Thibaut Pinot today came close to taking his first win since he was victorious on Col du Tourmalet on stage 14 at the 2019 Tour de France. While the Groupama-FDJ rider looked like he might win that Tour, he injured his knee and tearfully abandoned on stage 19.
A series of injuries since then mean he has yet to recapture his old form, though he went on the attack in the finale of stage 4 at Tour of the Alps today. However, while he pulled clear on his own, he was chased down by Miguel Ángel López (Astana Qazaqstan), who dropped him and took the win.
When interviewed after the stage, Pinot was emotional about his struggle to find his legs again and how frustrating the last two years had been.
"It pisses me off," he said in a TV interview (below) being becoming upset and having to walk away from the camera to gather himself. "It pisses me off because it would have been good for me after the last two years I've been through.
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"At my normal level, nobody would have caught up with me there, that's what's frustrating. I wish life would smile on me for one day but I have to be patient."
At the end of the 142km stage to Kals am Grossglockner, Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) retained the race lead. However, Romain Bardet (Team DSM) took a time bonus after winning the sprint for 3rd from the select group just 15 seconds down on the stage winner.
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Bardet is now just two seconds, rather than six, down on Bilbao with tomorrow's final stage to come. Eddie Dunbar (Ineos Grenadiers) lost touch with the favourites' group today, losing 40 seconds to it, and so slipped from 7th to 15th overall.
