023-07-22 07:55:00
Fans of Franc-Comtois will meet at a bend in the 20th stage this Saturday to say goodbye to their idol in the Tour de France. Volcanic atmosphere guaranteed.
And “Pinot bend” in the Petit Ballon, a giant screen at his home in Mélisey and welcoming committees everywhere: Thibaut Pinot will be celebrated like a demi-god on Saturday on his training roads in the Vosges which he will survey for the last time in the Tour de France.
«It’s going to be a big party, a very strong moment“, anticipates the climber from Franche-Comté who, at 33, places his last pedal turns before putting his bike away definitively at the end of the season. French cycling will then find itself orphaned by this singular character, “a bit wild and shy“, who likes nothing more than the “silenceand take care of his goats on his farm in Mélisey, in Haute-Saône.
But peace will wait. On Saturday, the Pinotmania should reach new heights during a 20th stage with six passes that he knows by heart, between Belfort and Le Markstein. “I heard we were planning two or three little things“, underlines the runner of Groupama-FDJ.
Franc-Comtois, public favorite Vincent Kalut / PANORAMIC
In effect. A “fan zonewill thus be installed in his native village, with a giant screen and refreshment bar. Same thing in La Bresse, at the Traverse de la Roche, where the Association of Vosges cross-country ski hopefuls saw things big.
Read alsoTour de France: “We love it because it is authentic”, the “Pinotmania” at its peak
But it is especially in the Petit Ballon, penultimate ascent of the day, that it will happen and more precisely in the “Pinot bend»
«Sing very loudly, brandish tifos and show others that Thibaut is great today», are the prerequisites requested by the parody account «French Federation of Losewho even organizes a bus trip from Paris to come and encourage the idol. “10 years that he makes us dream: it was time to return the favor. And we take on the best of you», proclaims the call to the great gathering.
To be selected, you will have toto have believed in it on the Giro in 2018 and 2023, on the Tour in 2019, on the Dauphiné 2020», That is to say each time the champion of Mélisey missed out on a great victory.
«crazier and crazier»
Because Thibaut Pinot may have a more than respectable record – 3rd in the Tour in 2014, three stage victories, triumph at the Tour of Lombardy… in France, he is especially loved for his magnificent defeats.
Read alsoTour de France: Thibaut Pinot, the final bouquet
His panache but also his struggles, his weaknesses and his personality, which he himself describes as “offbeathave created a romantic icon that often surpasses himself.
«I’m far from the best. And yet, I am one of the most encouraged. I don’t have the track record of a Julian (Alaphilippe), I don’t think I marked the decade of cycling. But with each pass I climb, it’s crazier and crazier», is surprised the one who even has his own personal kop, the Collectif Ultra Pinot.
Since the start of the Tour, passion has overflowed and the signs “Wonder Pinot» or «Retired at 33, Pinot President» flourish in the four corners of France.
«It gives me a lot of thrills, adrenaline. I am often told: + thank you Thibaut +. My best way to thank them would be to win a stagehe says. But, lucid about his level, he recognizes that winning remains “beyond the dream“and already hopes”be at the front” SATURDAY “to enjoy this atmosphere».
«There will be chills and emotion, it will be my last climb on the Tour. Then, he will still have a few races left, before the curtain finally falls in October. “I’m glad to stop, he said. And in a year I may be on the side of the road with my friends to encourage the runners», between two fishing trips and feeding the goats in the silence of Mélisey.
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