Thibaut Pinot, still second, returns to the general

Hope… then despair. Friday, May 19, Thibaut Pinot ranked second in the 13th stage of the Giro, turned upside down and shortened due to the terrible weather affecting Italy these days. After having attacked without counting in the two climbs of the day, the Frenchman was finally beaten by six seconds by the Colombian Einer Rubio. Small consolation prize, Pinot takes the best climber’s jersey of the event.

In the general classification, the Welshman Geraint Thomas retains the leader’s pink jersey, two seconds ahead of the Slovenian Primoz Roglic (Jumbo Visma). Pinot, which is aiming for a place in the top five, is back in 10^e position, 3 minutes and 13 seconds behind the leader of the Ineos team

While the race was to start at 11 a.m., from Borgofranco d’Ivrea, the start was postponed to 3 p.m. and was given at the foot of the Croix-de-Coeur, initially planned to be the second ascent of the route. Direction Crans-Montana, Switzerland. In this 74.6 kilometer stage, Thibaut Pinot was one of the first attackers of the day. He took the lead at the top of the Croix-de-Coeur, classified in the first category. The leader of Groupama-FDJ then made a strong impression, within a group of around ten riders.

On the climb to Crans-Montana, the Frenchman multiplied the attacks (seven in total) and only the Ecuadorian Alexander Cepeda (Education Fisrt) and Einer Rubio (Movistar), sometimes slightly off the hook, managed to stay in contact with him. The duel was sometimes tense between Pinot and Cepeda and, at the finish, it was the third man, Rubio, who was the least exposed, who finally won the sprint.

A symbolic setback

For his last season and therefore his final Giro, Pinot, 32, missed a great opportunity to clinch the seventh victory of his career in a grand tour. A setback that symbolizes the career of the Frenchman, who has become a darling of the public almost as much for his misfortunes as for his successes. His abandonment a few days before the finish of the 2019 Tour, where he seemed able to win the event, remains his most famous failure.

At the end of the stage, Pinot remained annoyed for several minutes, his head resting on the handlebars of his bike. Sick during the first week of the Giro, the French however showed on Friday that he is returning to form as he approaches a third mountainous week which could suit him.

This year, the Tour of Italy means trouble for many riders. Falls, illnesses (Covid-19 epidemic), deplorable weather conditions… this 106^e edition of the Giro continues to hold unpleasant surprises for cyclists. Badly affected by bad weather and floods, Italy notably had to cancel the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Emilia Romagna on Wednesday.

“We only had one day without rain”

On Friday, the organizers shortened the stage so as not to endanger the runners, who had to take the Grand Saint-Bernard pass, the highest point of the race, particularly delicate in these conditions, because of its slippery descent.

“Runners held a vote last night [mercredi]to invoke the Severe Weather Protocol”, explains Adam Hansen, former professional cyclist and president of the association Cyclists professionals associates (CPA), protecting the rights of riders. After a fictitious start, the riders therefore returned to their bus and were transported to the foot of the Croix-de-Coeur, the new starting point of the stage.

Earlier in the day, they spoke about the conditions of this Giro: “Since the beginning, we have only had one day without rain, we are on eggshells. There were a lot of falls, the descents are very winding. Mentally, it’s hard to fight not to take breaks and not to fall », explained Thibaut Pinot. At the start of the stage, the carnage continued with the announcement of the retirement of a 41^e runner, the Dane Mads Pedersen, world champion in 2019 and stage winner on this tour.

After thirteen stages, the riders seem exhausted and only three teams have avoided retirements (Astana, Bahrain-Victorious and Jumbo-Visma) so far. This Giro d’Italia is chaotically approaching the last week of racing. For the riders still in the running, there are eight stages left before reaching the Italian capital, Rome, the scene of the final of this Giro, on Sunday May 28th.