Madiot: Pinot has a ‘one in a million’ chance of racing the Tour
Two and a half weeks after it was announced that Thibaut Pinot would not be racing the Giro d’Italia as he’d originally planned, Groupama-FDJ manager Marc Madiot has told Eurosport that the odds are slim that the French climber will start this year’s Tour de France.
What was said?
“The most important thing is that Thibaut Pinot fully recovers. And depending on what he will present to us at the level of the calendar, we will advise when the time comes,” Madiot said. “But concerning the Tour, there is a one in a million chance for him to be at the start. We are especially not going to have a countdown in mind. It would be a serious error.”
“Currently, we are in the management phase – we hope definitively – of the injury,” Madiot said. “He is calm and determined. As for his physical condition, even if it is not optimal, it is not not bad. This should therefore allow him to set off again in fairly good conditions fairly quickly.”
What’s the problem?
Pinot has dealt with lingering back issues since last year’s Tour de France, when he crashed on a rain-soaked opening stage. He finished the Tour, but was not a strong contender for the general classification, and then he pulled out of the subsequent Vuelta a España ahead of the third stage
Although he focused on his recovery over the offseason and has since made several race starts in 2021, Pinot’s back pain has lingered into this season. In April it was decided that he would not race the Giro after initially planning to race the Italian Grand Tour.
He said at the time that his form was not the issue, and Madiot told Eurosport that the team is optimistic that once he works out his back problems, Pinot will be able to get back into racing action without much delay.
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