Another hard day for Thibaut Pinot. The rider of the FDJ team was the victim of two incidents on the route of the eighth stage of the Tour de France between Dole and Lausanne. The 32-year-old Frenchman was first caught in a collective fall a few kilometers after the start of the stage, alongside his leader David Gaudu and Romain Bardet of the DSM team.
But the galleys of Pinot did not stop there since the tricolor rider was the victim of another accident 44 kilometers from the finish in Switzerland. While he was well in place in the peloton, the Frenchman caught the arm of an assistant from the Trek Segafredo team who was trying to pass a bag to one of his riders. Slightly stunned, Pinot was forced to stop and get off his bike a few meters further before getting back in the saddle to rejoin the peloton.
Benjamin Thomas in the top 10
The day after his 31st place in the 7th stage of the Grande Boucle, Thibaut Pinot did no better than 51st place 2 minutes and 18 seconds behind the winner Wout Van Aert. Questioned at the microphone of France Télévisions an hour after the arrival of the stage, the rider of the FDJ team seemed distraught by his two incidents of the day which he does not consider as careless mistakes. “It’s a complicated day. We have to deal with it, he relativizes. I can’t wait to get to the Alps and get some good feelings back.”
Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) saved the honor of the French with a fine 7th place in the final sprint. His tricolor teammate Guillaume Martin finished 13th, just behind another Frenchman, David Gaudu of the Groupama-FDJ team.