His early successes became a curse, and the introverted Frenchman took a break last year. At the latest, the triumph on Saturday proves that Pinot is to be expected again.
There is nothing playful about the way Thibaut Pinot rides his bike – he personifies suffering.
Anyone who sees Thibaut Pinot on the mountain understands within seconds how brutal cycling is. The Frenchman agonizes towards the finish line with a pained face, with such a heavy gait that he has to keep stepping out of the saddle in order not to stop, whereby his upper body then sways like a liner in distress. There is nothing playful about the way Pinot Velo rides. He personifies suffering.
Pinot’s fighting spirit took him far in his early years. In 2012, at the age of just 22, he finished tenth in the Tour de France, two years later even third. The early successes became a bane, giving his countrymen the firm expectation that he would win the world’s most important cycling race, becoming the first Frenchman since Bernard Hinault in 1985.
In 2019 he was close to breaking the spell
He was constantly bombarded with probing questions, which the introverted professional cyclist didn’t appreciate at all. Before the Tour de France 2019, such a moment came again, at that time the NZZ wrote: “At this moment, Pinot would probably have been better in many places than on this oversized stage. At the Tourmalet, at the Col de l’Iseran or even at the dentist.»
In good moments, hardly anyone could hold a candle to him. When the Tour de France reached the Pyrenees two weeks after that press conference, Pinot was the strongest rider. He seemed poised to break the spell. But then he injured himself. Once again. Pinot has won major races, such as the 2018 Tour of Lombardy, but his medical record is at least as long as his list of victories.
Last year, the Frenchman took a break from racing for several months to recover from a back problem, but above all to find himself again. During this break, which became longer and longer, his Swiss teammate Stefan Küng said: “I really hope that he comes back.” And: “It hurts me to see that.”
Pinot came back. His results in the final stages of the 2021 season were unspectacular by his standards. But in April 2022 he won a stage of the Tour of the Alps. It was a first sign that we can count on him again.
Pinot is fighting back impressively
The triumph on the queen stage of the Tour de Suisse, which Pinot fought for in Malbun on Saturday, is worth even more. He had started the Swiss national tour with mixed performances. And on Saturday, too, Pinot seemed to be on the losing road when the Spaniard Ion Izagirre left him behind. But he fought back, once again. In the steepest passages of the 12.8-kilometer final climb, which was mastered in scorching heat, he left Izagirre and kept all pursuers at a distance. And then he could finally cheer exuberantly.
Hopefully the joy will last for a while. The Tour de France will start again soon.
Wheel. 85th Tour de Suisse. 7th stage, Ambri–Malbun (LIE/194.6 km): 1. Thibaut Pinot (FRA) 5:06:39. 2. Oscar Rodriguez (ESP) 0:25 back. 3. Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) 0:38. 4.Sergio Higuita (COL) 1:19. 5. Geraint Thomas (GBR) 1:30. 6. Nicolas Prodhomme (FRA) 1:40. 7. Jakob Fuglsang (DEN) 1:48. 8 Domenico Pozzovivo (ITA) 1:59. 9. Sebastien Reichenbach (SUI) 2:09. 10.Neilson Powless (USA) 2:19. – 12. Remco Evenepoel (BEL) 2:30. 18. Stefan Küng (SUI) 2:59. 27.Yannis Voisard (SUI) 5:50. 29. Roland Thalmann (SUI) 6:50. 38. Michael Schar (SUI) 12:13. 40.Simon Pellaud (SUI) 12:51. 43. Matthias Reutimann (SUI) 15:01. 45. Simon Vitzthum (SUI), same time. 63. Matteo Badilatti (SUI) 21:51. 65. Johan Jacobs (SUI) 23:00. 71.Robin Froidevaux (SUI) 26:25. 75. Tom Bohli (SUI) 28:36. – Overall ranking (7/8): 1. Higuita 32:38:38. 2. Thomas 0:02. 3. Fuglsang 0:19. 4. Powless 1:16. 5. Pozzovivo 1:37. 6. Reichenbach 2:09. 7. Kiing 2:19. 8. Bob Jungels (LUX) 2:31. 9. Felix Grossschartner (AUT) 2:47. 10. Andreas Leknessund (NOR) 2:59. – 13. Evenepoel 4:09. 15. Pinot 4:40. 25. Thalman 24:31. 35. Schär 41:15. 37. Voisard 43:13. 43. Badilatti 55:16. 47. Pellaud 59:01. 61. Vitzthum 1:21:23. 67. Reutimann 1:32:36. 68. Jacobs 1:33:50. 74. Froidevaux 1:45:01. 79. Bohli 1:54:58.