Thibaut Pinot, who will retire professionally after the Tour of Lombardy, demonstrated throughout the season that he still had the top level in his legs. Why did he decide to quit when he was only 33? The French champion revealed the keys to his decision.
Since February, Thibaut Pinot made and announced the decision that he would end his professional career at the end of this season. Throughout the year, the leader of the Groupama-FDJ nevertheless demonstrated that he still had the very high level in his legs, finishing 11th in the Tour de France after finishing 5th in the Tour of Italy, best climber’s jersey on his back. And if Pinot did not raise his arms this year, he came very close on several occasions, notably at the Giro.
Cycling: Alaphilippe in the middle of a terrible fight! https://t.co/1cYGFKi8iL pic.twitter.com/BXWOXEXtyT
— le10sport (@le10sport) September 20, 2023
He wants to shine one last time at the Tour of Lombardy
Less than a month from the end of his career, the French champion remains driven by one last objective: to fight with the best for the race of his heart, which he won in 2018, the Tour of Lombardy. On the set of the show Bike Bistro on Eurosportin comments relayed by cyclismactu.net, Thibaut Pinot confirmed that he had prepared as much as possible for his last major meeting: “ I worked in August and September to be good at the races I prefer, this Italian period. I’m going to try to be good even if my fall in Poitou-Charentes put me in a bit of trouble so it’s going to be a little harder than expected. But I want to enjoy this Tour of Lombardy, I know that there will be a lot of people, it will put a little pressure on me too because I will be a little in the center of attention and that won’t is not what I like the most. So I hope that I will still enjoy my race and that what happens around it will be more after the race, so that I can be a little calm at the start ».
“I’m a little afraid of getting old”
Despite its excellent performances throughout the year, Pinot has not changed his mind and intends to stop after the Tour of Lombardy. On the set of Bike Bistrothe Frenchman revealed the real reasons which pushed him to stop so early, while he still had a future at the very highest level: “ I didn’t want to be the oldest on the team since I’m often the oldest on the team. Of course it’s young, I’m only 33 years old. In life I’m a little afraid of getting old so I wanted to finish early enough to still be new in real life ».
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.